[Stephen "Dusty" Roberts]

Hi all

Dusty here form Canada and I have 2 questions regarding area rugs.

1. Are you seeing more "cheaper" area rugs in the UK like in North America?
2. Do you clean them in your clients home or do you take them out for a proper cleaning?

Thanks for your help on this

Dusty

[Joe H]

Am I seeing cheaper area rugs?  Yes Dusty, I am.
Still usually the case too, where the client will say "oh! while you are here can you do this rug..."

Would prefer to take rugs away. I dont get any "specialist" type rugs, but I dont like doing wool ones  on site. But there again I dont have any large indoor facility available, so have to rely on nice summer days (which were a bit rare last year) to do them on the drive way on a plastic sheet..

Of course, the cheaper ones, if you were to take away, work on, take back - the cost is likely to be more then replacement cost of the rug.  So I will do those on site only after preparing the customer for moderate achievement on result - then if its a brilliant result all the better.

[Les]

I'm pretty much the same as Joe with customers asking me, "could you just clean these 5 rugs whilst you're here" ?

I get 3 Scenario's

1. It cost a fortune.... it obviously did and dare I touch it ?

2. It cost a fortune.....they were robbed !

3. It was only cheap.....and it certainly looks like it was!

It's the two extremes that concern me most. Some are obviously left to the specialists and that's what I'll sugest.
The really cheap one's can be so thin that if you so much as show them a sprayer they curl up like yesterdays old sandwich 

I prefer where possible to clean them on site and in fairness most customers are happy with the results.

I sometimes take them away but like Joe, don't live in the village hall so it generally means a clean outside, ( obviously I tell the customer the rug will be cleaned in our spacious air conditioned facility using only the purest natural waters....that covers the fact it rained half way through cleaning) :

Les

[Ian Gourlay]

Maybee Imin Wrong Market but most rugs I see isat the Cheaper End

I do comeacross once or twice a year quality oriential Rugs that have been down for 40 years caked in dirt these I know refer to local branch of Johnsons Cleaners who send them to Franklins

I do not have drying facilities or storage capacity for off site cleaning

[Mike Osbourne]

I used to say to people it will cost your more for me to clean it than it will to buy a new one. Most said I will buy a new one then. : But, I was very curious about the few that said, oh that's OK we like this rug.

Now I always ask them what's the story behind the rug, and they will tell you it's value, to them.

We are cheap over here, we have always had cheap rugs. But you generally find what you are looking for.

Take them away and charge accordingly. Asking the right questions puts you in the driving seat, doesn't it Dusty.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Depends what you mean by "cheaper". Would a 6x4 ft count as an area rug and would £100+ count as cheap?

"modern/cheap" rugs I will clean on site if required but explain there are pluses and minuses to cleaning on site as opposed to off-site. There are corresponding prices as well.

If there are fringes involved and clients want these cleaning then it'll definitely need to be off site, unless......

The rug is too damn big and heavy to move. And client must have somewhere where I can clean it and leave it to dry properly. (Big and heavy=over 100lbs in weight and therefore usually around 10x12 ft in size.)

Part of the solution is to listen to what the clients requirements are. Do they want a quick run over just to freshen it up a bit or do they want the works? Give them what they want providing you are not compromising on the actual job then done. It's a bit like the gold/silver/bronze levels of service which have been discussed elsewhere on the forum recently.

I do have a proper set up for cleaning rugs in my cellars.

[John Kelly]

Roger, you mean you actually move all those bottles of wine to clean rugs

[clinton]

Roger

Dont forget your dungeon

[JandS]

He dries them over the love swing.

John

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Roger, you mean you actually move all those bottles of wine to clean rugs

Have you been looking? You're only jealous!

My neighbour said that if there ever was a 3 minute warning he knew where he was heading

[colin fitch]

Hi Stephen,

Yes it has been a long time
You should post a few of your secrets here [armenian ones]

I am seeing a lot more cheaper rugs now,than say a few years ago.

We offer both services[on site] or [off site for a proper cleaning]

Colin

p.s. are we going to see you in may?