Mould is a common household problem. The humid British climate is a perfect environment for mould to breed, making it difficult to prevent and remove. Mould thrives in damp, humid environments, and carpets, as with other types of soft furnishings, provide an ideal breeding ground when exposed to moisture.
First of all, make sure that you have appropriate safety gear. You’ll need to wear safety gloves, goggles and a mask to ensure that the mould spores don't harm you.
Next, ventilate the room with the mouldy carpet and isolate it from other areas of your house. You can do this by opening your windows but closing internal doors. If this isn't possible, you can cover mould-free carpets with plastic sheets to protect them.
You can then use a stiff brush to remove visible mould. If your vacuum has a HEPA filter, you can use it to vacuum up spores. However, beware that these spores can live in your vacuum and spread around your house.
The next step is to use something to kill the mould. Do not use bleach, as this can damage your carpet. More importantly, some moulds create toxic gases when mixed with bleach. Instead, use a stain remover that is marked as useable on mould. You can also try using white vinegar and baking soda.
After that, you need to allow your carpet to dry. If you used the white vinegar and baking soda method, the mixture can be blotted away with water. Make sure that you do not soak your carpet with water, but use a damp cloth to dab the area.
There are invisible spores all around us all the time. As long as they don't get the right conditions, it won't necessarily turn into mould.
Moisture is the biggest cause of mould. By using devices that control the humidity in your home, you can keep mould at bay. Air purifiers help to contain the spores, minimising the amount around your home.
You can buy electric devices that plug in. Some will both dehumidify and purify your air. You can also get moisture absorbers that don't require electricity.
Spills happen all the time, no matter how careful we are. It's important that you use something absorbent to soak it up as soon as it happens. If you don't, it can travel deep into your carpet and become trapped there, making the perfect environment for mould.
Deep cleaning your carpet without the right equipment or know-how can leave carpets wet for too long. This provides a paradise for mould, especially in colder weather when it takes even longer to dry.
Mould can be difficult to combat if you're inexperienced. Search the National Carpet Cleaning Association member directory to find qualified, experienced carpet cleaners that can tackle mould for you. They will tackle it safely, avoiding risk for you and your household.
Find accredited carpet cleaners near you to get started.
Spring cleaning is a popular way to welcome the better weather. For some people, this means decluttering, dusting and deep cleaning. Carpets are often neglected, but here's why they should be on your spring to-do list.
Keeping your carpet clean is the best way to ensure that it lives a long life. Allowing dirt to accumulate can damage the carpet or make it harder to clean without causing damage. Regular cleaning saves you money, while also saving the resources that would be needed to produce a new carpet.
With hayfever season approaching, people with allergies are starting to suffer. These allergens can build up in your carpet and worsen symptoms. Every time someone steps on your carpet, the allergens on it are released into the air, creating a difficult environment for allergy-prone people. A deep clean will help remove these particles and reduce irritating symptoms.
A clean carpet can bring a whole room together. You might not even notice dirt impacting the colour of your carpet until you clean it. Dust and grime can discolour your carpet. Cleaning your carpet prevents damage and brings it back towards the colour you originally chose. This improves the appearance of your home not just for yourself, but for guests, too.
The fibres of a carpet are liable to flatten or stick together. This can make a carpet feel much older than it actually is, and often quite rough. Freshly cleaned carpets feel softer underfoot, as the fibres are given new life.
Notice a bad smell in your home? It could be your carpet. Like other things, bad smells can get trapped in your carpet and haunt you. The worst part is, you might not notice it anymore, but your visitors certainly will. You can buy scented sprays, but these will cover the problem, not solve it. Proper deep cleaning is vital to remove these smells and keep your home smelling pleasant.
Households with pets will have noticed how often pet hair clings to the carpet. Hoovering can remove some of it, but there are always stray hairs that take more effort to remove. Deep cleaning your carpet will stop hair becoming matted into your carpet.
Invisible mould spores gather deep in your carpet. These can grow into patches of mould when they meet moisture. Your health can also be negatively impacted by these spores when they are disturbed and propelled into the air. Hoovering can collect some of the spores, but doesn’t kill them. It's important that you get your carpet deep cleaned to keep mould spores at bay.
Take the hassle out of carpet cleaning by hiring a professional carpet cleaner. Every cleaner in the National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA) directory is insured, accredited and experienced. Our members are all over the UK and searchable by postcode.
Find a local carpet cleaner today!
If you're looking to expand your carpet cleaning skills, you've come to the right place. The National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA) has a collection of courses designed to support your business and increase your confidence. Here's why you should try our training courses:
With a wide range of topics to choose from, there's something for everyone. Whether you need a knowledge boost on pest control, water damage or fine fabrics, there's a course for you. We even offer business topics that aren't specific to cleaning, such as marketing and stress management.
Members of the NCCA gain exclusive discounts on our courses. This allows you to gain extra training, without paying the steep costs you'll find elsewhere. Many courses are exclusive to members, ensuring that members get priority for limited spaces.
It's not uncommon for people to retake our courses. Aaron Midgley of Midgley Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning described our upholstery cleaning course as “a very informative course of which you attend multiple times and still benefit from.”
Whether you need to refresh your memory or gain a brand new skill, our courses are worth taking multiple times.
Our courses are recognised qualifications that allow you to expand your business. After completing a course, you will receive a certificate. This can prove your expertise to potential customers. Many also come with manuals and resources that you can keep for future reference.
Every course’s tutor is carefully chosen for their expertise. With years of industry work under their belt, they can teach you trade secrets and best practice. Interior Revival’s Chris Walker even commented on the “novel and entertaining way” that the course was delivered.
Whether you're new to carpet cleaning or you've been in the business a while, our courses offer insights that suit every level. Some courses, such as stain removal, have multiple grades to help you progress your skills gradually. Every topic is covered in depth, regardless of your prior experience.
With such a wide reach, the NCCA has members from all over the UK. Our courses are an exciting chance to meet other carpet cleaners. This not only allows you to socialise with like-minded people, but allows you to collaborate and share tips and tricks.
If you're used to handling the same kinds of jobs, you might get out of practice with other things. Our courses make sure that you can confidently handle new or unfamiliar situations. Many courses also cover aspects such as pricing and customer interactions, allowing you to confidently deliver services.
Whether you are an experienced cleaner or new to the industry, if you are ready to enhance your skills and efficiency, make sure you learn from the best in the business. Take a look at our upcoming training courses and secure your place.
When setting up a carpet cleaning business, it's important to have all the accreditations you need. If you've already been cleaning carpets for a while, you may not have any formal training. So how do you know you are doing things correctly? To find out what qualifications you need to start a carpet cleaning business, read on.
There isn't any training legally required to start a carpet cleaning business. However, qualifications improve your credibility, so it's good practice to have a few basic certifications under your belt.
Additionally, if you want to join the National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA), you will need an entry-level qualification in Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning.
Further training allows you to confidently add other services to your repertoire, increasing your potential earnings. No matter how long you've been cleaning carpets for, training can help you keep up to date on the most efficient methods and new technology. Training sessions themselves also allow you to network with other carpet cleaners.
A few courses that you may find helpful are:
Once creepy crawlies start eating your carpet, they can be a nightmare to get rid of. It's important that you know how to repel, kill and destroy the eggs of various household pests. Insecticides and pesticides can also be dangerous when handled poorly, so proper training can protect you and your clients.
Some fabrics are incredibly delicate. Incorrectly handling fine fabrics can be expensive and lead to poor reviews, unhappy customers and a claim on your insurance. Correctly identifying these fabrics, carrying out patch tests and cleaning and protecting these fabrics should all be covered by this kind of course.
With weather as wet as the UK, flooding is common. As carpet is on the ground, it often takes the brunt of the damage, which can be catastrophic for homeowners. Cleaners with water damage restoration training can help customers with damage caused by flooding, leaks and burst pipes.
Some stains can feel impossibly stubborn. If you don't know what you're doing, you may damage the carpet in the process. Proper training can help you handle stains correctly and also apply protectors to prevent future staining.
If you're used to providing residential cleaning services, you may be missing commercial opportunities. A course will help you prepare for these by covering different cleaning methods, how to price your services effectively and how to build business relationships.
While it doesn't relate directly to carpets themselves, marketing is an important part of running a business. Without good marketing, clients won't know how to find you. At the end of the day, your duty to your business is to make the phone ring. A marketing course will help you understand buyers and how to attract more of them.
By joining the National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA), you gain access to exclusive and discounted training courses. All of the topics above are covered by courses listed on our carpet cleaning training page. Other membership benefits include arbitration support, access to forums and a listing on our searchable directory.
Join the NCCA today to take your carpet cleaning business to the next level.
If your carpet is in need of rejuvenation, you may be considering hiring a professional carpet cleaning company to help. In the current cost of living crisis, affordability is an important factor in any decision. Every cleaner will charge differently, but here is an idea of how much you might expect to spend in 2024.
The average hourly rate for a carpet cleaner in the UK is between £60 and £120. However, it is also common for carpet cleaners to charge per square metre, at an average of £4/m².
If you're getting your whole house cleaned, it might take all day, so some cleaners also offer a day rate. A day rate is likely to start at around £250-£300. Some companies have a minimum spend to make sure that the trip is worth their while. They may also charge a cancellation fee after a certain window, as it's hard to find alternative work at short notice.
The most important thing to note about professional carpet cleaning is that it's usually much cheaper than replacing your carpet – and certainly less disruptive! Getting your carpet cleaned regularly will make your carpet last longer and save you money in the long run.
More delicate carpets will require more care and more time. If your carpet has a long pile length, it's also likely to be more difficult to clean and take longer. However, synthetic carpets are often stain-resistant, so will be cheaper to clean.
Natural fibre carpets can vary in price to clean. A sisal carpet is likely to be the most expensive to clean, due to its absorbency and tendency to stain. Wool carpets are usually comparatively cheaper to clean.
Carpet cleaners are in higher demand at different times of the year, so may cost more at these times. Many people tend to carry out a big spring clean, filling up cleaners’ calendars quickly. Winter can be a slower time for carpet cleaners, so some of them offer discounts and offers to bring customers in.
Different types of cleaning include steam cleaning (sometimes called a “soft wash”), dry compound cleaning and encapsulation cleaning. A soft wash is likely to be the cheapest option.
Optional added extras include stain protection and insect repellent, which are likely to add to your bill. However, think about whether the benefits for these options are worth the cost before you invest in them.
It's important you choose the right type of cleaning for you. While steam cleaning is often the cheapest option, it can take a long time to dry, particularly in winter, creating an ideal environment for mould and mildew. It can also cause unnecessary wear to your carpet due to the high-water pressure involved. Other methods such as dry cleaning can be much healthier for your carpet, so don't be sucked in by cheap pricing.
Removing any tough stains will take extra work and extra materials. Because of this, it will usually cost more. This cost is likely to depend on how big an area the stain covers, and what type of stain it is. It's worth informing your cleaner of any significant stains beforehand, so that they can quote your price accurately.
Some cleaners will charge extra if your household has pets, as they can create significant carpet damage and cause build-up of hair and dirt.
Often, homeowners will move their furniture off the carpet in preparation for the cleaner. However, not everyone will be able to do this.
Similarly, not every carpet cleaner offers to move furniture, and if they do, it's likely to cost extra. Some companies will charge a flat rate to move your furniture, or others will simply charge hourly.
Some carpet cleaners do not offer this service at all, so if you are unable to move furniture yourself, you may need to find someone else to help you with this task – or use a different carpet cleaner.
It's common for commercial carpet cleaning to be required out of office hours, so they’re ready to use for the next working day. Commercial spaces are also often bigger than residential spaces. Because of this, commercial carpet cleaning can cost slightly more.
Like with many things, where you live can impact how much you can expect to pay for a carpet cleaning service. A combination of regional living expenses, market competition, and demand levels contribute to the variability in carpet cleaning costs across different towns and cities in the UK. If you live in a rural area, you may also have to pay more for the distance that the cleaner will have to travel to reach you.
Some carpet cleaners categorise their costs into packages. The cost of each tier is likely to correspond with how thorough the cleaning involved is. Always check what is included in each package to decide which suits you best.
While everyone loves a bargain, extremely low prices can be a red flag when it comes to quality. Choosing an accredited, professional carpet cleaner can work out more cost-effective in the long run as it can extend the lifespan of your carpets and keep them at their best.
Low prices may also be a sign that the business may be untrustworthy. In fact, there's a practice which is sadly far too common, where companies use low prices to lure you in, and then up-sell you something more expensive or unnecessary add-ons. This is called bait and switch – and it’s an illegal form of deception.
You can avoid this by working with a trusted carpet cleaner from the National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA). Every NCCA carpet cleaner has to follow a code of conduct, which includes transparent pricing. Businesses set their own prices, but they must be trustworthy and fair. Inflating prices, especially at the last minute, is strictly against our policies.
The figures provided here are just averages. If you want a specific cost for carpet cleaning, the NCCA can make things easier.
We’ve built a directory of trusted local carpet cleaners, so you can get a price to clean your carpets without having to check the credentials of each contractor yourself. Everyone in our directory is fully trained, experienced and insured, so it’s simply a case of choosing a cleaner that’s close to you.
Search our carpet cleaners directory to get a quote.
Looking after carpets is vital to ensure that they last longer and stay looking good. However, the best way to look after your carpet is not always obvious. Read on to find out how often you should clean your carpet.
No matter where you live, you should be vacuuming your carpet at least once a week. If you have pets, allergies or areas with higher traffic, you should vacuum more often.
Read more about how often you should vacuum.
Vacuuming alone isn't enough to maintain a healthy carpet. As a general rule, carpets benefit from a deep clean every 12 to 18 months, but there are some exceptions.
If you spill something on your carpet or a pet has an accident, this should always be seen to as soon as possible to prevent long term damage.
Pet owners should have their carpet deep cleaned every 6 to 12 months. This is because grubby paws bring in dirt that can build up in your carpet. Pets also constantly drop dander, which can become embedded in your carpet. This can’t always be removed by vacuuming alone. Pets also have oily skins that leave oil on the carpet, which attracts extra soiling very quickly.
If someone in your household smokes, this smell can cling to the fibres of your carpet. Even if they never smoke inside, the smell of smoke can linger in your house. To get rid of this smell, you should deep clean carpets every 3 to 6 months. That will also remove the nicotine deposits engrained in the carpet and deposited on your upholstery.
People with allergies can be very sensitive to even tiny amounts of dust and pollen. In fact, those who suffer from allergies sometimes find that just vacuuming makes their symptoms worse, as it can send allergens flying into the air. Therefore, you might find that deep cleaning every 3 to 6 months is best to remove the allergens.
How often your carpet needs cleaning doesn't only depend on who lives in your house, but the kind of carpet it is. Light carpets may need cleaning more often to maintain their colour. However, don't neglect dark-coloured carpets – the dark colour can hide all sorts of grime!
Long pile carpets also benefit from more regular cleaning, as there are deeper fibres for dirt to cling to.
While it might be tempting to put off cleaning your carpet, leaving it for too long can reduce the lifespan of your carpet.
The longer you leave stains, the higher the chance that you won't be able to remove them. A build-up of dirt can make your carpet feel grimy and lose its soft feel. Also, this dirt can lead to bacteria, leading to health issues.
If smells are hiding in your carpet, you may become used to them, but visitors will be hit by odour when they enter your home.
A regular visit from a professional carpet cleaner will help you keep your carpet in shape. Use the National Carpet Cleaning Association (NCCA) to find accredited carpet cleaners in your area. All cleaners in our tried and trusted directory have been vetted for training, insurance and experience so you don’t have to worry about subpar results.