If you own a carpet cleaning company, you might be wondering whether to join the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA). One factor that sometimes makes business owners hesitate is the NCCA certification cost, and whether it's worth it. Here, we will break down the cost and what it means to be an NCCA member.
As the only nationally recognised trade association for carpet cleaners, there are a variety of benefits for our members. This is what the NCCA certification cost gets you.
Your business will appear in our directory, making you easily discoverable to potential clients. Customers can search by postcode, helping bring you work in your local area.
You get the bragging rights of saying you're a part of our association. Only our members are permitted to use our logo and claim accreditation status.
If you want to further your skills and services, we offer courses and discounts, only available to our members.
Members gain access to our free advice helplines. We also have templates for business documents for you to download.
If you have a disagreement with a client, we can act as an arbitrator between the two parties. While we encourage complainants to go directly to our members first, we also give them the option to report complaints to us.
Being an NCCA member gives you access to exclusive online advice forums and networking opportunities. We also hold industry days and events as a chance for you to network with other cleaners.
In order to receive our stamp of approval, we expect all of our members to uphold our standards. These standards are all representative of good business practices that will improve your company and career.
We ask that anyone in your business who will be cleaning carpets is trained. When you join, you sit an entry-level training course in professional carpet and upholstery cleaning, or provide evidence that you have already passed one of our approved courses.
All of our members are required to provide proof of public liability insurance. While this is not a legal requirement, we ask our members to have it to ensure that both you and your clients are protected if something goes wrong.
We require all members to carry out their business with integrity. This means charging fair prices, maintaining personable service and having established procedures for complaints and liability.
Everyone that joins must pay the NCCA certification cost. This allows us to keep our trade association working well, and allows us to offer you every possible opportunity.
The National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) offers so much value for UK carpet cleaners. Membership with us unlocks access to everything above, which can be priceless for your business.
To find out more, take a look at our membership page.
A new carpet can make your home feel like a whole new place, but it always comes with that distinctive new carpet smell. If you haven't been able to air the carpet beforehand, this smell can outstay its welcome.
When carpets are manufactured, lots of chemicals are used in the process. These substances remain in rolled-up carpets until they are laid out in a new home, when they start to evaporate. This causes the smell to fill your house, in a process called carpet off-gassing.
There's no evidence to suggest that it's harmful, but it can be irritating or overwhelming. If you’ve been stuck with a new carpet smell for months, read on.
The smell should naturally fade after a while, but if it's getting on your nerves, there are some fixes you can try.
The simplest way to allow these chemicals to leave your property is through ventilation. If you can keep all your windows and doors open, this will help the chemicals escape. Heaters and air-conditioning units are also good at helping you ventilate the room.
Proper carpet care involves regular vacuuming, so you may already be doing this. However, it's good to hoover as soon as you install a new carpet, as this will tidy up any debris and help clear the smell.
Many house plants help purify the air by absorbing chemicals in it. Placing house plants throughout the room will help extract the smell from the air. Leafy plants like peace lilies, spider plants and aloe vera are particularly well purifying indoor plants.
There are several ways that vinegar can help get rid of the smell. Firstly, you can leave small bowls of vinegar around the room at night. You can also steam clean the carpet with vinegar.
Sprinkle baking soda all over the carpet and leave it overnight. It can easily be hoovered up the next day, and can be repeated as many times as you need.
For short term relief from carpet smell, you can use things like incense and air freshener. However, don't use detergent directly on carpet as it can leave behind residue and damage the carpet.
Placing fabric softener refills under furniture will result in a slow-release scent throughout the room. While it won't destroy the smell, it will help cover it.
Cut an apple in half and leave it in a bowl overnight. It will absorb some of the odour. You can also do this with onion or celery, but they work best with a splash of water added to the bowl.
Have you been stuck with a new carpet smell for months? An expert carpet cleaner can help you remove unwanted odours. The National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) has a network of carpet cleaners across the UK who meet our stringent standards. Every carpet cleaner is trained and insured to ensure the smoothest experience.
Find your nearest approved carpet cleaner online or call 01562 547754 if you have any questions.
You've gone for a walk with the dogs and the kids, and as soon as the front door opens, they've trodden mud all over the carpet. It only takes a second for muddy footprints to appear everywhere, but it takes much longer to get the mud out of the carpet. Thankfully, your carpet isn't beyond saving, and there are plenty of ways to clean up the mud.
While your first instinct may be to scrub straight away, the best way to get mud out of carpet is actually to let it dry. Tackling it while it's still wet will only spread the mud and drive it further into the carpet. As much as it may make you itch, you need to leave it be.
Once the mud is dry, you can begin to vacuum it up. Loosen the soil with a spoon, and then run the hoover over it. Vacuum more slowly than you normally would, as the mud may take a few tries to separate from the carpet fibres.
After you have vacuumed as much as possible, there is likely to still be a grubby stain. This is where you can bring in some cleaning solutions.
For the best way to get mud out of carpet without damaging it, use dish soap. Mix one tablespoon of dish soap with two cups of water until it forms a soapy lather, and gently blot it onto the area.
If you have pets, this method is good at removing the stinky smell of muddy paw prints. Add several tablespoons of white vinegar to four cups of water and leave it on the affected area for at least 15 minutes. This can then be blotted away with cool water.
If you want to eradicate the smell as much as possible, you can also add baking soda and then vacuum it up after.
Many shop-bought carpet cleaning chemicals are designed specifically for mud. You can also find some that are safe to use around children and pets. Always read the bottle to make sure it's suitable for your needs, carefully follow the instructions, and carry out a patch test first.
If you're struggling to get the mud out of your carpet, call in an expert. The National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) has a directory of the best UK carpet cleaners. All of our members are insured and specially trained to meet our sky-high standards.
Search our online directory to find the right carpet cleaner to clean mud off your carpet.
You only get one chance a year to get Christmas right, so make sure that you prepare your house in advance. Here are some important Christmas cleaning chores that you should remember.
While it's not the most pleasant job, deep cleaning the bathroom is in everyone's interest. There's nothing worse than going to someone's house and feeling like using their bathroom leaves you dirty. Make sure you remember to clean the floor, not just the utilities, and stock up on toilet roll.
Before you cook on Christmas day, you'll need somewhere to store all of the food. Tidy cupboards will make it much easier to stay organised on the day. To make sure there's enough room, check the dates on all your existing food and throw out anything that has expired. If you have any long-life food that you're unlikely to eat, your local food bank will always appreciate donations.
When you're cooking for a large group, you want to have the best tools possible. Fully giving your oven a Christmas clean will make sure your turkey is cooked evenly and lowers the risk of a fire. The last thing you want is an old splash of fat setting the smoke alarm off.
If you're bringing down the spare chairs from the loft, they're probably covered in dust. Make sure you get them ready with enough time to wipe them down and clean any upholstery. You should also do this with any camp beds, sleeping bags or bedding that your guests will be using.
With Santa on his way, it's time to prepare for an influx of toys. This will be much easier to handle if existing toys are all tidied away. Even if your children are likely to get everything back out within the hour, it's worth making sure that everything has an established home as part of your Christmas cleaning checklist.
When you hang your stockings or leave food out for Father Christmas, you want it to be somewhere clean. Make sure you dust your fireplace in advance, especially if you don't do so often.
Increased traffic on your carpets will bring more dirt and drive old dirt further into your carpet. Especially if you have any babies or young children coming, deep cleaning your carpet will ensure the safety and comfort of your guests, while extending the life of your carpet.
When you have so much else to do, outsourcing Christmas cleaning can make your life easier. The National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) have a directory of accredited carpet cleaners throughout the UK. Simply tell us your postcode, and we'll show you local carpet cleaners who are up to our standards.
Start searching now or take a look at our FAQs.
You want potential customers to firstly discover you, but then actually make a booking. By making the path between discovering you and hiring you as simple as possible, you’ll make it more likely that clients follow it. Ensure that information is as readily available as possible, and that it's clear how to get in touch with you to make a booking.
Having a strong website is an important part of carpet cleaning lead generation. Clients will be able to get a feel for your business based on the branding of your website, so it's important it represents you. A good website is easy to navigate, with consistent branding and clear information.
To make yourself as discoverable as possible, make sure you have a profile on major social media platforms. Consider Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram as well as TikTok and YouTube if you want to get creative. This will provide another easy point of contact, encouraging potential customers to get in touch. It will also allow others to easily share your page, creating the opportunity to further your existing reach.
Using a chatbot on your website or social media is an easy way to gain carpet cleaning leads. Especially if you have a small business, it can be difficult to stay on top of messages. Customers can lose interest or go elsewhere if they don't receive a response in time. By setting up a chatbot to answer frequent questions and direct people to the right place, you can filter down the messages that you actually need to respond to personally.
There are several ways to collect reviews. You can ask clients for reviews via email or final forms, which you can then upload online yourself. Some social media platforms, such as Facebook, also allow customers to leave reviews directly on your page. Positive reviews are an excellent way to get carpet cleaning leads, as they provide endorsement from real people and show that you are trustworthy.
While this often comes with a fee, posting an advert for your service can be a valuable investment. These websites often have their own advertising and lead generation procedures, meaning that you benefit from the traffic that they bring in.
The National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) is an established directory of UK carpet cleaners. By upholding our standards and receiving our accreditation, you receive a place in this directory. Potential clients in your area can then easily find you, helping you generate carpet cleaning job leads.
You will also gain the right to use our logo and accreditation on your website, adding further endorsement to your existing marketing materials. Take a look at our membership page for more information, or call 01562 547754 with any questions.
With the countdown to Christmas well under way, it's time to pick out gifts for everyone in your life. One person that you might be struggling to find an interesting gift for is the friend or relative obsessed with cleaning. Whether they clean for you, themselves or a whole family, here are some unique cleaning gifts for the clean freak in your life.
The perfect Christmas gift for clean freaks with a desk job, a handheld vacuum cleaner will help with smaller messes. Some are even designed to clean a computer keyboard and prevent crumbs from burrowing between the keys.
With the recent focus on green solutions, there are many alternatives to single-use products. From kitchen towels to rubber gloves, you can help the clean freak in your life replace their disposable products.
While not many cleaning gift ideas are funny, mop slippers are suited to the neat freak with a sense of humour. These slippers clean the floor with every step, while keeping their feet cosy.
Sponge holders help kitchen sponges air dry, reducing the risk of mould. There are all sorts of sponge holders available, to prevent them sitting filthy on the side of the sink. Whether they like animals, fruit or cartoon characters, this is a quirky gift idea for cleaning nerds.
While they're on top of keeping the house clean, they may not have thought about the air. If their reason for cleaning a lot is allergies, this will help filter dust and other allergens out of the air. Air purifiers also minimise the chemical smell after cleaning.
These magnetic signs stick to the dishwasher door and can slide between the two states. This is great for the neat freak with a big family, who is constantly trying to stop everyone from loading dirty items into a clean dishwasher.
If they're constantly scrubbing dirt, their hands will be paying the price. A hand lotion with their favourite scent will be sure to moisturise their hands and help them heal. Whether your budget is tight or luxury, lotion is a great gift to make a recipient feel special.
Constantly in use, our phones are notorious for collecting bacteria. An electric phone sanitiser is an ideal gift for any germaphobe, to help keep their phone sparkling. Some even charge your phone, for extra efficiency.
One of the best gifts to make cleaning easier is a touchless soap dispenser. It eliminates the transfer of germs that comes with a regular dispenser, and only requires one hand.
One of the best cleaning gifts might actually be giving them the day off. Find someone to clean the carpets for them by searching our directory of UK carpet cleaners. The National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) requires all our members to be trained and insured, taking the legwork out of finding a reliable carpet cleaner.
Search our directory of trusted carpet cleaners for the ultimate cleaning gift for clean freaks!