....In house area rug cleaning prices....

[renegade_cowboy]

For cleaning rugs in the customers house I usually charge $1 a sq ft and more for wool. I am having a hard time charging those prices for those synthetic Pottery Barn rugs that are lightly dirty if that. I charge 3 rooms for $129 and I did a cheap rug the other day that cost more than those 3 rooms together and took me a fraction of the time.

I know cleaning the rugs in plant is the way to go, but its not always a option.

How do you guys price out those crappy throw rugs that have little overall value compared to the high quality wool rugs?

 

[The Great Oz]

$1.13psf. It would cost twice that to properly clean in shop, so that's a bargain. You're taking a risk cleaning these in the home, so get paid for it.

Don't feel guilty for a second if you walk away, since the customer hammering you for a lower price won't feel guilty for a second when making you pay for any damage to the rug or floor.

 

[John Watson]

Brent, its not the good expensive rugs that get you in trouble...

Its the cheap expensive ones that do...Last ones I replaced were also from the pottery barn.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Its still hard to justify charging more for a rug that I clean the same way as I do wall to wall. I've cleaned a ton of rugs in house and in plant over the last 13 years with no problem of damage at all. I agree the in plant cleaning is the way to go, but majority of the rugs i encounter are very easy to clean without any concerns.

I use the same procedure and cleaning products to clean majority of these cheap Pottery Barn/Home Depot/Walmart, so how can I justify charging the customer so much more when the danger of damage isnt there and I use the same cleaning products? The nice wool rugs with fringes i take back to my "garage spa" and can easily justify the price.

Plus if you figure out the cost per sq ft for some of these rugs, it's actually cheaper than the wall to wall. This post is not directed at the high quality hand made wool rugs or other high quality made rugs, but the generic type you can go buy at Walmart for a couple hundred bucks.