The Unexpected Costs of Carpet Cleaning Yourself: What You Need to Know.
A breakdown of what doing it yourself really costs
Self-promotion, well kind of, yes and no.
Hi, I’m Matt Martino, owner of Carpet Guy, a Fort Collins-based carpet cleaning company. This article aims to convince you why hiring a professional carpet cleaner is a more cost-effective solution than attempting to clean your carpets yourself. Even if you don’t choose to use Carpet Guy Carpet Cleaning, I want to help you make an informed decision on whether to hire a professional or rent a carpet cleaning machine.
While it’s true that professional-grade machines outperform rentals, there are other benefits to hiring a professional. Professional carpet cleaning may actually save you money, as well as time and effort while delivering superior results.
What companies who rent carpet cleaning machines won’t tell you
The unexpected costs of renting a carpet cleaning machine.
Let’s compare the cost of renting a carpet cleaner from your local grocery or big box store versus hiring a professional like myself. While I won’t mention specific brand names to avoid any legal issues, these rental machines are often marketed as highly effective for carpet cleaning.
However, let’s break down the costs. At the big box store nearest to me, renting a carpet cleaner costs $39.97 for a 24-hour rental period, but that doesn’t include a cleaning solution. Adding a cleaning and pet treatment solution will cost you an additional $47.41, and if you need high-traffic treatment or spot treatment for stains, that’s even more money out of your pocket. All told, you’re looking at a minimum of $93.02, without including tax. And that’s only for one area of carpet!
In contrast, I charge only $75 per area, which is already a better deal than renting the machine yourself, and I offer pet and high-traffic treatment at no extra cost. Plus, if you shop around, you may find other carpet cleaning companies offering similar deals. So why bother with the hassle and expense of renting a machine when you can get professional-quality carpet cleaning at a comparable or even lower cost?
| Rental Costs for Fort Collins, CO | |||
| Rooms | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Machine Rental 24hrs | 39.97 | 39.97 | 39.97 |
| Cleaning Solution | 25.97 | 51.94 | 77.91 |
| Spot treatment | 11.97 | 23.94 | 35.91 |
| Pet Stain Remover | 9.47 | 11.47 | 28.41 |
| Taxes | 5.64 | 8.69 | 11.76 |
| Total | 93.02 | 136.01 | 193.96 |
The cost of time to doing it yourself
It’s true that time is often overlooked as a cost factor when deciding whether to do a task yourself or hire someone else to do it. Your approach of considering the value of your time when deciding to DIY a task is a wise one. Here’s an example of how to use your formula:
Let’s say you want to clean the carpets in a few rooms of your home, and you’ve estimated that the job will take you:
- 1 hour to drive and rent the carpet cleaning machine
- 30 minutes to set up and learn how to use the machine at home
- 1.5 hours to clean the carpets in the rooms you want to clean
- 30 minutes to clean the machine and put everything back together
- 1 hour to drive the machine back and return it
So, the total time you’ll spend on this project is 4.5 hours. Using the minimum wage in Colorado of $13.65 per hour, the cost of your time for this project is $61.43.
Of course, there may be other factors to consider as well, such as the quality of the job done by the professional versus doing it yourself, or any other benefits or drawbacks to each approach. But considering the value of your time is an important step in making an informed decision.
Here are the times,
| Colorado minimum wage | 13.65 | ||
| Activity | Time (in hours) | ||
| Areas to be cleaned | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Drive and rent | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Learning and setup | 0.5 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Cleaning the carpet | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 |
| Clean up after | 0.5 | 0.75 | 1 |
| Returning the machine | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total time | 4.5 | 5.75 | 7 |
| Total time x wage | 61.43 | 78.49 | 95.55 |
If you were to pay yourself minimum wage it would cost $61.43 in labor for 1 area.
Total Costs
Now let’s look at the total cost, money spent, and the cost of your time.
| Areas to be cleaned | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Rental and supply costs | 93.02 | 136.01 | 193.96 |
| Your time cost | 61.43 | 78.49 | 95.55 |
| Total cost | 154.45 | 214.50 | 289.51 |
| Carpet Guy cost | 75 | 150 | 225 |
| Saving you | 79.45 | 64.50 | 64.51 |
As you can see here, if you value your time and money, hiring a professional to clean your carpets is more cost-effective, plus you get pet and high traffic treatment at no extra charge.
You can save even more money with bulk area deals, call for those details. We also offer Senior and Military discounts.
Final Thoughts
When you are choosing which professional to hire, please do the research. Of course, I am going to say that Carpet Guy will give you the most cost-effective, highest-quality professional carpet cleaning service in Northern Colorado. Even if you do choose to not go with Carpet Guy, please call around and talk to the professionals. Get price quotes, check which services they offer, and ask if they use EPA Safer Choice cleaning solutions that are safer for both the environment and your family.
Most importantly look on Google for a green circle with a checkmark next to their website. This is a Google Guarantee, it means Google has verified them and they have passed a background check. You are inviting us into your home, choose a professional that has been cleared as trustworthy and safe.
I hope this article helps you with your carpet cleaning needs. If you choose to go with Carpet Guy you can call me at (970) 290-7242 or go to CarpetGuyCO.com
Best Regards,
Matt Martino
Owner of Carpet Guy