Over the years, I have worked for many property management companies. What I have noticed is that there is a large majority of them that really don’t care how well the carpets are cleaned for the tenants that move into them. Their only concern is that it “looks” clean.
Most property management companies only care how cheaply they can be done. This has led to a multitude of cleaning companies who perform substandard work for them.
I can understand both sides reasoning, to a point. The property management companies think they are saving money and the carpet cleaners need to make profit in order to stay in business. So the carpet will not be properly cleaned if the carpet cleaning company can’t be compensated for a thorough cleaning or they simply don’t care to do the work properly.
It takes time to clean a carpet properly along with knowledge, experience, quality equipment and proper chemistry. I have been asked often to perform an estimate for apartment complexes and of course, I ask why they are looking for a new cleaner. More often than most, they tell me that the carpets take too long to dry and are always “crunchy” or “stiff” when they are walked on. For me, it is a relatively simple fix as it should be for the current carpet cleaning company.
What it comes down to is using the proper chemistry and using them correctly. The problem is that there are so many reasons why it isn’t happening. The carpet cleaning company may be using cheap cleaning chemicals, the technician may not be properly trained or just might not care to measure the correct amount of solution. As far as the carpet being to wet, that happens when they have to be rushed through the cleaning. This happens when you try to save money in order to make a profit.
In the long run, the carpet suffers. Using “cheap” chemicals or cleaning products that are not properly formulated for carpet cleaning, will cause problems like premature soiling or attract soil because of the residue it leaves in the fibers. Leaving the carpet too wet can cause dry rot and mold problems.
All of these issues could be eliminated if the carpet cleaning company cared enough to train the technician to do the work properly. The blame can’t be put only on them though. The property management company should also care enough to research and expect to pay a reasonable price to have the work performed correctly.
I have worked for some of these property management companies that only care how much they have to pay. I got fed up with them and quit cleaning apartments for many years. I refuse to do substandard work, buy cheap cleaning products or work for no profit.
I now clean for a property management company that found me through a referral. They are more than happy to pay a reasonable price for the carpets to be cleaned properly. We have an excellent working relationship with great communication. I have “saved” so many carpets from being replaced and they realize that I ultimately save them more money.