Who pays for carpet cleaning?

 

Check with your local city regulations about cleaning carpets when moving out.

I often hear that the landlord wants the tenant moving out to clean the carpets. If you don’t then the owner might charge you for the cleaning.

If they gave you a clean carpet then they probably expect a clean carpet returned. But after a year of use or 20 years of using the carpet the carpet will not ever look like it did when it was new or newer.

There will be wear and tear which means that the results of walking on a carpet will be noticeable. Walking on the carpet will untwist the fibers because that is what happens when you walk on carpets. Also the dirt will fade the color on the carpet and make it look darker or lighter or both. Even the sun going through windows will fade or discolor carpets and floors.

The walk areas will never look like the areas where no one ever walks.

What if the tenant decided to get a dog and now the dog “went” on the carpet? A carpet is not a litter box that is not normal wear and tear. If the owner knew about the dog there might have been a higher deposit in case the carpet had to be replaced.

Or if you had a lot of drinks with artificial colors and it added color to the carpet, that is not normal wear and tear, it is more like neglect.

If urine or color stains are present the owner might have to replace the carpet because the cost of repairing it might be much more than the actual cost of replacing the carpet.

You should take pictures of before you moved in and record any odor areas or discoloration or wear on the carpet so you can prove that was pre-existing.

 

Some owners or managers tell you that if you hire a carpet cleaner that is not approved then they still are going to charge you for carpet cleaning. That might make you decide to have them clean it, but I don’t believe that is a good idea because now they are going to see any problems on the carpet and make it easier for them to charge you for carpet replacement, which could be a couple of thousand dollars for a one bedroom apartment.

I recommend having the carpet cleaned by someone on your side and you take pictures of how you left the carpet when you moved out.

If I find a lot of problems on a carpet I will try to remove them so another carpet cleaner or an owner wont see them so easily and that could potentially save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.  Call us to clean your carpets in Union City Ca and nearby areas