Replace or Clean? A Chicago Homeowner's Guide to Tired Carpet

Key Takeaways

• Most "tired" carpet is dirty, not worn. Gray traffic lanes, a dull overall color, matted pile and a collection of spots are what cleaning restores.
• Cleaning cannot restore five things: delamination and buckling, permanent bleach or dye damage, urine saturated into the pad and subfloor, mold after flooding, and pile worn through to the backing.
• Look under the sofa. If the carpet that has been covered for years looks like new, the rest of the room is dirty, and cleaning will get it most of the way back.
• The cost comparison, stated honestly: three areas cleaned with protector is $275 on our schedule. New carpet costs several times that, and an installer quotes it, not us.
• A move-out is the one time the carpet is empty and the cheapest time to find out which group it is in.
• We clean carpet; we do not sell it, so we have no reason to talk you into either answer.

Start With What You Are Actually Looking At

"Tired" is the word for a carpet that has stopped looking like the one you bought, and there are two reasons that happens. One is soil: grit ground into the pile, an oily film from feet and cooking that binds dust to the fiber and turns the lanes gray, spots that were never fully removed, crushed pile. The other is wear and damage: fiber that is gone, backing that has come apart, dye that has been removed. Soil comes out. Damage does not.

The quickest way to tell them apart is in your own living room. Slide the sofa a foot and look at the carpet that has been under it. If it is the color and height the rest of the room used to be, the difference between that rectangle and the walkway is soil and crushing, and cleaning closes most of the gap. If the protected rectangle is also thin, stiff or discolored, the carpet has aged everywhere, and cleaning will make it cleaner without making it new.

What Cleaning Restores

• Traffic lanes. The gray path from the hallway to the kitchen is oil-bound soil, and truck-mounted hot water extraction rinses it out, and on most carpets the lane fades to the point that you stop seeing it.
• Overall soil and dullness. A carpet that looks faded is usually dirty. Soil scatters light and grays every color; the rinse brings the color back.
• Most stains. Our stain removal page lists each one with an honest outlook; most are usually removable, and the set-in ones often lighten. Stain treatment is $15 per area.
• Pet spots caught in time. Recent accidents that have not soaked through to the pad come out with an enzyme treatment and extraction, and deodorizer at $15 per area handles what is left of the smell. Our pet stain and odor removal service covers the ones that went deeper.
• Matted pile, groomed. Pile that has been crushed flat is lying down, not gone. The $50 CRB deep-clean upgrade works the pile from both sides with counter-rotating brushes, lifts the embedded soil and stands the crushed lanes back up.

What Cleaning Cannot Restore

• Delamination and buckling. When the glue between the two backing layers fails, they separate and the carpet feels loose and bubbly underfoot: that is delamination, and it means replacement. Ripples across a room are buckling, the carpet having stretched, and an installer can often re-stretch it. Cleaning does neither.
• Permanent bleach or dye damage. A bleach drip or a spill of a bleaching bathroom cleaner takes the dye out of the fiber, and there is no dye to bring back. Dye that went in can sometimes be lightened; dye that was removed cannot be replaced.
• Urine saturated into the pad and subfloor. A few spots that reached the pad can be treated: we saturate the spot, apply an enzyme, flush it with hot water extraction, treat the pad and, when needed, seal the subfloor. A room where a UV light shows urine across most of the floor is different. The pad is done even if the carpet is cleanable, and often both are.
• Mold after flooding. Carpet that stayed wet after a flood, a burst pipe or a sewer backup has mold in the pad. Mold in carpet padding cannot be fully removed with household products; the affected padding needs professional extraction or replacement.
• Pile worn through to the backing. Where the backing shows through in a doorway or at the foot of the stairs, the fiber is gone. Cleaning makes the surrounding carpet look better, which can make the bare patch stand out more.

A Decision Checklist

Ten questions. Count the answers and the decision usually makes itself.

1. Does the carpet under the furniture look much better than the walkways? Yes leans clean.
2. Is the pile the same height everywhere, just flattened in the lanes? Yes leans clean; bare backing anywhere leans replace.
3. Does the carpet lie flat, with no ripples, bubbles or a loose feel? Yes leans clean; ripples need an installer, bubbles need replacement.
4. Are the spots things that were spilled, rather than places where color is missing? Spilled leans clean; missing color leans replace or a patch.
5. With the lights off, does a UV flashlight show a few urine spots or a floor full of them? A few leans clean with treatment; a floor full leans replace the pad at least.
6. Has the carpet ever been soaked by a flood or a leak and left to dry on its own? No leans clean; yes with a musty smell leans replace the pad.
7. Is the smell soil and pet, or damp and earthy? Soil and pet come out; damp and earthy is in the pad.
8. Is the carpet less than about ten years old, with a known fiber? Yes leans clean; an unknown fiber of unknown age leans replace.
9. Do you plan to stay, or keep the tenant, for more than a year? Yes leans clean now and decide later.
10. Has it ever been professionally cleaned? If not, you do not yet know which group it is in. Clean it first; it is the cheapest way to find out.

The Cost Comparison, Stated Honestly

Our side is published and flat. Carpet is priced per area, an area being one room or open space up to 300 sq ft: $100 for one area, $180 for two, and $50 for each additional area, with a $180 appointment minimum ($220 inside Chicago ZIP codes). A living room, a hallway and a bedroom, cleaned and protected:

Add the $50 CRB upgrade for matted lanes and it is $325; add deodorizer on all three areas and it is $370. Stairs are $4.80 per step. More worked examples are on the Chicago carpet cleaning cost page, and every rate is on the pricing page.

The other side is not ours to price. New carpet is quoted by an installer after measuring, on the fiber, the grade, the pad, removal and installation. What we can say honestly is that for the same three rooms, new carpet costs several times what a cleaning does. We do not publish a replacement figure, because we do not sell carpet. What a cleaning gives you is certainty: for $275 you find out whether the carpet was dirty or worn, and if it was worn, you call an installer with a clear answer.

The Move-Out and Landlord Angle

A move is the one time the carpet is empty, and empty rooms clean best. The wand covers the whole floor edge to edge, under where the bed stood and into the corners that never get touched, so a move-out carpet cleaning is also the most accurate test of which group a carpet is in. If it does not come up well with nothing in the way, you have your answer before the listing photos or the next lease.

For tenants, a clean carpet is a common lease condition, and our invoice arrives by email, itemized by area and add-on, ready to forward with the move-out notice. For landlords and property managers, the question is whether to turn the unit with a cleaning or a replacement, and the walk-through answers it: the technician counts the areas, checks for pet urine from the previous tenant with a UV light, and quotes treatment before starting. A unit with a few urine spots is cleaned and treated in one appointment. A unit where the UV light shows the whole bedroom floor is a pad replacement, and we say so.

If You Do Replace

Three things to carry forward. Ask the installer about the pad, because the pad decides how long the carpet lasts. Most carpet manufacturers ask for professional hot water extraction every 12 to 18 months, with receipts kept, to keep the warranty in force. And have protector applied after that first carpet cleaning; reapplying after each cleaning is what keeps the lanes from graying in year two.

IICRC-certified technicians, family-owned since 1998, 4.9 stars from 300+ Google reviews. Not happy? Call us within 7 days and we will re-clean the area or refund your payment. Same-week appointments, same-day when available: Chicago (773) 997-1807, Northbrook (847) 994-1171, Bloomingdale (630) 822-7155, Clarendon Hills (630) 822-7133.

FAQ: Replace or Clean

How do I know if my carpet is too old to clean?

Look at the carpet that has been under the furniture. If it looks like the carpet you bought, the walkways are dirty and crushed, not worn, and cleaning restores most of the difference. If the covered carpet is also thin, stiff or discolored, cleaning will make it cleaner but not new.

Can cleaning fix matted traffic lanes?

Usually. Matted pile is lying down, not gone. The $50 CRB deep-clean upgrade works the pile from both sides with counter-rotating brushes, lifts the embedded soil and stands the crushed lanes back up. Where the backing shows through the pile, the fiber is worn away, and cleaning cannot replace it.

Is it worth cleaning carpet that I might replace anyway?

If the new carpet is already ordered, no. If you are deciding, yes, because cleaning is the cheapest way to find out which group the carpet is in. Three areas with protector is $275 on our schedule; if the carpet comes up well, you have saved the replacement, and if not, you have a clear answer.

Can you clean carpet with pet urine instead of replacing it?

It depends on how far the urine went, which is why the technician checks with a UV light at the walk-through. A few spots that reached the pad can be treated, including the pad and, when needed, the subfloor. A floor where the UV light shows urine across most of the room is a pad replacement, and we will tell you that.

How much does cleaning cost compared with replacing carpet?

Cleaning is flat and published: $100 for one area, $180 for two, $50 for each additional area, with a $180 minimum ($220 inside Chicago ZIP codes), so three areas with protector is $275. New carpet costs several times that for the same rooms, and an installer quotes it after measuring.

Will a landlord accept a cleaning invoice instead of new carpet?

That is between you and the lease, but most leases ask for a clean carpet rather than a new one. Our invoice is emailed from the booking system, itemized by area and add-on, and ready to forward with a move-out notice. For a landlord turning a unit, the walk-through and UV check tell you whether to clean and treat or replace the pad.