Frequently Asked Questions
You have many options for carpet cleaning in Boston and here is a list of things that will help make your decisions:
First, gather a list of the things you'd like cleaned - wall to wall carpeting, stairs, rugs, furniture - along with their approximate sizes and type of carpeting/rug or furniture fabric. This will help in comparing apple to apple quotes.
Check who cleans all the items you want cleaned (some only clean rugs, some only wall to wall carpeting, and some only furniture).
Do you want eco-friendly/non-toxic cleaning or traditional cleaning with chemicals?
Decide if you want your items cleaned onsite or offsite. For wall to wall carpeting, stairs and furniture, they need to be cleaned onsite. For rugs you have an onsite or offsite option; onsite is less expensive.
Check if the company is local and what people say about it.
Start reaching out to make your decision.
We hope you will consider Lily's Correct Carpet Cleaning: https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com where our prices are transparent: https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com/services, we answer our phone and text: 617.510.3604, and we have an easy order form to fill out which we repond to quickly: https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com/order-form.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Luckily Boston has options for eco-friendly carpet/rug/furniture cleaning. When we first started Lily's Correct Carpet Cleaning in 2003 we were the first "green" and "eco-friendly" company. Green and eco-friendly products were still viewed with caution and synonomous with not working well! Our first clients were very committed to being green and tended to cluster in parts of Boston and Cambridge. Then the Mom groups heard about us and our results, and the animal lover groups started calling soon after. The rest is history! Luckily the attitude to green products has changed A LOT in 23 years!
Give us a call: 617.510.3604 or fill out our order form: https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com/order-form. We look forward to hearing from you!
YES!
We understand that accidents happen, especially if you have kids and animals. If a spill or accident has just happened, call us: 617.510.3604. Depending on our schedule we may be able to come immediately or that day. If we can't come that day, we can tell you what to do/not do with the spill or accident so no additional harm is done. If we are unable to help based on our schedule that week or if the spill or accident sounds beyond our scope we will suggest other companies for you to try. Responding immediately is key. We look forward to hearing from you: 617.510.3604.
Jonathan has been working with oriental rugs in the Back Bay, South End, Beacon Hill, Cambridge, Chestnut Hill, Newton, Weston, Newburyport, and other towns for a LONG time, for 30+ years! He started learning from seasoned rug cleaners in Cambridge in his youth and returned to it after having children, wanting to provide the safest and cleanest space possible for them. At that time, most rug cleaning plants were offsite which meant taking the rug offsite and being without it for a couple of weeks. Jonathan wanted to create a service that was convenient for you and perfected cleaning oriental rugs in your home. There may be times when a major accident or spill has occured on an oriental, that Lily's will recommend sending the rug offsite for full immersion cleaning. But for most oriential rugs, Lily's can service them in your home making it a one stop shop for all your cleaning needs - rugs, wall to wall carpeting, furniture, and stairs: https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com/services.
The cost of professional carpet cleaning can differ quite a lot and it pays to check what those costs will be. Some cleaners have a basic rate but will charge for level of soiling, same day service, if you need to take equipment up flights of stairs etc. Lily's Carpet Cleaning's pricing is transparent on our Services Page https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com/services where the cost of the items we clean are listed, along with our minimum, parking information, and travel outside of Boston information. We don't charge extra for same day service, particular types of soiling, or taking equipment upstairs. If you see Lily's staff going above and beyond feel free to complement a job well done with a small tips - they always appreciate that! Check out our pricing and give us a call or fill in the order form.
We are often asked this question - why eco-friendly/green and what's the difference? Traditional carpet cleaning uses an assortment of chemicals, some of which may irritate people and pets, and cause havoc in the environment. The active ingredient found in most rug, carpet and furniture shampoo is perchlorethylene or perc. It’s also used by most drycleaners. Perc has been linked to numerous health and environmental problems: it is documented in air; soil; and sediments. It is a Hazardous Air Pollutant under the Clean Air Act, and is regulated by the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the “Superfund” Act. Perc is a neurotoxin, a liver and kidney toxin, and a possible developmental and reproductive toxin. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies perc as a probable carcinogen and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends perc be handled as a human carcinogen.
The dangers of carpet cleaners received a lot of publicity when John Travolta’s son who was only 15 months at the time, was hospitalized after inhaling fumes from carpet cleaning solutions. He was diagnosed with a relatively rare disease called Kawasaki syndrome, a serious rash condition contracted generally by children. Some studies have suggested a link between carpet cleaners and Kawasaki disease, although the evidence is not conclusive.
We are not interested in discrediting another service. We just think consumers have the right to know what choices are available to them. At Lily’s we offer an alternative to the traditional chemical based methods by reverting back to old fashioned non-toxic, eco-friendly soaps, water and elbow grease. That's why nearly all products we use are DfE certified (see below question for details).
Many people ask why we don’t make “Lily’s Carpet / Rug / Furniture Cleaning Solutions”. It’s an easy answer. The world of green chemistry is constantly changing as alternatives to toxic ingredients in cleaning products are developed. Cleaning product formulations are continuously improving and Lily’s improves with them. As greener products come onto the market, Lily’s tests them to see if they perform as well or better than what is already being used. If so, they are incorporated into Lily’s cleaning product collection. This way Lily’s uses the greenest products available and isn’t tied to a stockpile of cleaning products that are no longer the greenest in the market.
Nearly all the products Lily’s use are U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) DfE (Design for Environment) certified http://www.epa.gov/dfe/. This means that the DfE scientific review team has screened each ingredient in a product for potential human health and environmental effects and has determined that the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class. These products are used minimally with water for great success.
How often you clean your carpets, rugs and furniture is very dependent on their use. Some people have small children, animals, and wear their shoes inside, and some people live quiet lifestyles on their own and only wear indoor shoes.
A good rule of thumb is once a year to a year and a half. For those with minimal use, every two years is fine. If you have a lot of activity, it may be every 9 months or so, or an event may trigger a carpet cleaning like a child/animal accident, a spill, a wild party, etc.
When you feel that ick, it's probably time to give us a call or use the order form!
Lily’s comes to your home; all work is done right before your eyes. A powerful commercial cleaning machine is used along with DfE certified cleaning products, MINIMAL water and elbow grease. Yes, the guys will actually scrub by hand if appropriate rather than use harsh chemicals or scrubbing machines. Water will be used from your kitchen / bathroom, an outlet will be used for electricity and your toilet will be used for grey water.
It is helpful to move any small items or furniture out of the room to be cleaned. If a piece of furniture does not have legs, we can clean around it, dry vac under it, or the furniture can be left off the carpet until it is completely dry. Lily’s team is happy to help you move any furniture you like free of charge, within reason of course!
We suggest staying off the cleaned surface as much as possible. However, it will not harm the carpeting / rugs if you need to walk on them. A clean pair of flip flops helps to minimize dirt being tracked back into the moist carpeting / rug. It is safe to be in your home after we leave.
There are ways to help the drying process. Depending on the season, Lily’s team will advise you on the best methods.
At Lily's we have found that pets seem to like it when we visit! Recently we were at a long term client in Charlestown, Sarah M, who has 2 beautiful "ragdoll" kittys - 3 year old boy, Tank, and 5 year old girl, Tuna, who you can see in the pictures below. They watch the staff, follow them around, sniff at the machines and equipment and can't wait for us to leave so they can explore! Check out our blogpost for more details about them: https://www.bostongreencarpetcleaning.com/post/why-lilys-correct-carpet-cleaning-loves-pets
If your animals don't like new people or are at risk of escaping, no worries, put them in a section of the house that they can enjoy while we perform our service. The newly fresh rugs and furniture won't bother them, and if our experience with other households tells the picture, they will enjoy the results!
Accidents happen! If you have children and animals you know that only too well. There are things you can do to reduce permanent damage depending on the type of soiling. We are happy to provide advice when accidents happen. Give us a call.
When we come to clean accidents we often use enzymes. This can help break down the proteins that cause undesirable stains and smells. It's been our experience that they help remove moderate levels of odors.
We have cleaned for many people with allergies and asthma with great results. They have found that our process with non irritating cleaners and water minimizes their triggers.