[Deep Cleaning Solutions]

A few years ago I was concerned about the medium and especially long term market for carpet cleaning.

These concerns where mainly because of the laminate/hard floor explosion, but over the last 6months to a year I have seen a sea change in the habits of domestic customers.

In my area laminate seems to be coming a rare sight and carpets seem to be back in fashion. Yes carpets are much cheaper to buy compared to the past so sometimes it's an option for the customer to buy rather than clean but the good thing is their are plenty of carpets to clean out there!

I know a carpet supplier who has seen his business go through the roof this last 6 months, he has up to 10 vans on the road each day including subbies and he is only a small business and the great thing about it is that all the carpets that are in fashion are incredibly easy to clean.

I still think one day that they will come out with a flooring that will not need cleaning or get dirty that will change our business over night but my medium term view has changed and I think the next 5 to 10 years will still be productive for carpet cleaners.

[Jennifer w]

It's hard to argue with those facts......

[Hilton]

You do not see so much laminate because its crap, looks  cheap and does not clean well, my wife's friends husband is an assistant manager at BQ and he told me sales have fallen dramatically in the last 12 months.

If you think about it, it was big 10 ten years ago when it first was pushed hard by the hard flooring lobby endorsed by Allergy UK (what a joke that organisation is) and every one and his mate believed the propaganda, a few years on people have realised they were conned ,its terrible for allergies and wears even worse, so naturally people return to the warmth and comfort of carpet.

Unfortunately the bodies that represent carpet and carpet cleaners were very poor in the support of carpets and their benefits over hard flooring, although I suppose they will report now that it is due to their hard work that carpet is making a comeback.

[Dave_Lee]

True, Laminate is on the decline, however not all have swapped for carpeting, many have instead gone for proper wood flooring, which I am seeing more and more of.
Dave.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I remember in the 80's when people were ripping up carpet for the distressed floor board look then we had an influx of rugs 10-15 years on the same happened where cheap laminate flooded the market and rug cleaning was high volume, if you want something to worry about you'll find it, many years ago they said polypropylene carpet was the next best thing as you could clean it with bleach!! What worries me is why the star ship enterprise has no carpet as clean free carpet should have been developed by then.

Shaun

[garry22]

What worries me is why the star ship enterprise has no carpet as clean free carpet should have been developed by then.

Love it Shaun. Priceless. What an uplifting start to the weekend. 

[tony bish]

Laminate is ( especially the cheap stuff ),for want of a better description, compressed cardboard .The carpet suppliers knew this would reach a peak and people would find out its dirty little secrets regardless of their detrimental advertising aimed at soft flooring  ,but it did also kick the carpet industry up the preverbial jacksy .I have lost count of the laminate I have seen and taken up and refitted carpet,  that has swollen because of water ingress or in a consevatory and that the customers have reverted back to carpet  .A lot of people are having linoleum or vinyl now as oppose to laminate flooring,and of course their is a large market for hard flooring and rightly so ,but the carpet industry fought back and imo has come out the other side far better equiped than before  .