With the multitude of carpet cleaning companies available, it can be difficult to decipher how they price their services. There are several variations of carpet cleaning pricing methods. Of the many variations, there are three primary methods carpet cleaning providers use to determine their service price.

Following are primary carpet cleaning pricing methods used by carpet cleaning providers

Specific Room
This carpet cleaning pricing method is designed to provide the provider is simplicity. Most large franchises have the tendency to use this method in order to streamline their pricing. An example of such pricing is $40 for each bedroom and $20 for each stairway. From the consumer aspect, this downside of such pricing is that a bedroom with 300 square feet will have the same cleaning costs as a bedroom with 100 square feet.

By the Area
By the area pricing is second most common carpet cleaning pricing method. An example of by the area pricing is $25 for each area/room. So if you have 4 rooms, the carpet cleaning cost will be $100. This method is commonly used by independently owned and operated carpet cleaning providers. Most providers use this method not only because of its simplicity, but it also allows pricing for different levels of services. To illustrate, $25 per area for basic service, $35 per area for gold service and $45 per area for platinum service.

Square Footage
Square footage pricing is the most commonly used pricing method. To illustrate how this pricing method works, the provider takes the square footage of each room and multiply it by square footage price. For example, 1000 x $0.25 = $500. Most cleaning providers use this method because of its simplicity to meet revenue goals. They will calculate the needed square footage to charge each client in order to profit.

Bait & Switch
Bait & Switch is the worse method. As a matter of fact, this method is against the law. The way this method works is, the carpet cleaning provider will give the client a very, very low price (example $30) in order to get into your home. Once inside your home, the provider will perform the cleaning as normal. After cleaning, they will give you an outrageous invoice for an amount not agreed upon (example $400). In order to avoid bait & switch, always ask for an invoice BEFORE cleaning starts.