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What changes a carpet cleaning quote
A carpet cleaning price depends on the rooms, the fibre, the stairs and whether furniture has to move. Compare quotes that name the rooms, the fibre, the stairs and any furniture that must move.
Last reviewed:Name the carpets, not the whole house
A carpet clean is a list of surfaces. Fitted rooms, a stair runner, a rug that can leave the house, and a wool bedroom that the cleaner will only dry-soil are different visits. When you ask for a price, count the rooms, say which floors, and say whether anyone will move the beds and the sofa. A cleaner who includes moving furniture is not pricing the same hour as a cleaner who asks you to empty the room first. Write that down before you compare totals.
The table is the lines to make both cleaners write. VAT registration, when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, is a tax rule and not a cleaning price [S3].
| Line | What to make both cleaners write |
|---|---|
| Rooms and stairs, listed | A landing is easy to forget |
| Fibre, if you know it, and any label that forbids soaking | Wool and a synthetic tile can need different machines |
| Who moves the furniture | Time and damage sit in this line |
| Stains you can already see, photographed | A maintenance clean is not a stain rescue |
| Products, and whether anyone in the house must avoid a smell | Agree it before the machine arrives |
| Drying time and when the room can be walked on | A same-evening party is a different request |
| VAT | Included or not. Registration when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000 [S3] |
The allergy leaflet is not a price list
Cambridge University Hospitals' leaflet on dust mites says it is designed for people who have been diagnosed as allergic to house dust mite, and that the measures should only be used when that diagnosis has been made, together with advice from the allergy clinic, usually as well as medical treatment [S1]. It was approved on 12 March 2024 [S1]. Mites, it says, live in homes despite normal cleaning, feed on shed skin, and are found in mattresses and bedding and also in carpets, upholstery, chairs, curtains and clothing [S1]. They prefer warm, humid conditions [S1].
The leaflet says measures lower allergens but do not remove them, and that doing one or two measures inconsistently is unlikely to make a difference [S1]. Concentrate on the bedroom, where it says levels are highest [S1]. General tips include vacuuming at least once a week, ideally not by the allergic person, and damp dusting at least once a week [S1]. If you have the allergy and have to vacuum, it says anti-allergy vacuum cleaners with a HEPA filter which do not blow out dust may be helpful [S1]. For a severe allergy, it says consider vinyl or wood floors instead of fitted carpets, especially in the bedroom [S1]. Other rooms: thorough vacuuming of carpets, sofas and upholstered chairs, and damp dusting, at least once a week [S1].
If a dehumidifier is used, keep indoor humidity under 50% but over 30% [S1]. The person with the allergy should stay out of the bedroom while the bed is stripped and for at least half an hour after it is remade [S1]. Sprays aimed at mites are not recommended [S1]. None of those sentences is a quote for a van, a machine and a stair tool. If you have the diagnosis, you can show the leaflet to a cleaner and ask which of its lines they will actually do. If you do not have the diagnosis, do not hire a clean because the leaflet exists.
End of a tenancy is a deposit question, not a tariff
People ask for a carpet clean when they leave a rented home. Who pays is set by the tenancy. What GOV.UK does say, on the tenancy deposit disputes page, is that your tenancy deposit protection scheme offers a free dispute resolution service if you disagree with your landlord about how much of the deposit should be returned [S4]. You do not have to use the service. If you do, both sides have to agree to it, both are asked for evidence, and the decision is final [S4]. Photographs of the carpets when you leave are evidence you can keep. They are not, by themselves, a price.
If you want a cleaner before you hand the keys back, describe the condition notes you were given and the date you must leave. Ask the cleaner what happens if a mark remains. Get that in writing. Citizens Advice still wants you to know whether you hold a fixed price or a rough guess [S2].
How to compare two carpet quotes
Get written quotes from at least three traders where you can [S2]. Do not rely on a verbal price [S2]. Be wary of a figure far below the others, which may leave out the stairs or the furniture [S2]. A useful quote shows a fixed total, a breakdown, how long it stays open, and whether VAT is included [S2]. Some traders charge to come and look. Ask before they travel. Citizens Advice does not describe that charge as a discount off the clean [S2].
If a deposit cannot be avoided, do not agree to more than 25%, take a receipt, and ask whether the money is protected if the firm stops trading [S2]. Ask to see insurance that lasts until the carpets are dry [S2]. Then put both quotes on the table above. The one that says "whole house" without a room list is the one to send back.
Rugs, runners and the stair tool
A rug that can be lifted is a different object from a carpet that is grippered to the floor. Say which you have. A cleaner who takes rugs away to a workshop is not pricing the same visit as a cleaner who works in the room. Stairs need a tool that reaches a narrow tread. If the quote is silent about the stairs, ask whether they are excluded. A landing with a turn is slower than a straight flight, so count the turns in the job text.
Pets and shoes change the soil in the pile. You do not need a laboratory result. Say if a dog lives there, if the hall is the way in from the street, and if a previous clean left the pile sticky. Those facts stop one cleaner pricing a light maintenance pass while another prices a heavy soil. Neither figure is printed here. The point is that both should be pricing the pile you actually have.
Cheshire rooms
QuoteZila is new and is starting in Cheshire, with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach first. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business [QZ5]. Say how many flights, whether pets live there, and whether you need the rooms walked on the same evening. How many cleaners reply depends on who has joined [QZ5].
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Up to five matched local businesses can send quotes [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
Posting a job is not open yet
The trade pages are carpet cleaners and cleaners. House cleaner cost is about reading a cleaning quote for a whole home. Locksmith cost is a different job, linked only as another guide to written prices.
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Send both cleaners the same list of rooms, including the stairs and the landing, and say who will move the furniture. Photograph stains you can already see, and say whether anyone in the house needs to avoid a strong smell. A maintenance visit and a rescue of an old stain are different requests, so name which one you want. Ask when the room can be walked on again. If one price includes the stairs and the other stops at the living room, the lower figure is not the same job.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Three bedrooms and the stairs in Crewe. I will move the beds. Please say if the quote assumes that, and name the machine you will use on the landing."
- "Nantwich. Allergy clinic has diagnosed house dust mite. I will show you the hospital leaflet. Please say which of its carpet lines you will do, and do not promise a cure."
- "Sandbach. Leaving a rented flat on a named date. I want the carpets listed room by room. I am not asking you to decide a deposit."
This page is the list of lines to compare on a carpet cleaning quote, while what changes a carpet washing visit is about washing the fitted carpet you already have, including the stairs and the soiling, and it prints no room price.
Questions about carpet quotes
Why will two cleaners price the same room differently?
Because the room is not the whole job. Stairs, a landing, a fitted wardrobe the machine cannot pass, and a wool pile that must not be soaked all change the time and the machine. Ask each cleaner to walk the same rooms and to write the same list. Citizens Advice says a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is a rough guess, so ask which one you were given. Ask for one written total for the rooms you named, rather than a bare hourly figure.
Does the hospital leaflet tell everyone to replace carpets?
No. Cambridge University Hospitals' dust-mite leaflet, approved on 12 March 2024, is for people diagnosed as allergic to house dust mite, used with the allergy clinic. It says mites are found in carpets as well as in mattresses and bedding. For a severe allergy it says consider vinyl or wood floors instead of fitted carpets, especially in the bedroom. Without that diagnosis, the leaflet is not an instruction to lift your carpets.
What does the leaflet actually say about vacuuming carpets?
For people with that diagnosis, it says vacuum at least once a week, ideally not done by the person with the allergy, and in other rooms it says thorough vacuuming of carpets, sofas and upholstered chairs, plus damp dusting, at least once a week. If the allergic person has to vacuum, it says anti-allergy cleaners with a HEPA filter which do not blow dust out may be helpful. Those lines are allergy advice. They are not a specification you can hand to a cleaner as a price.
If a landlord deducts for carpets, who decides?
The tenancy, not a cleaning quote, decides whether a landlord can require a professional clean. GOV.UK's tenancy deposit disputes page says your tenancy deposit protection scheme offers a free dispute resolution service if you disagree about how much of the deposit should be returned. You do not have to use it. If you do, both you and the landlord have to agree, you both provide evidence, and the decision is final. A cleaning quote is not that decision.
Should I expect VAT on a carpet quote?
Only if the business is VAT-registered. GOV.UK says a business must register when taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. Citizens Advice says the quote should state whether VAT is included. Ask for one total. A price that excludes tax is not comparable with a price that includes it.
Does QuoteZila check the businesses?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
Part of Cost guides. All services
Related trades
Cost guides
Related pages
- Carpet washing: what changes the visit. Carpet washing in Cheshire depends on the rooms, the stairs and the soiling. This guide prints no cleaning price. It shows what to ask before you book a visit.
- CCTV Installation Cost: What Changes the Price. Cameras, recorder, cabling, power and privacy rules: what moves a home CCTV installation quote in Cheshire, and how to compare installers' written prices.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila public pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila terms, customers.
- QZ5: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila coverage wording.
- S1: Dust mites in your home, Cambridge University Hospitals. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.cuh.nhs.uk/patient-information/dust-mites-in-your-home/
- S2: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S3: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S4: Tenancy deposit protection: disputes and problems, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-25. https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/disputes-and-problems