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H1: Specialist carpet cleaning, stain removal and repair
A landlord in Southville called us about a rental property carpet last spring. Two previous cleaning companies had tried to get out a set of red wine stains. Both failed. The landlord was about to rip the whole carpet out and replace it. We got the stains out in under an hour with hot water extraction and a targeted oxidising treatment. The carpet’s still there now.
We don’t just clean carpets. We restore them. And we’re one of the only companies in Bristol that can actually repair carpet damage: burns, tears, iron marks, pet scratches, bleach spots. Most companies will tell you to replace it. We’ll try to save it first.
If your carpet needs more than a quick going-over, call us on 07985 505061. We can usually get to you within a few days.
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25 years’ experience | £2M insured (AXA) | IICRC certified | Carpet repair specialists
Why DIY and Hire Machines Don’t Work
You can hire a Rug Doctor from B&Q in Cribbs Causeway for about £30 a day. Plenty of people do. And for a light refresh on a carpet that’s already in decent shape, it’s fine.
But here’s what those machines can’t do.
They don’t get hot enough. Hire machines heat water to around 60°C. Our truck-mounted units run at over 100°C. That temperature difference matters. Hot water breaks down grease, kills dust mites, and lifts ground-in dirt that warm water just sits on top of.
They leave carpets soaking wet. Hire machines put water in but don’t extract it properly. You’re left with damp carpet for two or three days. That’s a mould risk. Our industrial extraction pulls out 95% of the moisture. Carpets are dry within hours, not days.
They can’t remove set stains. A hire machine has one cleaning solution and one approach. We carry a range of targeted spotting agents: acid-based for rust and iron marks, enzymatic for pet urine and blood, oxidising agents for wine and coffee, solvent-based for paint and grease. Different stains need different chemistry.
They can push stains deeper. Without the right pre-treatment, scrubbing a stain with a hire machine can force it further into the carpet fibre and the underlay. We’ve been called out several times to fix carpets that were actually made worse by DIY attempts. One job on Gloucester Road last year, the homeowner had used bleach on a coffee stain. The coffee was gone. So was the carpet colour. We re-dyed the affected area.
Personally, I think the hire machine industry has done a brilliant job of making people believe professional results are possible with consumer equipment. They’re not. The gap between a £30 hire and our truck-mounted extraction system is enormous.
Stains We Handle
We’ve removed stains that other companies have walked away from. Here’s a realistic breakdown of what we deal with regularly.
Red wine. The classic. Best treated quickly, but we’ve saved carpets where the wine had been sitting for weeks. Oxidising agents break the pigment down without damaging the fibre.
Blood. Enzymatic treatment breaks down the protein. Cold water, never hot (heat sets blood stains permanently). We handle this regularly on crime scene and trauma cleans too.
Pet urine. This one’s tricky because the stain you can see on the surface is only part of the problem. Urine soaks through to the underlay and sometimes the floorboards. We use UV light to map the full extent of contamination, then treat with enzymatic cleaners that neutralise the uric acid crystals. If the underlay is saturated, we’ll tell you honestly: sometimes it needs replacing. The carpet itself can usually be saved.
Iron and rust marks. Burns from dropped straighteners or irons. These leave a brown or orange mark that household cleaners won’t shift. We use acid-based treatments specifically formulated for iron oxide. Most marks come out completely. Some deep burns leave slight texture damage, and we’ll be upfront about that.
Paint and adhesive. Depends on whether it’s water-based or solvent-based. Fresh emulsion is straightforward. Dried gloss paint or superglue is harder but usually manageable with the right solvent.
Coffee and tea. Tannin stains. Very common, very treatable. Even old ones.
Ink. Ballpoint, marker, printer ink. Each needs a different solvent approach, but most come out.
Mud and ground-in dirt. Not glamorous, but this is probably our most common job. Hallway carpets in family homes around Bishopston and Horfield that have had a few years of school shoes, dog walks, and pushchairs. Industrial extraction pulls out embedded soil that vacuuming misses entirely.
Carpet Repair: Something Most Companies Can’t Do
This is where we’re genuinely different. Most carpet cleaning companies in Bristol clean carpets. That’s it. We also repair them.
Burn repairs. Cigarette burns, iron burns, hair straightener marks. We cut out the damaged section and patch it with matching carpet from an offcut, a hidden area (under furniture or inside a wardrobe), or a close match. When done properly, the repair is invisible or close to it.
Tear and rip repairs. Pets, furniture legs, hoovers catching a loose edge. We re-seam, re-stretch, and bond the carpet back together. Small tears are a quick fix. Larger ones take more time but still cost a fraction of replacement.
Bleach spot repair. Someone’s spilled bleach and left a pale patch. We can re-dye the affected area to match the surrounding carpet. Colour matching takes skill, and it won’t fool a forensic analyst, but to the naked eye the result is usually spot on.
Re-stretching. Carpets that have gone baggy or wrinkled, usually because they weren’t fitted properly or the gripper rods have failed. We re-stretch using a power stretcher and re-fix to the grippers. Flat carpet again, no replacement needed.
Threshold and edge repairs. Door bars coming loose. Carpet fraying at the edges where it meets hard flooring. We trim, bind and refit.
Here’s the commercial reality. A new fitted carpet for an average room in Bristol costs £400 to £800 depending on quality. A repair typically costs £80 to £200. If you’re a landlord turning properties around in BS3, BS5 or BS7, that saving adds up fast across a portfolio.
If you just need a quick vacuum and a spray of Febreze, we’re probably not your best option. A regular domestic cleaner can do that for a lot less.
Our Process
Step 1: Assessment
We look at the carpet before we touch it. Fibre type matters (wool, polypropylene, nylon and blends all respond differently to cleaning chemicals). We check the stains, the overall condition, and whether any repairs are needed. For quotes over the phone, photos help.
Step 2: Pre-treatment
Every stain gets a targeted pre-treatment. We don’t spray the whole carpet with one product and hope for the best. Wine gets an oxidiser. Grease gets a solvent. Pet urine gets an enzyme. Pre-treatment sits for five to ten minutes before extraction.
Step 3: Hot water extraction
This is the main event. Our truck-mounted unit forces hot water and cleaning solution into the carpet at high pressure, then immediately extracts it along with the dirt, allergens and cleaning residue. The process reaches the base of the carpet pile, not just the tips. If we’re using a portable unit (for flats above ground floor, or properties where the van can’t get close enough), it’s the same process, just a smaller machine.
Step 4: Spot treatment
Any remaining stains get a second pass with targeted chemistry. Sometimes a stubborn stain needs two or three attempts with different agents. We don’t leave until we’ve done everything we can.
Step 5: Repairs (if needed)
Burns patched. Tears re-seamed. Loose areas re-stretched. This happens after cleaning so the repaired sections blend with the freshly cleaned carpet around them.
Step 6: Speed drying
We set up air movers to speed up drying. Most carpets are touch-dry within two to four hours and fully dry within six to eight. We’ll tell you when it’s safe to put furniture back and walk on it normally.
Upholstery and Leather Cleaning
Same principles, different surfaces.
Fabric upholstery. Sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, cushions, curtains. We use hot water extraction on fabrics that can handle it, and dry cleaning methods on delicate materials. A three-seater sofa takes about an hour. We clean the visible fabric, the underside of cushions, and down between the seat cushions where crumbs, coins and pet hair collect.
Leather cleaning and conditioning. Leather needs a different approach entirely. No water extraction. We clean with pH-neutral leather cleaners, then condition to prevent cracking and drying. Pigmented leather (the most common type in household furniture) responds well. Aniline and nubuck leathers need specialist handling, and we’ve got the training for both.
A micro-story from a job in Stoke Bishop: a client had a cream leather sofa that her kids had been drawing on with biro for about three years. She’d tried baby wipes, hand sanitiser, hairspray (a popular internet tip), and a leather cleaning kit from Amazon. Nothing worked. We got the ink out in about forty minutes using a specialist leather ink remover. She was in tears. Good tears.
Vehicle upholstery. We clean car seats, van interiors and motorhome upholstery. Not our main line of work, but if you’re already booking us for your home carpets, we can do the car at the same time.
Before and After
[Before/after image slider - carpet cleaning and repair jobs]
Photos from actual BCH carpet and upholstery cleans. No stock images.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does professional carpet cleaning cost in Bristol?
It depends on the size and condition. As a rough guide: a single room costs between £40 and £80. A three-bedroom house (stairs, landing and all bedrooms) runs £180 to £350. Stain removal for specific problem areas starts around £30 per stain on top of the cleaning price. Repair work is quoted separately. We’ll always give you a price before we start.
How long does carpet cleaning take?
A single room takes 20 to 40 minutes. A full house takes two to four hours depending on the number of rooms and the condition. Drying time is separate: usually four to eight hours with air movers running.
Is professional carpet cleaning worth it, or should I just replace the carpet?
Get us to look at it first. We’ve saved hundreds of carpets that owners were about to throw away. Even if the carpet is ten or fifteen years old, extraction can pull out years of embedded dirt and make it look and feel noticeably better. If there’s structural damage (delamination, permanent crushing, water damage to the backing), we’ll tell you straight. No point paying us to clean a carpet that genuinely needs replacing.
Can you remove pet urine smell from carpets?
Usually, yes. The smell comes from uric acid crystals, which survive normal cleaning and reactivate in humid conditions. That’s why the smell keeps coming back after you’ve cleaned it yourself. Our enzymatic treatment breaks down the crystals permanently. If the urine has soaked into the underlay, we may need to treat or replace the underlay section as well. We’ll check with UV light and let you know what we’re dealing with before we quote.
Do you move furniture?
We’ll move light to medium furniture (dining chairs, coffee tables, small bookcases). Heavy items like beds, wardrobes and large sofas we ask you to move before we arrive, or we can do it for an additional charge. We put protective tabs under furniture legs after cleaning to prevent any colour transfer while the carpet dries.
How often should carpets be professionally cleaned?
For most homes, once a year is enough. If you’ve got pets, young children, or anyone with allergies, twice a year makes a noticeable difference. High-traffic areas like hallways and stairs benefit from more frequent cleaning. Landlords between tenancies should always have carpets extracted, not just vacuumed. It’s the difference between getting a deposit dispute and not.
Will carpet cleaning remove all stains?
Honestly, no. We remove the vast majority, and we have a very high success rate on the common ones (wine, coffee, pet stains, mud, food). But some stains are permanent: bleach damage (which is actually colour loss, not a stain), certain dyes, and some chemical burns. We’ll be straight with you about what we can and can’t achieve.
Related Services
- End of Tenancy Cleaning - Full property clean including carpet extraction for move-outs
- Deep Cleaning - Whole house specialist clean with industrial extraction
- Odour Removal - When the smell won’t shift after cleaning, we treat the source
Book Your Carpet Clean
Stop staring at that stain. Whether it’s a single room that needs freshening up or a whole house with years of ground-in dirt, we’ll sort it.
We’re based on Southmead Road in BS10, about fifteen minutes from the city centre. We cover all of Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
Phone: 07985 505061 Emergency 24/7: 0808 303 7072 WhatsApp: 07985 505061 Email: hello@bristolcleaningheroes.co.uk
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