In trying to save money, one of the first casualties is often the quality of service. You will find this is most true when it comes to DIY projects. When you choose to do the work yourself, you are only going to be able to do the work as well as an amateur. But what is the level of quality that you can expect when you clean your carpet yourself?

1. No Change

Your carpet cleaning results will come down to your inherent skill and the amount of research you have done. The more you know and practice, the closer you can get to the results of a professional. But you are likely to get novice results with very little indication of what you are doing wrong.

In most cases, you are likely to see no change in either the stain or the odor you were trying to remove. Even if you can cover up a smell via a scented spray, you will be relying on the smell dissipating eventually (which it may not).

2. Making A Worse Mess

Stains can be spread or pushed deeper into your carpet fibers if the cleaning is improperly handled. In the best case scenario of accidentally making a bigger mess, the stain will get larger (cover more surface area). The worst case scenario is that you will make the job of a professional Los Angeles carpet cleaning service that much harder.

Making a worse mess is perhaps the most immediate and shocking fallout from DIY carpet cleaning. However, it is mainly the optics that make it so alarming. It is difficult to know just from your novice assessment whether or not the mistake you have made is permanent.

3. Permanent Damage

You want your carpet to last and your stains to fade. But with the wrong approach to cleaning, your carpet will fade as your stains stay vibrant. Once you begin to damage your carpet, you are looking at paying for repair rather than cleaning.

Common damage includes flattening. When you flatten your carpet pile, this means the fibers have lost their resilience and will no longer lift up after being compressed. And, of course, there is the effect of making a stain permanent or semi-permanent.

4. Improper Post-Care

Even if you get out of the cleaning unscathed and with good results, you are not out of the woods yet. There are many dangers lying in wait after cleaning. The first is that you may see some wicking days later. Meaning the stain simply returns (same as it ever was).

And if you have used the wrong type of cleaning materials, you might see your carpet getting dirty rather quickly. This is because certain substances attract dirt and grime. And the last improper post-care concern that we will cover is the overuse of water, which can damage your carpet in a litany of ways.

5. Fungus Growth

With improper cleaning, you will not remove mold that exists. You may just end up moving it around. And with an overuse of moisture, you may create the perfect environment for mold to grow. Once the mold is present, the microscopic spores make spreading easy and inevitable.

If you see any signs of fungus growth, call a carpet cleaning professional immediately. That being said, most of the mold and mildew that forms in a carpet is not visibly apparent. You will notice mold more subtly with increased sneezing, stuffy nose, or even breathing difficulties.