Our Pricing Policy

It is our standard policy to price carpet and upholstery cleaning work (residential and commercial) on the following basis:

1. Method of cleaning selected based on:
   1. fibre content
   2. pile characteristics, e.g. carpet tuft construction
   3. fabric construction
   4. shrinkage risk
   5. dye bleed risk.
2. Condition of item to be cleaned based on, e.g.
   1. level of soiling
   2. level of staining
   3. dimensional stability of piece to be worked on (e.g. is carpet well fitted and secure on gripper?)
   4. risk of damage from the cleaning process and application of controls to limit that damage
   5. evidence of pre-existing damage
3. Location of work, e.g.
   1. Risk Assessment (identification of hazards to technician, customer and public)
   2. Controls implemented to reduce risks represented by hazards identified through Risk Assessment
   3. Accessibility to work area
   4. Protection of surrounding valuables (relocation of valuables or screening off of valuables)
   5. Degree of difficulty e.g. high level buildings, absence of lifts, secure environments
4. Magnitude and Duration of Task, e.g.
   1. size of carpeted area in square metres
   2. number of upholstery items including cushions, skirts, fringes
   3. sizes of curtains
   4. degree of difficulty and skill or expertise required e.g. colour repair or leather repair
5. Special considerations
   1. Stain removal work which has unknown time limits and unpredictable results usually charged by the hour
   2. High value items such as oriental or speciality rug cleaning where additional insurance cover may be required. Our current Treatments Risk insurance covers rugs and curtains to a single article limit of £5,000 in value.
   3. Where personal protective equipment must be worn by the technician e.g. breathing equipment, tyvek suits, protective gloves.

VCRS will typically only send one technician to a job unless the risk assessment identifies a hazard which needs to be reduced by the presence of an additional technician (e.g. working from a ladder), or if the client requests work that needs to be carried out by more than one technician (e.g. moving of heavy objects).

The price of a cleaning job includes each customer’s share of:

1. Cost of sale (e.g. marketing, "free" quotations, administration, consumer information).
2. Public Liability insurance (which covers accidents and injury to persons and property (not the item being cleaned!!)).
3. The appropriate level of Products Liability insurance (otherwise known as Treatments Risk) to cover the value of the customers goods we are cleaning.
4. Motor vehicle costs such as vehicle replacement costs, fuel, road tax, servicing, MOT, insurance and wear and tear.
5. Equipment costs such as machine and tool replacement, wear and tear, servicing, and PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) and cleaning that equipment.
6. Recruitment, initial training and continuous training and development of the cleaning technician.
7. Consumables such as chemicals, towels, cloths,.
8. Laundry costs where we use protective sheeting or where we need to use bonnet cleaning pads.
9. The technicians wages and benefits including employers National Insurance contributions.
10. Profit & Tax (VAT, Income Tax, Corporation Tax).

If the job appears cheap, then your cleaning contractor is likely not to be paying one or more of the above.