Carpet and rug cleaning: how per-square-foot pricing works

Carpets are priced by area because that is what governs the work: a large carpet takes proportionally longer to pre-vacuum, treat, extract and dry than a small one, regardless of what it is worth. Our rate is ₹12 per square foot for a hot-water extraction clean, so the price of the job is simply length in feet multiplied by width in feet, times twelve.

Measuring takes a minute. Use the longest length and the widest width in feet, ignore fringes, and multiply. You will get the same number the technician does, which means you can work out the cost before anyone arrives.

What common sizes come to

Carpet	Area	At ₹12 per sq ft
3 × 5 ft bedside rug	15 sq ft	₹180
5 × 7 ft rug	35 sq ft	₹420
6 × 9 ft drawing room rug	54 sq ft	₹648
8 × 10 ft carpet	80 sq ft	₹960
9 × 12 ft carpet	108 sq ft	₹1,296
10 × 12 ft room, wall to wall	120 sq ft	₹1,440

For a wall-to-wall carpet, measure the room rather than the carpet, and do not subtract the area under heavy furniture that will not move — that space still has to be worked around.

What a hot-water extraction clean includes

1. Dry vacuuming, thoroughly, in more than one direction. This is where most of the dry soil actually leaves the carpet, and skipping it turns the extraction into mud.
2. Spot treatment on individual marks, matched to the type of stain.
3. Pre-spray across the carpet, left for a few minutes so the solution can break down oil and soil in the pile.
4. Extraction — hot water and solution injected under pressure and vacuumed straight back out, in overlapping passes.
5. Dry passes with no water until the recovery tank runs clear.
6. Pile grooming so the fibres are set in one direction as they dry, and airflow set up over the carpet.

What changes the price and what does not

The rate is per square foot of carpet, whatever the fibre. What can change the job is condition rather than material: a carpet that has not been cleaned in years may need a second pre-spray and pass, and heavy pet contamination needs treatment into the backing rather than the pile. If something like that applies, you will be told what it costs before the work starts, not after.

What does not change the rate is the room. A 54 square foot rug is ₹648 whether it is in a bedroom or the hall.

Rugs on a hard floor need one extra step

In most Nellore homes, rugs sit on tile or granite. A damp carpet left flat on tile dries slowly on the underside and can leave a mark on the floor. After a clean the rug should be lifted off the floor — over two chairs, or with the edges propped — so air reaches both faces. This matters most in the monsoon months and least in the dry heat of April and May.

Do not hang a heavy wet carpet over a railing on its centre line. Wool especially stretches out of shape while it is wet and holds the distortion afterwards.

Between professional cleans

Vacuum in the direction of the pile, slowly, and go over high-traffic paths more than once. Shake out and beat small rugs outdoors monthly. Rotate rugs twice a year so the same strip does not take all the foot traffic and all the afternoon sun. Blot spills immediately with a dry white cloth, working inwards, and never rub a spill into a pile.

When to book rather than manage it yourself

Book when the traffic path is a visibly different shade from the edges, when there is any smell from the carpet, when a spill has gone through into the backing, or after any flooding or seepage — water that reached the backing needs extracting properly, not just drying, or it will grow mould from below where you cannot see it. Carpets are often booked alongside the sofa: a 2-seater is ₹699, a 3-seater ₹999 and an L-shape set ₹1,499, and doing the room in one visit means one drying period rather than two.