In short
Flying Carpet Cleaning NJ cleans carpeted stairs, stair runners and landings in homes and businesses in North and Central New Jersey. Every step is cleaned on its own with a small tool, tread and riser, after the worn center of each tread is treated. Stairs are counted separately in a free quote, so have the number of steps ready when you call.
- What we clean
- Fully carpeted stairs, stair runners, landings and the hall at the top and bottom
- How
- A small tool on each tread, riser and edge, with the method the fiber allows
- Drying
- Often within hours in warm weather. Longer in cold or humid weather, and for dense pile
- Quote
- Free, by the number of steps and landings
- Where
- North and Central New Jersey, including Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union, Middlesex and Passaic counties
- When
- Open 24 hours, every day
Why stairs wear faster than the rooms
On a flat floor, feet land in a slightly different place each time. On a staircase everyone steps in the same few inches, in the middle of the tread, and the foot turns as it pushes off. That grinds grit into a strip about as wide as a shoe and leaves the sides of the same step nearly untouched.
The front edge of each step, the nosing, takes the hardest wear because the carpet bends over it. Soil shows there first, and so does flattening of the pile.
One step at a time
A floor wand is built for open floor and does not fit a tread. Stairs are cleaned with a small hand tool that reaches the back of the tread, the face of the riser and the corners where the two meet. The dark center strip is treated first and given time to work, then each step is rinsed and extracted before moving to the next.
It is slower work per square foot than any room in the house, which is the reason a staircase has its own line in a quote.
Runners over wood
A runner leaves wood showing on both sides, so water has to stay on the carpet. The tool is kept inside the bound edges, and the exposed wood is wiped dry as the work moves along. Many runners are wool, which holds more water than a synthetic and is cleaned with cooler water and less of it. Tell us if the runner is held by rods or stapled, and if the binding is loose anywhere.
Landings, winders and open sides
A landing is cleaned like a small room and counted on its own. Winders, the wedge shaped steps that turn a corner, have more carpet than a straight step. Stairs with an open side, where the carpet wraps around the end of the tread under a railing, take more handwork than stairs boxed in by two walls. Mention each of these when you ask for a quote, and send a photograph from the bottom of the staircase if you can.
What cleaning changes, and what it does not
Soil comes out, and the gray strip up the middle usually lightens a great deal. Wear does not. Where the pile on the nosing has been crushed or worn thin for years, the fibers reflect light differently even when they are clean, and that shading stays. We look at the stairs with you first and say which of the two you are seeing.
While the stairs dry
- Decide which floor you need to be on before we start.
- Hold the handrail and take the stairs slowly while the carpet is damp.
- Wear clean socks or clean indoor shoes on the way up or down.
- Keep pets and children off the stairs until they are dry.
- Leave a window open or a fan running near the staircase to move air.
- Put stair gates and stair rods back once the carpet is dry.
How a stair cleaning visit goes
We count and look
Steps, landings and turns are counted, and the fiber and the worn areas are checked.
We treat the centers
The dark strip on each tread and any spots are treated ahead of the cleaning.
We clean each step
Tread, riser and edges, with a small tool and the method that suits the fiber.
We groom and leave it to dry
The pile is brushed in one direction, and you hear how long drying is likely to take at this time of year.
Stair carpet cleaning: questions, answered
Do you clean stairs without cleaning the rest of the carpet?
Yes. Stairs can be cleaned on their own or together with rooms and halls. A staircase is quoted by its number of steps and landings either way.
How are stairs counted in a quote?
Separately from the rooms, by the number of steps. Count every step from the bottom floor to the top, note any landing or turn, and say if it is full carpet or a runner. Quotes are free.
Can a wool stair runner be steam cleaned?
Usually, with cooler water and less of it than a synthetic carpet gets. We check the fiber first. If a runner is better served by a low moisture method, that is what we use, and we tell you why.
How long do stairs take to dry?
It depends on the season, the fiber and the air moving through the stairwell. In warm weather stairs are often dry within hours. In a cold or damp spell, a thick wool runner may need as long as 48 hours.
Will the dark strip in the middle of each step come out?
The soil in it will. Most of that gray is ground in dirt and oil, which cleaning removes. If the pile itself is worn or crushed, some shading remains because the fibers lie differently.
Do you clean carpeted stairs in offices and other businesses?
Yes. Carpeted stairs in a business are cleaned the same way, and the visit can be set for an hour when the stairs are least used, nights and weekends included. We are licensed and insured and can provide a certificate of insurance when a building asks for one.
Related services
Each service has a page of its own.
Where we work
Notes on the homes and buildings of each county and its towns.