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I’m here to tell you that sometimes doing it yourself does not pay off.
My family and I spent the past weekend cleaning our carpets. My husband rented a carpet cleaning machine from Home Depot for 2 days.
Along with the cost of the cleaning solution ($108.27 with tax) and the carpet cleaning machine itself, my husband, my son and I spent the better part of 2 days moving furniture, setting up fans, and using this behemoth of a machine to get our carpets clean.
As a result of our 2-day carpet cleaning experience, I have a sore ankle and back. My husband has a sore back, too. And my son is avoiding us, for fear that we will ask him to do something else.
I have to admit that it’s wonderful to have our carpets so clean, but I’m realizing that I could have had a professional carpet cleaning service do the work for just a little more money, and I could’ve been more productive elsewhere.
For instance, while my husband did this work in his spare time, I took time off from my work for this DIY project. I’m realizing now that I could have just as easily worked for those 2 days and used that money to pay a professional carpet cleaner — and still had a bit left over.
And we all would have probably been much happier in the end.
When To Let The Professionals Clean Your Carpets
In an effort to make the most of our money, many of us tackle hard jobs ourselves instead of calling in the professionals.
But if you sit down and do the math before going out and renting expensive tools and instruction booklets, you may find that someone can do it for you in less time, with greater expertise, and often for a lower price — especially if you take into account the cost of mistakes that are likely to be made by amateurs.
For example, my husband started our carpet cleaning project by flooding the kitchen with water when he walked away while filling the reservoir bucket on the carpet cleaning machine. He not only left the water running to answer the door, but went across the street and helped a neighbor with a gardening project.
This is why our project took 2 days. The first day was spent cleaning up the mess.
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- Pro’s & Con’s of DIY vs Hiring A Professional Carpet Cleaning Service
I have been a certified tightwad since I became pregnant with my first child and decided to find a way to stay home with him. I enjoy sharing my experiences in my journey back to financial health and planning for a future — which will include sending 2 kids to college and early retirement.
