Cost
Two very different services are sold under the words "rug cleaning" on Long Island, and they cost very different amounts because they are not the same thing. Here is what each costs, what each does, and how to tell which one you are being quoted.
On your floor, $1 to $2 per square foot. A carpet‑cleaning company adds the rug to the carpet job and runs a hot‑water extraction wand over it. Fifteen minutes, the rug stays where it is, and it is damp for two or three days. This cleans the top of the pile. It does not remove the sand in the foundation, it does not rinse, it does not dye‑test, and on a Persian rug with unstable reds it is how bleeding happens.
At a plant, $4 to $6 per square foot. The rug is picked up, dusted from the back until the foundation stops giving up grit, dye‑tested, fully immersed and hand‑brushed, rinsed until the water runs clear, spun in a centrifuge and dried flat in a controlled room. Seven to ten days. This is what hand washing is, and it is the only process that gets a rug clean below the surface. Our pricing page lists the exact range for every rug type.
An 8×10 hand‑knotted wool Persian in normal condition: 80 square feet, $320 to $480. A 9×12 Oushak: $430 to $650. A 5×8 polypropylene kitchen rug: $80 to $100. A 4×6 silk Qom: $130 to $145. Pickup and delivery are free in Nassau and Suffolk, so those are the whole numbers.
Ask three questions. Does the rug leave my house? Is it dusted before it is wetted? Is it rinsed and dried flat? If the answer to any of them is no, you are being quoted the floor service, whatever it is called. It is not wrong to buy the floor service for a $150 synthetic rug; it is wrong to buy it for a Kashan.
Grit in the foundation wears the knots from underneath with every step. A rug washed on schedule at a plant lasts decades longer than one that is surface‑cleaned yearly and never actually emptied of soil. The most expensive rugs we repair are ones that were "cleaned" cheaply for twenty years.
Drop‑offs welcome any day; call ahead and you can watch the dye test.
For a plant wash with dusting, immersion, rinsing and flat drying, it is the normal Long Island range. For a wand on your floor, it would be a lot; that service is $1 to $2.
No, in Nassau and Suffolk. The per‑square‑foot price is the whole price.
An estimate from size and type; the firm price is set at inspection at the plant and does not change after that.