Someone has quoted you less, and taking that seriously is the sensible thing to do. This page isn’t here to talk you out of it. It’s here to help you compare the two quotes properly, so whichever one you choose, you know exactly what you’re getting.
Compare what’s included, not just the number.
Two quotes are only comparable when they cover the same things: a fixed price in writing, the same inclusions, insurance and checks, and a guarantee behind the result.
Jump to a section
Why the cheapest quote isn’t always the cheapest
Is the price fixed in writing?
What’s actually included?
Insurance, DBS checks and who’s in your home
Method and equipment
What if you’re not happy afterwards?
What a proper clean includes What a lower quote cannot fix Comparing for your situation The Golden Guarantee
Why the Cheapest Quote Isn’t Always the Cheapest
There’s a pattern common in the trade, and it’s worth understanding before you put two numbers side by side. A low headline price wins the booking. Then, on the day, the price starts to move. The stains need a “special treatment”.
The deodorising turns out to be extra. Moving the furniture is extra. By the time the machine is switched on, the cheaper quote isn’t the cheaper quote any more, and it’s an awkward conversation to have with someone standing in your hallway.
To be fair to the trade, most of the time nobody is trying to mislead you. Plenty of cleaners quote for a basic clean and price everything else separately, and that’s a legitimate way to run a business.
The problem is only in the comparison: a basic-clean price and an everything-included price look like the same kind of number, and they aren’t. In our experience, once both quotes are written out in full, the gap between them is usually far smaller than the headline suggests, and sometimes it disappears altogether.
So the job here isn’t to beat the other quote. It’s to make sure both quotes are answering the same question. The next four sections are the four things worth checking before you compare.
Is the Price Fixed in Writing?
The single most important question, because it decides whether the number you’re comparing is the number you’ll pay.
A “from” price is a starting point, not a price. It can grow once the company sees the rooms, the stains, or the stairs, and by then the easy moment to say no has passed.
A fixed quote does the opposite: the company asks its questions first, confirms the price in writing, and carries the risk of any surprises itself. Neither approach is wrong, but they are not the same thing, and only one of them can be compared with confidence.
The test is simple. Ask each company one question: is this the final price, whatever you find on the day? A confident yes, in writing, settles it. Anything hedged (“we’ll confirm when we see it”, “that’s for a standard clean”) tells you the real number is still to come.
Red Flags When Comparing Quotes
None of these mean a company is dishonest. They do mean the headline number may not be the final one, so ask before you compare.
- A “from” price that can’t be confirmed until they arrive
- Stain treatment or deodorising priced at the door
- Nothing in writing, only a number over the phone
- No mention of insurance or DBS checks anywhere
- Vague about the method or the machine they’ll bring
- Pressure to book today before the price changes
What’s Actually Included?
This is where most of the gap between two quotes usually lives. The same four questions sort it out.
A carpet clean is rarely just the clean. On a real job there’s the deodorising, the sanitisation, the spot and stain work, the furniture that needs shifting, and the advice that gets everything dry without a musty smell afterwards.
Some quotes fold all of that in. Others price each piece separately, or leave it out entirely. Before you compare numbers, ask both companies the same four questions:
- Is deodorising and sanitisation included, or an extra?
- Is spot and stain treatment included, or priced on the day?
- Will you move the furniture, or do I need it cleared before you arrive?
- What help do I get with drying, and how long will it take?
Our position, stated once and plainly: the price we quote is the price you pay, and all of the above is included.
Free deodorising and sanitisation on every clean, free spot treatment on the day, help with the furniture, and straight drying guidance (usually around 4 hours, and same-day dry available as a priority). That isn’t a claim the other quote can’t match. It’s simply the standard to compare it against.
Often Priced Separately
- Spot and stain treatment
- Deodorising and sanitisation
- Moving furniture
- Any promise about the result
Included In Ours As Standard
- Free spot treatment on the day
- Free deodorising and sanitisation on every clean
- Help with furniture and straight drying guidance
- The Golden Guarantee behind the result
Want A Like-For-Like Answer?
Tell us what the other quote includes and we’ll tell you straight how the two compare, including anywhere the other quote covers you well. Take your time deciding.
Insurance, DBS Checks and Who’s In Your Home
The part of a quote you can’t see in the number, and the part that matters most if something goes wrong.
Whoever you choose, they’ll be inside your home for a couple of hours, around your things and sometimes around your children and pets. So two questions belong in any comparison.
First, is the company insured, so that if a carpet is damaged or something is broken, you’re covered rather than relying on goodwill? Second, are the people coming to your door DBS-checked?
Neither question is awkward to ask, and a professional company of any size will answer both without hesitation. For our part: we’re fully insured and our technicians are fully DBS-checked, and we’ll confirm both in writing whenever you ask. If the other company can say the same, that’s a genuine point in their favour, and it belongs in your comparison.
Method and Equipment
Two cleans can carry the same name and be very different jobs. Ask what the price actually buys.
Ask each company how they’ll clean, and listen for a process rather than a product name. A proper deep clean is a sequence: inspect the fibre and spot test first, dry vacuum, agitate, pre-spray, then hot water extraction that pulls the soil and the moisture back out.
A quick pass with a rented or lightweight machine can look similar on the invoice and leave a very different carpet behind, sometimes wetter and dirtier at the base of the pile than it started.
For comparison, here’s the process our price includes on every job:
Inspect & Spot TestWe check the fibre, test a hidden area, and agree anything unusual before we start.
Prepare The FibreKirby dry vacuum, agitation and pre-spray loosen the soil so extraction can lift it.
Deep ExtractionHot water extraction with the Enforcer 400 pulls soil and moisture out of the pile.
Finish & DryDry pods speed the drying, Gold Musk deodorise finishes the clean, and we groom the pile.
Gold Guard protection is available as an optional add-on where a carpet takes heavy daily wear, and we’ll only suggest it where it genuinely earns its keep.
What Happens If You’re Not Happy Afterwards?
The question that separates a price from a promise, and the easiest one to forget to ask.
Every company sounds confident before the job. The difference shows a week later, when a stain wicks back or a room doesn’t look the way you expected.
So ask both companies the same thing: if I’m not happy with the result, what exactly will you do, and is that in writing? A vague “we’ll sort it” is not the same as a written promise, and you’ll only find out which one you bought when you need it.
Our answer is the Golden Guarantee: if you’re not satisfied with the clean, we’ll come back free of charge until you’re 100% satisfied. It’s a re-clean promise, in writing, on every job. Any company can have an off day. What you’re really buying is what happens next.
Ask both companies to confirm four things in one message: the fixed price, what’s included, insurance and DBS checks, and what happens if you’re not happy. A good company won’t mind at all. That single reply tells you more than any headline price.
And here’s the sentence that most pages like this leave out: if the cheaper quote covers everything above, fixed in writing, with the inclusions, the cover and a written guarantee, then it’s a fair choice, and you should feel comfortable taking it.
Our aim isn’t to be the cheapest quote you receive. It’s to be the one where the price you compared is the price you pay, for the whole job, with the result guaranteed.
A cheaper quote is only cheaper if it covers the same things. Get both prices fixed in writing, list the inclusions, check the insurance and DBS checks, and ask what happens if you’re not happy. Then compare the two full pictures, not the two numbers.
What A Proper Clean Includes, Step By Step
The simplest way to compare two quotes is to ask each company which of these steps their price includes. Here is our list, with what each step does and roughly how long it takes in an ordinary lounge.
Walk-through and spot test, 10 minFibre identified, marks looked at, a hidden corner tested, and the price confirmed before anything starts.
Dry vacuum, 10 to 20 minA Kirby lifts the grit out while it is dry. The step most often skipped, and the reason cheap cleans turn dust into mud.
Pre-spray and dwell, 5 to 8 minA WoolSafe-approved pre-spray matched to the fibre, brushed in and left to loosen the soil.
Hot water extraction, 12 to 15 minA professional machine rinses the soil out and pulls the water back with it. Extra passes on traffic lanes and marks, then dry passes to pull moisture from the backing.
Deodorise, groom, air, 5 minDeodorising and sanitisation on every clean, the pile raked so it dries standing, an air mover set on the room.
The promiseIf an area is not right once dry, we come back and re-clean it free until you are 100% satisfied.
That is roughly 45 minutes for a lounge, and it is what the price pays for. If another company can do the same six steps for less, that is a genuine saving and you should take it. If their time in the house is twenty minutes a room, the list has been shortened, and the price has been shortened with it.
Ask the other company: ‘Do you dry vacuum first, and is deodorising included?’ If the answer to either is no, or a pause, you are not comparing the same job.
What A Lower Quote Cannot Fix Afterwards
Some shortcuts show up a week later. Some show up as damage. Neither is covered by a company that has already been paid and gone.
- Wicking. Soil pushed down with a weak machine rises back up the fibres as the carpet dries. The mark that vanished on the day is back by the weekend. Only strong extraction and fast drying stop it.
- Residue. Detergent that is sprayed in and never rinsed out dries sticky, grabs dirt from every footstep, and the carpet greys again within weeks. Rinsing takes time, which is why it gets skipped.
- Over-wetting. A soaked carpet can take days to dry, can smell musty, and on wool can shrink or brown at the edges. Once a seam has lifted or a tide mark has set, no clean puts it back.
- The wrong product on the wrong fibre. A cheap alkaline spray on a wool carpet can yellow it or move the dye. There is no undo for that.
- No insurance. If a floor is soaked through or a rug is ruined, the cost is yours unless the company carries public liability cover and will show you it.
A Lower Quote Often Means
- Spray and partial suck-back, no dry vacuum
- Product left in the pile
- Water left in the backing, days to dry
- Price grows once they are inside
- No one to call if it goes wrong
What Ours Includes
- Full six-step method, 45 minutes a lounge
- Rinsed and extracted, nothing left behind
- Damp not wet, dry in six to twelve hours
- Fixed in writing for 30 days
- Golden Guarantee re-clean, free
Comparing Quotes For Your Situation
Which rows matter most depends on why you are booking. Three cases we see every week.
Landlord or letting agent
- The paper trail matters as much as the price: a dated invoice and receipt for the file
- We bill you directly if that is easier than the tenant paying
- A clean that greys in three weeks costs you another visit before the next viewing
Tenant moving out
- Check both quotes cover every area the inventory lists, including the stairs
- Ask what happens if a mark does not lift: a straight answer beats a promise
- Timing counts: dry and groomed the day before check-out, not wet on the morning
Family home with pets and children
- Ask what products are used and whether they are rinsed out, because residue is where little ones crawl
- Pet accidents need a urine treatment at the source, not a surface spray
- Drying time matters more here than anywhere: six to twelve hours, not two days
What To Ask Us
- Here is the other quote: which rows on it are missing, honestly?
- What does your price include that theirs may not?
- Can you match the rooms and items exactly so I can compare like with like?
- If I go with the cheaper one and it goes wrong, what would putting it right cost?
Ask any of them by replying to the message that brought you here, or ring your local number. We answer plainly, and there is no pressure from us either way.
Why Prestige Refresh
When customers tell us why they chose us over a cheaper quote, the same four reasons come up. They’re the standard we hold every job to.
What Customers Say
Price is one half of the comparison. The other half is whether the company turns up and does what it said it would. We’re rated 5.0 from 338 Google reviews, and these come straight from them, unedited.
Our Golden Guarantee
The Golden Guarantee
Ask any company what happens if you’re not happy afterwards. This is our answer, in writing, on every job.
Quick Answers
Why is one carpet cleaning quote so much cheaper than another?
Usually because the two quotes cover different things. A lower quote often prices a basic clean only, with spot treatment, deodorising, sanitisation, furniture moving and drying help charged separately or not offered. Once you list what each quote includes, the gap between them is often much smaller than the headline numbers suggest.
Is a “from” price the same as a fixed quote?
No. A “from” price is a starting point that can grow once the company sees the job, so the number you compared may not be the number you pay. A fixed quote in writing states the final price before the work starts. When comparing quotes, ask both companies to confirm the price is fixed.
What should a carpet cleaning quote include?
A fair quote should confirm five things in writing: the fixed price, what’s included (spot treatment, deodorising, sanitisation, furniture moving, drying help), that the company is insured, that the technicians are DBS-checked, and what happens if you’re not happy afterwards. If any of those are missing, ask before you compare on price.
Should I just pick the cheapest carpet cleaning quote?
If the cheaper quote is fixed in writing and covers the same inclusions, insurance, checks and guarantee, it’s a fair choice and there’s nothing wrong with taking it. The mistake is comparing headline numbers when the two quotes cover different things. Compare like for like first, then choose.
What should I ask the other company before I compare prices?
Four things: is the price fixed in writing for my rooms; do you dry vacuum first and is deodorising included; are you insured and DBS-checked; and what happens if an area is not right. If the answers match ours and the price is lower, take it. If they do not, it is a different job.
Why does a cheap clean look fine on the day and bad a week later?
Because the shortcuts show up as the carpet dries. Soil pushed down rather than extracted wicks back to the surface, detergent left in the pile dries sticky and attracts dirt, and over-wetting can leave a musty smell. The clean looked finished while it was damp; it was never finished underneath.
