To get all your bond back, you have to leave your rented home in good condition. Basically, it needs to be as clean and damage-free as it was when you moved in. So, you’ll have to spend some time making sure that the property is as spotless as you can get it before you move out.

However, you may not be sure exactly how far this clean up should go. For example, you may not know whether or not you should have your carpets steam cleaned. What do you need to know before you decide whether to do this?

What Does Your Lease Say?

Some real estate agents and landlords try to force tenants to steam clean their carpets at the end of a lease. This condition may even be written into the lease agreement itself.

However, steam cleaning isn’t always necessary. Generally, your primary requirement as a tenant is to leave the property in as good a condition as you got it with some allowances for general wear and tear. You may not have to use steam cleaning to do this.

However, there are a couple of instances when you may have to have your carpets cleaned. The rules might vary from state to state, but steam cleaning may be necessary in the following circumstances:

• Your landlord had the carpets professionally steam cleaned before you moved in and your lease states you have to do this when you move out. Here, you’ll probably need this kind of cleaning method to get the carpets close to the condition they were in originally.
• You agreed to steam clean the carpets when you move out as a condition of being allowed to have pets in the house. Here, your landlord wants as many traces of your pets removed as possible.

Even if you aren’t legally required to steam clean the carpets, you may decide to do it anyway if the circumstances would benefit from it.

What Condition Are the Carpets In?

Before you decide what to do with the carpets, take a good look at them. If you’ve lived in your home for a few years, then general use will have taken its toll.

You can’t avoid walking on the carpets when you live in a house with them. They may be dirtier than they were when you moved in; you may have created a couple of obvious stains.

If you think that the carpets aren’t in good enough condition to keep your landlord happy, even allowing for acceptable wear and tear, consider steam cleaning them. This effort should get rid of general dirt and any stains that you were responsible for.

Also, some people prefer to bite the bullet and do a steam clean at the end of their lease regardless. They don’t want to argue over their bond money and feel that a deeper clean will sort things out more quickly.

What Options Do You Have?

In some cases, you can hire a steam cleaner and give the carpets a clean yourself. This spruces them up and may tackle basic stains. If you need a professional carpet clean or if your carpets are in a bad way, a cleaning company’s assistance may make more sense.

Hiring a professional is often the best option if you’ve had pets in the house. A professional clean does a better job of removing hair and fur that can get embedded into carpet pile.

If you want or need to have your carpets professionally cleaned at the end of your lease, contact Davali Chem-Dry. Our unique carbonated carpet cleaning system works and dries quickly so you can even call us at the last minute. Plus, unlike regular treatments, our system also removes pet hair, fur and even cat dander.