Stain protection is a protector sprayed onto carpet or upholstery straight after it has been cleaned, at £33 a room of carpet or £13 a sofa or chair seat. It slows spills down so they can be blotted; it does not make anything stain-proof.
The protector goes on during the same visit as the clean, while the fibres are fresh and free of old soil. It is only applied to carpet or fabric we have just cleaned, so book it together with the clean itself.
Prices and how the protector is charged
| Protected item | Price |
|---|---|
| One room of fitted carpet | £33 |
| One seat of a sofa or chair | £13 |
Seats are counted the way the sofa is priced: a two-seater is two seats and a three-seater three, while each dining chair or armchair counts as one. Ask on the call how a staircase or a hall is counted. The protector is added on top of the cleaning price for that room or that sofa, which is on the carpet cleaning page or the sofa cleaning page.
What the protector does and what it cannot do
The protector coats each fibre with a thin invisible layer that water and most drinks find hard to soak into. Spilt tea or squash sits in beads on top for a little while, which gives you time to fetch a white cloth and blot. Left for an hour, the same spill will sink in. It cannot stop bleach, nail varnish remover or a hot iron from damaging the fibre, and it will not hold back a pet accident that nobody finds until the next morning. Red wine and curry are still a race against time, though a protected carpet gives you a better start. Think of it as extra minutes, which is often all a spill needs.
Homes where protection is worth adding
Families with small children tend to get the most from it, since juice, yoghurt and felt-tip all end up on the floor and a protected carpet buys a parent a few minutes. Homes with dogs or cats benefit as well, mainly from muddy paws and dropped food. Pale carpets are the other obvious case: a cream wool lounge shows every coffee drip. On upholstery, fabric dining chairs are the classic candidate, because food lands on them at every meal, and the same goes for a sofa where people eat in front of the television. Prices for dining chairs and armchairs are listed per item.
How long it lasts in a busy house
There is no fixed life for a protector, because it wears away with use. Walkways, the bottom of the stairs and the spot in front of the sofa lose it first; under the bed it can last for years. Vacuuming wears it slowly, and a wet clean removes most of it. The practical rule is to have the protector put back on each time the carpet or the sofa is cleaned. If a spill that used to bead starts soaking straight in on a walkway, the protection there has worn off.
Looking after a protected carpet or sofa
Blot, never rub: press a clean white cloth onto the spill and lift, working in from the edges so it does not spread. A little cold water on the cloth helps with drinks. Avoid strong shop-bought stain removers, because many of them strip the protector along with the mark and some leave a ring of their own. Vacuum walkways regularly, since grit cuts the fibre and wears the coating faster. On upholstery, turn and swap loose cushions now and then so one seat does not take all the wear. The full list of cleaning and protection prices is on the prices page.
Questions about stain protection
Can protector be applied without a clean first?
No. Stain protection only goes on carpet or upholstery that has just been cleaned, because spraying it over old dirt seals the dirt in. Book the clean and the protector together.
Does stain protection change how the carpet looks or feels?
On most carpets and fabrics there is no visible difference once it has dried. On a delicate upholstery fabric the cleaner tests a hidden patch before spraying the whole piece.
Is it worth protecting a brand-new carpet?
Many new carpets come with a factory protector, so check the paperwork from the shop. That layer wears off walkways like any other, and after the carpet’s first professional clean it is worth having protection put back on at £33 a room.