Household Hint

[Donna]

Many owners are probably doing post-summer season carpet cleaning in their homes now, if not "deep cleans." We had a recent situation you may want to be aware of. A carpet cleaner supposedly came and did the whole house. I noticed the job wasn't up to par when I was down there recently. Sent a more dependable guy over just today and he reported that only one bedroom (out of four carpeted bedrooms) had been done and that one not well. The previous cleaner claimed he didn't even know about the stairwell on the ground floor because he always comes in from the deck on the second floor. Well, there is no way to get into the house on that level. As I looked further into this, found out that our management company does not even check to see if the carpet cleaning has been done (let alone done properly) before paying the cleaners out of our account. You learn something new every year.

Most contractors I believe are honest. But a family member has warned me of some contractors in the area who brag that they take advantage of absentee owners and that we are never the wiser for it. So we watch this like a hawk. I refused payment to the first company, insisted that our management firm hire only our preferred contractor in the future, and (at the new contractor's preference) that the management firm checks work each time it is done before rendering payment for services.

Hope my next thread will be a happier one. I think there is strength in awareness and numbers, however.

[Just_In_Thyme]

Do you have the name of the cleaner so we don't use him? Also, can you reccomend who you use? We need to have our carpets cleaned.

[GVM]

Re: carpet cleaning...I had a very good experience with Chem Dry of the Beaches...850 862-6902. I was not there when they did the work...but they did a great job...even removing some stains I thought were hopeless.

[Santiago]

Many owners are probably doing post-summer season carpet cleaning in their homes now, if not "deep cleans." We had a recent situation you may want to be aware of. A carpet cleaner supposedly came and did the whole house. I noticed the job wasn't up to par when I was down there recently. Sent a more dependable guy over just today and he reported that only one bedroom (out of four carpeted bedrooms) had been done and that one not well. The previous cleaner claimed he didn't even know about the stairwell on the ground floor because he always comes in from the deck on the second floor. Well, there is no way to get into the house on that level. As I looked further into this, found out that our management company does not even check to see if the carpet cleaning has been done (let alone done properly) before paying the cleaners out of our account. You learn something new every year.

Most contractors I believe are honest. But a family member has warned me of some contractors in the area who brag that they take advantage of absentee owners and that we are never the wiser for it. So we watch this like a hawk. I refused payment to the first company, insisted that our management firm hire only our preferred contractor in the future, and (at the new contractor's preference) that the management firm checks work each time it is done before rendering payment for services.

Hope my next thread will be a happier one. I think there is strength in awareness and numbers, however.

That sounds like our ex-management company. I won't give their name but it rhymes with feach fentals of fouth falton.

[Miss Kitty]

That sounds like our ex-management company. I won't give their name but it rhymes with feach fentals of fouth falton.

Yikes...the fitst time I read that I read FECAL!!!! You are so sly!!!

[peapod1980]

That sounds like our ex-management company. I won't give their name but it rhymes with feach fentals of fouth falton.

Oh, that's a good one, Santiago.