Area rug cleaning in the GTA, sized to fit.
Area rugs trap as much dirt as broadloom carpet but need gentler handling. We clean in place for most rugs, priced by size rather than a flat rate: $80 for a small rug up to 5×7, $120 for a medium 6×9 to 8×10, and from $180 for a large 9×12 or bigger. A $175 minimum applies to any visit, so a single small rug on its own still bills at $175.
Rug rates
In plain English
Carpet cleaning has its own vocabulary, and most of it is on this page. Here is what those words actually mean — and what happens if you decide to book.
Two names for the same thing. Hot water and cleaning solution go into the carpet under pressure, and a vacuum pulls them straight back out, bringing the dirt with them. There is no actual steam involved.
The water pressure at the wand — the tool that touches your carpet. More pressure pushes the solution deeper into the pile and pulls more soil back out of it.
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification is the body that sets the training standard for this trade. Kharl is trained to its Water Damage Restoration Technician standard, the WRT. That training is about water, so on carpet and upholstery what he brings is over six years of doing the work.
The pre-spray is strongly alkaline, which is what breaks down ground-in dirt. The rinse afterwards is mildly acidic, which cancels it out. Skip the rinse and the leftover soap stays in the carpet and turns sticky — that is why carpet can look dirty again a fortnight after it was cleaned.
What happens if you book
- You call or text 437-873-3116. Tell us which rooms. You get a price on that call — nobody has to visit first, because every rate is published on this page.
- We agree a time. Same-day and next-day are often available. Same-day carries a $50 priority surcharge; next-day does not. What limits us is the calendar, not the price.
- We turn up and do the work. Light furniture moved, carpet pre-sprayed, cleaned, then rinsed so nothing is left behind. Kharl does the job himself.
- You use the room the same day. Dry to the touch in four to six hours, fully dry within twenty-four. If you are not happy, the re-clean is free.
Gentle Hot Water Rug Cleaning Process
Why area rugs need a different approach than wall-to-wall carpet.
Area rugs and wall-to-wall carpet might look similar, but they're often built very differently, which changes how they should be cleaned. Many area rugs — especially Persian, Oriental, and other hand-knotted styles — are made from natural fibres like wool or silk with dyes that can bleed or fade if treated with the wrong water temperature or cleaning solution.
On wool we clean with the Prochem All Fiber Rinse on its own, rather than an alkaline pre-spray. It is WoolSafe approved and runs on the acid side, at pH 4.2 to 4.5. It is formulated to hold dyes in place rather than lift them.
Machine-made rugs with synthetic fibres and latex backing are generally more forgiving, but backing can still degrade with repeated aggressive cleaning. Before we start, we identify the rug's construction and fibre type, and adjust water temperature, solution strength, and dwell time specifically for that rug rather than applying one generic process to every piece.
One thing we're always upfront about. Some higher-value or antique rugs genuinely benefit more from a specialist off-site cleaning than an in-home service — particularly hand-knotted pieces with natural dyes, or rugs showing prior water damage or dry rot. If we see a rug like that during assessment, we'll tell you honestly rather than clean it anyway, since the risk of colour bleeding or fibre damage on a valuable piece isn't worth it.
Why in-home cleaning works for most rugs.
For most area rugs, in-home cleaning is both effective and far more convenient than a pickup-and-delivery service that can take a rug out of your home for a week or more. That covers synthetic and wool blends, machine-made pieces, and everyday living room and bedroom rugs.
Our portable hot water extraction system cleans the rug right where it sits, pulling embedded dirt, dust, and allergens out of the pile the same way it does with wall-to-wall carpet, just calibrated to the rug's specific material. Steam cleaning rugs is what most people call this, and as above there is no actual steam in it — heated water and solution go in, and the vacuum pulls them straight back out. This also avoids the risk of a rug being damaged in transit or mixed up at an off-site facility, which does happen occasionally with drop-off services.
What affects rug cleaning price.
Our pricing is tiered by rug size — small, medium, and large — which covers the vast majority of standard area rugs found in GTA homes.
A few things can move a quote outside the standard tiers. Unusually heavy soiling, from years without cleaning. Pet stains or odour, which need our enzyme treatment as an add-on. And fringe, which needs special handling to avoid tangling or damage during cleaning and drying.
We always confirm final pricing during your free quote, factoring in the rug's actual size, material, and condition rather than guessing from a phone description.
What a rug costs in each city.
The rug rate does not change with the city. A medium rug is $120 in Oakville for the same reason it is $120 in Brampton or Mississauga: it is priced by the rug, not by where the floor happens to be.
Two things do vary, and neither is the rug. Every visit carries a $175 minimum, so a single small rug on its own bills at $175 rather than $80 — which is why most people have a rug done alongside carpet or stairs, where it is simply added at its own rate.
And outside Brampton a $40 travel charge applies, once per visit rather than once per rug, so it costs the same whether we clean one rug or four. That is the entire difference between cities.
If you would rather see the figure than phone for it, the price estimator asks which city you are in and applies both automatically.
Keeping a rug looking newer for longer.
Rotating a rug every six months or so evens out fading and wear from sunlight and foot traffic, especially for rugs placed in direct sun near windows. Vacuuming regularly — with the beater bar turned off for delicate or hand-knotted rugs, since it can snag fibres — removes surface dust before it settles deeper into the pile.
A rug pad underneath does double duty: it protects both the rug and the floor beneath it, and it reduces the shifting and friction that accelerates wear along the edges. For rugs in high-traffic hallways or entryways, a professional clean every 12-18 months keeps ground-in soil from acting like sandpaper on the fibres.
That is often the difference between a rug that lasts a decade and one that needs replacing after a few years of heavy daily use.
See the difference.
Wool, Persian and Oriental rug cleaning.
Wool rug cleaning is the case where the usual process gets put aside. The pre-spray that suits a synthetic traffic lane runs at pH 12.3, which is far too alkaline for wool, so wool is cleaned with the Prochem All Fiber Rinse on its own and no alkaline pre-spray at all. That rinse is WoolSafe approved and sits on the acid side, at pH 4.2 to 4.5, which is formulated to hold dyes in place rather than lift them.
Persian and Oriental rugs are usually hand-knotted, often wool or silk, and frequently carry natural dyes that will bleed if they meet the wrong water temperature or the wrong solution. Where a piece like that is sound, it is cleaned in the home at the same size-based rates: $80 small, $120 medium, from $180 for a 9×12 or larger.
Where it is not sound, we say so. A hand-knotted piece with natural dyes, visible dry rot or signs of earlier water damage genuinely does better with a specialist off-site cleaner than with any in-home service, including ours. We will tell you that at the assessment rather than clean it anyway and hope. We also do not repair rugs — no reweaving, no re-fringing, no restoration — so if that is what a piece needs, a specialist is the right call.
Frequently asked.
Do you clean rugs in-home or do you take them off-site?
Most area rugs are cleaned right where they sit in your home. Extremely soiled or delicate rugs may occasionally be recommended for off-site cleaning, and we'll always let you know in advance.
Will cleaning fade my rug's pattern?
No — we test dye stability before any treatment and use pattern-safe methods designed to protect colour and detail work.
How long does an area rug take to dry?
Most rugs are dry to the touch within 4-6 hours, similar to wall-to-wall carpet. Thicker or densely woven rugs can take a little longer, and we can advise on fan placement to speed things up if you need the room usable sooner.
How do you price rugs that are an unusual size?
We size rugs into small, medium, and large tiers based on dimensions. If your rug falls between sizes or is unusually large, we'll confirm exact pricing during your free quote.
Ready to book?
Free, no-pressure quotes — most jobs quoted same day.
Rugs are cleaned in place, in your home, in every city below. Area rug cleaning in Brampton is the shortest trip on the list.
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Area Rug Cleaning In Place, On Video
A large patterned rug being cleaned where it lies, on hardwood. Most rugs do not need to leave the house: the pre-spray, agitation and extraction all happen in the room, with the floor underneath protected and the rug left dry enough to walk on the same day. Rugs that genuinely do need immersion — heavy urine contamination, or a delicate antique — we will say so rather than attempt it on your floor.
This one was in Milton. We clean rugs the same way in Brampton, Mississauga, Milton, Oakville, Georgetown, Caledon, Burlington, Toronto, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham. The Milton guide and the Oakville guide both cover older and heritage rugs specifically.