The Difference Between Truck Mounted and Portable Carpet Cleaning

When you are shopping around for a carpet cleaning company, the stark difference in pricing may seem a bit strange at first. How is it that some firms are able to provide the same service yet offer a much lower price? Most of the time, the key component in this disparity is the type of equipment used to handle the job. This is typically categorized between portable units and truck mounted units.


So what are some of the differences between the two?

Portable units are typically carried in the company's vehicle. As their name implies, they can be easily transported and carried throughout the property, making them ideal for cleaning apartments and multi-story complexes. Since they do not have restrictions on hose length, they can be used in many places where a truck mounted unit may not be able to reach. Additionally, portable units enjoy the flexibility of being able to choose the type of solution appropriate for the job, where truck mounted units are committed to what they load out with on a particular day.

From a business perspective, portable units also incur less overhead. Since they are substantially smaller, they do not require as much fuel to carry around (an important factor with the gas prices these days). They also cost much less to purchase and typically do not need a crew to operate at any given time.

However, truck mounted units offer many benefits to make up for their drawbacks. What they lack in flexibility, they make up in power. Truck units are able to provide a hotter temperature for water which results in a better cleaning job overall. They also use their own water supply, which shifts the cost away from the client, and the suction power from a larger unit is superior, meaning less drying time once the job is complete.

The benefits of a portable unit may not even apply depending on your local market, if you are an owner-operator comparing the differences between the two types. If you do not intend to clean vastly different types of homes, or don't need the flexibility to reach multiple floors in a property, one of the primary selling points of a portable unit is wholly irrelevant. Additionally, truck mounted units tend to do a better job in a shorter amount of time, meaning more jobs in a day which leads to more revenue.

Of course, for some homeowners these considerations are moot, as the only thing they are concerned about is the price. The rule of thumb to keep in mind is: "you get what you pay for". When hiring a carpet cleaner on the lower end of the cost spectrum, the job tends to be done with shoddy equipment and may result in an incomplete or unsatisfactory level of cleaning. In some cases, existing dirt and residue can be made even worse if the water was not hot or pressurized enough to provide the level of chemical interaction required to lift them from the carpet fiber. These types of issues are generally not a concern with portable or truck mounted units, although it does ultimately rest upon the technique of the cleaner.

If you are not sure as to what type of equipment a company uses, always be sure to ask! Honesty is the best policy, and clarifying what you are getting before hiring a carpet cleaner will go a very long way in preventing potential headaches and disputes down the road. On the other end, if you are looking to get into the carpet cleaning business, make sure to conduct as much research on possible on the type of clientele you want to cater to, your budget and overhead costs, and service regions so you get the best idea of what type of equipment would suit your needs before spending the money.

Superior Cleaning provides full carpet cleaning and restoration services in Murrieta and Temecula.