Most of what we pull out of Andover carpet is rock. Fine, gray, crushed rock — the surface of the Northern Rail Trail, which runs right through the middle of town, and it comes home on sneakers, bike shoes, dog paws and the bottoms of strollers.
The state upgraded the trail to crushed stone once it crosses into Merrimack County, and Andover gets a long run of it. Smooth to ride on. Great to walk on. The dust is so fine it doesn’t look like dirt at all until you see a white carpet next to a door that faces the trail. Potter Place is a trailhead, the depot museum draws people on summer weekends, and plenty of houses on Route 4 have somebody heading out on the trail every evening from April until the snowmobiles take over.
Then East Andover. Highland Lake is long and skinny, six miles end to end, and the cottages along it rent by the week. A different family every Saturday, every one of them barefoot and wet. You can guess what that does to a hallway runner by Labor Day.
Two different kinds of soil, really. Stone dust works into the base of the pile and grinds. Lake traffic is damp, sandy and greasy with sunscreen. We treat them differently.
Hang a stiff brush by the door that faces the rail trail and knock the stone dust off shoes before they cross the threshold. Cheapest carpet protection there is.
Wet rock dust is mud. If somebody hits a stone-dusted carpet with hot water before they’ve pulled the dry grit out, they just make a gray paste and push it down to the backing. So we start with a slow commercial vacuum pass, crosswise on the traffic lanes, and that step alone often takes longer than people expect.
After that, a pre-spray matched to the soil — something for the body oil and sunscreen on a rental, something milder on wool — and hot water extraction with extra dry passes so the carpet isn’t sitting wet in a closed-up cottage. Fans if the place won’t have the heat or windows going.
And the dirty water goes in our tank and leaves with us. The village gets its drinking water out of Bradley Lake. Nobody in town needs a carpet cleaner rinsing a recovery tank into a ditch. We don’t.
A whole house generally runs $150–$350 depending on room count, stairs and how much trail has walked in; a single room is around $45. We give you one flat number before we start. Cottage owners on Highland Lake: tell us your turnover day.
If you live near the rail trail, it is probably crushed-stone dust. It is finer than sand and settles to the base of the pile where a household vacuum cannot reach it. A commercial dry pass pulls most of it, and extraction rinses the rest. Some dullness may be wear, which cleaning cannot reverse.
Once a year after the summer season is the minimum. Busy cottages with light carpet often add a quick mid-season cleaning in late July. If you allow pets, plan on spot treatment between guests too. Waiting two seasons lets the sand and oils set in.
Usually, yes. Tell us checkout and check-in times when you book. Most cottages are dry enough to walk on in a few hours if we can run fans and open windows, and we will tell you honestly if the timing is too tight.
We move chairs, end tables and other light pieces and clean around the heavy stuff like pianos and full bookcases. If you want beds or sectionals moved, mention it when you book so we schedule the extra time and price it up front.
Flexible scheduling, flat prices quoted up front, and a crew that knows the Lakes Region.
Tell us where the property is and what needs cleaning. We'll get right back to you with a straight, flat price.
We reply to every request within 1 business day.