Carpet Cleaning in Los Angeles, CA

That's usually street and freeway grit: fine road dust, brake particulate and urban soot that rides in on air currents, pet feet and clothing, then grinds into the pile. It lands hardest on light beige and gray carpet, and it settles in the walkways rather than under furniture, which is why the pattern looks like lanes. It isn't a stain. It's abrasive soil sitting deep in the fiber, so it needs hot water extraction with enough dwell time and rinse to lift it out. If your unit has window AC or you keep windows open near a busy corridor, expect it to come back faster than it would in a quieter part of the city.

Often yes, and it's one of the more common calls we get in smaller units with a wall furnace or window AC and not much cross-ventilation. Airborne cooking oils condense on carpet and pad and hold odor along with cigarette smoke. We clean with a degreasing pre-spray and hot water extraction, which handles most of what's in the fiber. Be honest with yourself about the limits. If the pad and the tack strip have absorbed years of it, or the smell is also in the walls and drapes, cleaning reduces it rather than erasing it. We'll tell you at the walkthrough whether we think extraction will get you where you want to be or whether replacement is the better call.