Sods Law & Cleaning Carpets.

It's a good job I moved house when I did. Another couple of years & I wouldn't have been able to remain calm in the face of adversity! Just when I thought I was on the very final leg of the making the house my home another problem arises.

The carpets are good quality wool, but with some small mysterious black spots & a sort of pale turmeric coloured stain. (Did the tenants eat curry in all the bedrooms?) Having had a fitter in from a "trusted tradesman" website to advise on patching the worst stain we agreed a date for the work to be done. Then a second date when he didn't turn up. Then a third, which was last Friday afternoon. Yes, he failed to turn up again. No contact at all. I had to phone him each time.

T... the carpet cleaner came on Monday morning as arranged. So we agreed he would do his best with the stains. I now know more than I did about cleaning carpets. First you use a brushing in machine to put the first solution on - gets the carpet ready for the proper clean I think. Then you use the actual cleaning machine with a second solution, which to be fair was "Woolsafe".

All was going well so I popped round the corner to the shops. When I got back T... was a bit panicked. He had only done my bedroom & the small landing outside & the carpet was undulating! Something had gone drastically wrong & the machine had pulled the carpet into raised humps. I can only guess that the suction must have stretched the wet carpet.

Profuse apologies - it had apparently never happened before. T... is insured - thank goodness. So he contacted a carpet fitting & supply company he knows & they will hopefully come out & stretch the carpet to get rid of the humps. However not till next week sometime.

If it can't be stretched T... will have to replace the whole bedroom carpet, but obviously he doesn't really want to have to make a claim. However, unsurprisingly, he now isn't prepared to clean anymore of the carpets. So even if the carpet can be stretched I still need it to be cleaned.

Completely baffled as to why this has happened & what the solution will ultimately be. Hopefully the fitter will have a clue what the problem is & may be able to suggest an alternative method of cleaning. If not I suppose I may have to replace the whole of the first floor carpeting.

What a complete pain!