If you own a rental property in Tampa, you may know that it is very beneficial to hire a property management company, like Specialized Property Management Tampa, to take care of your rental unit. An important aspect of using a professional Tampa property management company is that we will help facilitate maintenance, and keep costs low. Maintenance can be a hassle if you’re the only one that does it, and some maintenance tasks are more tedious than others. Carpet maintenance, for example, can be somewhat annoying to deal with. Some tenants can be particular about rental unit flooring and may expect carpets to be perfect when they move in. Other tenants can be very messy and might leave stains that are hard to remove.

Here are some tips for carpet maintenance in rental units that can help you manage carpets and keep them looking nicer.

1. Make sure the right equipment is used for cleaning carpets between tenants.  There are differences between steam cleaning, hot water extraction, and cold water extraction. If the carpets are not stained and only require a mild cleaning, cold extraction can be done by nearly anyone, and a professional carpet cleaning company is generally not needed. Hot water extraction shoots water down into carpet fibers to loosen debris and dirt. It is then extracted and allowed to dry. A property management company usually has the resources to perform this method of carpet cleaning. Steam cleaning is typically done by carpet cleaning companies and can be effective for removing stains and debris.

2. Install stain-resistant carpet. Investing a little extra money into stain-resistant carpets can be a cost-effective choice that will make future cleaning and maintenance easier. Regardless of who is responsible for maintaining the property, the stain-resistant carpets will require less time for maintenance in the future.

3. Place runners in high traffic areas. This helps tremendously with the types of potential issues that can occur in areas where people tend to walk the most. Runners help saves the carpet from being worn and help protect them from ground-in debris and dirt that generally comes with high traffic areas. If your rental unit is marketed as furnished, the carpet runners you choose should look good with the color of the existing carpet and not be too specific to a certain style so as to make it universally appealing. If unfurnished, you can encourage your tenants to get their own runner to help protect the carpet.

4. Get referrals and recommendations when looking for a Tampa property management company to take care of your rentals. At Specialized Property Management Tampa, our experts know who the best contractors are for specific jobs, including cleaning the carpets. We pay attention to such details, so you don’t have to worry about them and can focus on revenues. One of the best ways to find a good management firm is to look at real customer testimonials. Click Here to see what our customers have to say about our property management services!

5. Charge an extra deposit from renters with pets. If the tenant or their pet damages the carpet, the deposit is taken to replace or in some instances, do a deep cleaning to remove stains and offensive odors. Generally, a security deposit should be enough to cover a carpet cleaning at the end of a tenancy, but a pet might cause more damage than normal wear and tear, in which case having a pet deposit would be very helpful for you and your wallet.

When it comes to carpet maintenance in a rental property, Specialized Property Management Tampa knows what to do. Our team is highly professional and will help you with all of your property needs. For more information, contact us online today!