Updated 10 October 2026 · By Hello Cleaners, part of Hello Services Ltd
In short
- Carpet cleaning starts from £20 per area and £25 for stairs and landing.
- Across 12,372 UK jobs, the median booking value since 2024 was £290, because most bookings bundle other services.
- 93% of jobs include carpet deep cleaning and 5% include rugs.
- Friday is the busiest day, and late summer plus mid to late February are busy.
- Check your tenancy agreement for carpet cleaning clauses.
Contents
- What professional carpet cleaning is
- How much does carpet cleaning cost in the UK?
- Carpet cleaning across the UK
- What is booked alongside carpet cleaning
- When UK households book carpet cleaning
- How to prepare for carpet cleaning
- Stains, odours and what cleaning can and cannot do
- Carpets and the tenancy deposit
- What this means for you
- Frequently asked questions
- How the numbers were calculated
What professional carpet cleaning is
Professional carpet cleaning removes embedded dirt, odours and many stains that vacuuming cannot reach. Carpets act as a filter for a home: they hold dust, pet hair, food, spills and the dirt that arrives on shoes. Over time that builds up, and it is most visible on stairs, in hallways and in living rooms.
In the UK data it is one of the most booked services, with 12,372 jobs. Most of those jobs bundle carpets with another clean. Carpets are in 40% of end of tenancy jobs, which makes carpet cleaning a common extra for tenants. Rugs are a smaller part: 5% of carpet jobs include rugs.
How much does carpet cleaning cost in the UK?
Carpet cleaning starts from £20 per area, and £25 for stairs and landing. The price is fixed and confirmed on the quote. An area usually means a room or a defined space such as a hallway. See the prices page for the full list.
| Item | Price from |
|---|---|
| Carpet cleaning, per area | £20 |
| Stairs and landing | £25 |
Across 7,181 carpet cleaning jobs since 2024 the median booking value was £290. Half of bookings came in between £228 and £380. This is the total for the whole booking, which often bundles several services, so it is higher than the starting price of a single item.
The median is much higher than a single area because most carpet bookings also include other rooms or services. Jobs record an average of 2.8 carpet areas each.
Median booking values come from one UK provider, not the whole UK market.
Carpet cleaning across the UK
The table shows the areas with the most carpet cleaning jobs since 2024. Prices are set nationally, so differences in the median mostly reflect the mix of extras booked in each place, not a different rate.
| Area | Jobs since 2024 | Median booking value |
|---|---|---|
| London | 1,680 | £280 |
| Birmingham | 224 | £276 |
| Reading | 218 | £290 |
| Edinburgh | 209 | £276 |
| Cambridge | 186 | £292 |
| Bristol | 171 | £281 |
| Guildford | 161 | £283 |
| Manchester | 141 | £280 |
| Brighton | 125 | £278 |
| Gloucester | 125 | £301 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 125 | £310 |
| Oxford | 124 | £318 |
Jobs by area
Across the 25 UK areas with enough jobs to compare, the median booking value runs from £276 in Birmingham to £318 in Oxford. London has the most jobs (1,680 since 2024). The areas include Scotland as well as England.
Medians in the larger cities cluster close together, which is typical when pricing is national. Higher medians in some towns are more likely to reflect larger homes or more extras on the booking. More comparison is in cleaning prices by city in the UK.
What is booked alongside carpet cleaning
Each bar shows the share of carpet cleaning jobs that included the line.
Share of the 12,372 carpet cleaning jobs in the UK data that included each line. Bundled jobs count under every service they contain.
93% of jobs include carpet deep cleaning and 5% include rugs. Bathrooms, the kitchen, living areas, bedrooms and interior windows each appear in more than 80% of these jobs, and appliances in 62%. The pattern shows that carpets are usually part of a move-out or a full-house clean. The full scope is on the carpet and rug cleaning page.
When UK households book carpet cleaning
Carpet cleaning follows moves and seasonal deep cleans. These are the shares of jobs by month, using the full years 2024 and 2025.
August (10%) and September (10%) are the busiest months, and December (6%) is the quietest. The busiest ISO weeks across 2024 and 2025 were week 9 (late February) with 143 jobs, week 8 (mid February) with 134 jobs, week 40 (late September) with 132 jobs and week 31 (late July) with 132 jobs (ISO weeks run from week 1 in early January to week 52 or 53 in late December).
Busiest days of the week
Friday is the busiest day (18% of jobs), followed by Monday (16%). Sunday is the quietest (8%). Most jobs start at 9am (42% of jobs), and 2pm is the second most common start (17%). See also busiest months for cleaning in the UK, busiest weeks to book cleaning and best day and time to book a cleaner.
The busiest ISO weeks include weeks 8 and 9, in mid to late February. That fits an early spring clean. The late summer rise matches the move-out season, so carpets booked in August and September often sit alongside end of tenancy cleaning.
How to prepare for carpet cleaning
- Clear small furniture, toys and loose items from the floor.
- Vacuum if you can. It removes loose dirt, though it is not essential.
- Point out stains, pet accidents or spills and say how old they are.
- Tell the team about delicate or specialist rugs.
- Open windows after the clean to help the carpet dry, and walk on it as little as possible until it is dry.
Stains, odours and what cleaning can and cannot do
Professional cleaning can lift many everyday stains, such as food, drink and general soiling. Results depend on how old the stain is, what caused it and the carpet fibre. Dye stains, bleach marks and burns are permanent damage and cannot be cleaned out. Pet odours often need more than one pass, and honest advice on the day is a good sign.
Wear patterns, flattened pile and fading also stay after cleaning. Cleaning restores the look of dirty carpet, not worn carpet.
Carpets and the tenancy deposit
Many UK tenancy agreements ask for carpets to be professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy. Even when they do not, carpets are one of the first things an agent checks. Keep the receipt from the clean and take dated photos. The end of tenancy cleaning guide explains how this fits with the rest of the check-out clean.
What this means for you
- Budget from £20 per area and £25 for stairs and landing, and add up the areas you want cleaned.
- Carpets are usually bundled. Booking them with another service is the norm, not the exception.
- Friday is the busiest day and September one of the busiest months, so book early at those times.
- Check your tenancy agreement before you pay for a clean you may not need.
Frequently asked questions
How much does carpet cleaning cost in the UK?
Carpet cleaning starts from £20 per area and £25 for stairs and landing. The final price is fixed and confirmed on the quote.
What is the median booking value for carpet cleaning?
Since 2024 it was £290 across UK jobs in the dataset. That is the middle total of a whole booking, which usually includes other rooms or services.
Do tenants have to pay for professional carpet cleaning?
It depends on the tenancy agreement. Many ask for it, so check yours before you book.
How long do carpets take to dry?
It varies with the carpet, the room and how well it is ventilated. Open windows and avoid walking on it until it feels dry.
Can you clean rugs?
Yes. Rugs appear in 5% of carpet jobs in the data. Tell the team the type and size of rug when you book.
What if a stain is not removed?
Report it within 72 hours. Hello Cleaners offers a free re-clean, although some stains are permanent damage.
How the numbers were calculated
Source: Hello Cleaners job records, 31,487 UK jobs, part of Hello Services Ltd.
The records cover jobs recorded between 2019 and 2026. This guide uses the 12,372 carpet and rug cleaning jobs in that dataset. Prices and areas use jobs since 2024. Months use the full years 2024 and 2025. Days of the week and start times use all years. 2022 has almost no records and 2023 is partial, so no trends are compared across those years. 2026 is year to date.
The median is the middle value: half of bookings were below it and half above. It is the total of a whole booking, not a per-service price. The data comes from one UK provider and is not the whole UK market. See also Hello Cleaners in numbers, what customers book most and cleaning prices by city.
Related guides and pages
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