Do you consider yourself to be a dedicated DIY-er? If so, you may always aim to do something yourself before resorting to calling a professional. This approach has its advantages. You can learn a lot, and sometimes you can save money by doing things yourself. As a dedicated DIY-er, you may usually shampoo your own carpets. But even if this is your standard protocol, there are times when you should consider calling a carpet cleaning service instead.

You have pet stains to clean up.

Cleaning pet stains out of carpets is quite difficult. You may be able to address the occasional accident with some elbow grease and a good enzymatic cleaner. But numerous pet stains are not a job for your everyday carpet shampooer. These shampoos don't always effectively extract the water from the deeper layers of the carpet, which means that even after you shampoo, your carpet may remain smelly. Professional carpet cleaning equipment, on the other hand, can pull out that deep water, taking the smelly residue along with it. Your carpet is far less likely to smell or hold onto lingering stains.

You're about to move out of a rental.

If you are renting an apartment and your lease specifies that you need to have the carpet cleaned before moving out, you should hire a pro rather than shampooing the carpet yourself. Many landlords won't consider a DIY cleaning as meeting the terms of the lease, which means you could be charged against your deposit when you move out. A professional cleaning tends to be more thorough, which is what your landlord will want before they pass the unit on to a new renter. You may be asked to provide the receipt to your landlord.

It's really humid outside.

If it's really humid outside, it's going to be tough to dry your carpet before mold develops. In this case, you really want a professional cleaning for a few reasons. For one, the high-powered equipment sucks more water up, so your carpet will dry faster. Also, many carpet cleaning companies will let you borrow high-powered fans, if needed, to dry out the space faster. It's worth going through this effort to ensure your carpet does not mold.

DIY carpet cleaning can work well, but it's not always the wisest choice. Sometimes, calling a professional carpet cleaning company is the simplest, most assured way to get your carpets truly clean.

For more information on carpet cleaning, contact a professional near you.