Older houses, wool rugs over original hardwood, and crawlspaces instead of slabs — all three change how the job should be done. Same pricing as the rest of the county.
Reviewed and updated .
Downtown is the oldest part of Aiken and it is where the housing stock is genuinely different. The Winter Colony districts around the center date largely from 1882 to 1948 — the first of them went on the National Register in 1984 — and they were built as winter residences, several of them with stables attached. Around and between them sit the smaller period houses and the mixed commercial blocks along Laurens Street.
That produces a set of flooring conditions you rarely meet in a modern subdivision, and they matter more than the address does.
Rugs, not wall-to-wall. Period houses tend to have area rugs over original hardwood rather than fitted carpet, and a fair number of those rugs are wool or hand-knotted. Those are washed properly rather than surface-cleaned where they lie, because a rug holds pounds of grit in its foundation that no in-home method reaches. More on rug cleaning.
The floor underneath is the risk. Cleaning a rug in place puts moisture against a hardwood finish that may be ninety years old. Taking the rug away protects the floor and lets us clean the boards underneath while it is gone — which is usually the first time anyone has.
Crawlspaces, not slabs. Older Southern houses sit over ventilated crawlspaces, which in an Aiken summer are humid. Moisture comes up as well as in, so drying takes longer here and airflow gets set up rather than assumed.
Sand, from an unusual direction. Aiken's historic Horse District keeps its streets unpaved for hooves. That is a genuinely nice thing about living here and it means the grit tracked into nearby houses is constant. It is the same coarse Sandhills sand that cuts fiber from the base up, so the interval matters more than the appearance does.
If a piece is valuable enough that it should go to a specialist rather than a cleaner, you will be told that before anything is quoted.
Yes, and the approach is different from a modern house. Older properties tend to have area rugs over original hardwood rather than wall-to-wall, wool rather than synthetic, and crawlspaces rather than slabs. All three change the method — mostly toward less moisture and more attention to drying.
Wool and hand-knotted rugs are identified and dye-tested before anything is applied, and delicate pieces are washed properly rather than surface-cleaned in place. See area and oriental rug cleaning. If a piece belongs with a textile conservator, you will be told that.
Not if the rug comes off the floor to be cleaned, which is what we recommend for anything valuable. Cleaning a rug in place on original hardwood puts moisture against a finish that may be a century old, and that is a risk not worth taking for the sake of convenience.
The same as everywhere else in Aiken County — $60–$120 for one or two rooms, $150–$300 for three to five. Rugs are priced per square foot. There is no surcharge for the historic district. See the pricing guide.
Usually. Truck-mounted extraction runs a hose from the vehicle, and on the older streets that sometimes means parking further out and running more hose. Where a property genuinely cannot be reached, a portable unit is used instead — you will be told at booking rather than on the day.
Yes — offices above and around Laurens Street, shops, salons and professional suites, scheduled outside opening hours. See commercial cleaning.
Four to eight hours normally, and often longer downtown, because older houses over crawlspaces hold humidity. Airflow gets set up before we leave rather than left to chance.
Tell us what the floors and rugs actually are and you'll get a straight range — including when a piece should go somewhere else.
Rather write? Email carpetcleaningaiken@gmail.com.
