Pet accidents, wine, twenty years of traffic

What generally comes out

• Pet urine and the odour that comes with it — treated at the source with enzyme, not covered with fragrance.
• Red wine, coffee, juice and most food spills, particularly if they haven't been scrubbed first.
• General greying in traffic lanes, which is usually soil rather than wear.
• Grout that has gone dark along every line from years of mopping.
• Body oil on sofa headrests and arms, with the right degreasing pre-treatment.

What doesn't, and we'll say so first

• Bleach and household chemical spots — the colour is gone from the fibre, not sitting on it.
• Sun fading, usually in a band along a sliding door.
• Genuine wear in a twenty-year-old traffic lane, where the fibre itself is damaged.
• Some dye transfer from rubber-backed mats, which can be permanent.

The honest version of this job is telling you which category you're in before we take your money. Most people are surprised how much falls into the first list.