How to Prepare a Slough Home for Professional Carpet Moth Treatment

The Week Before

1. Walk every carpeted room and look under one heavy thing in each. Write down what you find. This is what tells us the real scope
2. Decide about the communal areas. If the hall or stairs are carpeted, tell the managing agent what is happening — treating your flat while the common parts are untreated is worth knowing about before rather than after
3. Sort the stored textiles. Anything wool that has been boxed or bagged for months — decide whether it is in scope or is going to be dealt with separately
4. Arrange for pets. Fish tanks need covering and pumps turning off; birds, small animals and cats need to be out for the day
5. Check access. Parking, door codes, whether the lift works, and whether anybody needs to be let through a communal door

The Day Before

1. Vacuum thoroughly, including the carpet edges against the skirting and under everything you can move. Empty the vacuum into an outside bin, not the kitchen one
2. Move what you can move. Clear the floor of small furniture, boxes, laundry baskets and toys
3. Empty the wardrobe bases and the bottoms of fitted cupboards
4. Lift and roll any rug that is in scope, and leave it where it was so we can see the floor under it
5. Take up loose items from the floor — shoes, bags, papers, pet bedding
6. Do not shampoo or wet-clean the carpets. A damp carpet is a poor surface to treat

What You Cannot Prepare, and Should Say Instead

Nobody expects a flat to be emptied, and some things are genuinely not movable. Tell us rather than working around them.

• Furniture too heavy to move alone — say which, and we will deal with it on the day
• Fitted wardrobes and built-in units
• Carpet you cannot lift
• Communal areas that are not yours to prepare
• A room you cannot clear because somebody is sleeping in it

On the Day

• Somebody over 18 needs to be there to give access
• Allow the time we quote rather than booking something immediately after
• Everybody and every pet out of the treated rooms while the work is done
• Tell us about anyone in the household who is pregnant, an infant, or anybody with a respiratory condition, so the aftercare advice fits

Afterwards

1. Stay out of the treated rooms for the time we tell you on the day, and ventilate afterwards
2. Do not vacuum for the period we specify — vacuuming too soon removes the treatment
3. Do not shampoo or wet-clean the treated carpets
4. Put the furniture back once the carpet is dry and the wait is up
5. Expect to see some moths for two to three weeks. Falling numbers are normal; steady or rising numbers after four weeks are not
6. Keep a rough weekly count

Treatment starts from £220. If you are in a converted building, tell us on the call — access, the common parts and what the neighbours have seen all change the plan.