Nearly every City of London home is a flat: 97.9% of households at the 2021 Census. Carpet cleaning in the Square Mile costs £36 a bedroom, cleaned by hot water extraction on site.

The carpet clean from arrival to drying

The cleaner parks in a City payment bay, paid through RingGo, where the maximum stay is four hours; tell us if the job is big enough to need longer. On a Saturday the bays cost £2 for any time between 8am and 11am, and nothing on Sundays or bank holidays.

Inside, small things come off the floor and each carpet is vacuumed to lift the grit from the base of the pile. Marks and the walkways from the front door get a pre-treatment. Then comes the hot water extraction: hot water and a cleaning solution go into the carpet and are drawn straight back out, taking the loosened dirt with them. A rug is cleaned where it lies and stays in the flat.

The machine runs on your electricity and fills from your water, so leave both on. Beds, wardrobes and sofas stay where they are and the cleaner works around them.

The carpets usually dry within a few hours; ventilation decides how fast. In a flat with windows on two sides, open both; in a flat with windows on one side only, open them and the internal doors and run the bathroom and kitchen fans. Walk on a damp carpet in clean socks if you have to, and keep furniture off it until it feels dry. The London carpet cleaning page has more on stains and drying.

Carpet prices for City homes

Bedroom £36, living room £43, through lounge £61, hallway £22. A flight of stairs is £41 and a landing £9, which is how the internal stair of a maisonette is priced. A rug up to 3 square metres is £35; anything larger is £51. One-off work starts at £67, and sofas, mattresses and curtains for the same visit are on the London price list.

With the City wholly inside the Congestion Charge zone, the daily charge sits inside these prices. Where no free parking is available, the bay is billed at the day’s rate, to a ceiling of £40.

Carpet cleaning prices
What	Price	How it is priced
Bedroom carpet	£36	Per item
Living room carpet	£43	Per item
Through lounge carpet	£61	Per item
Stair carpet (flight)	£41	Per flight
Hallway carpet	£22	Per item
Landing carpet	£9	Per item
Rug up to 3 sq m	£35	Per item
Rug over 3 sq m	£51	Per item

One-off work starts at £67.

A Barbican maisonette compared with a single-floor flat

The Barbican’s 2,000-plus homes are a mix of flats, maisonettes and terraced houses, and Golden Lane was built with 559 flats and maisonettes. Take two homes with two bedrooms. On one floor, the bill is two bedrooms, the living room and the hallway. As a maisonette, the same rooms come with a flight of stairs at £41 and a landing at £9. The upper floor is cleaned first and the stair last, working down towards the front door, so nobody has to cross a damp flight to get out.

Listed estates and converted buildings

The whole Barbican Estate was listed at Grade II in 2001, with Crescent House at Grade II*, and Golden Lane’s buildings were listed one by one in 1997. The Corporation has published listed building management guidelines for Golden Lane (2013) and a guide for residents (2008) on what doing work to a listed home involves. A carpet clean is no such work: the carpet stays fitted, nothing is lifted or replaced, and the cleaner works on the surface of the pile.

Outside the estates, 5.5% of City households live in other converted buildings, such as former schools, churches or warehouses, and 4.1% in flats inside offices, hotels or above shops. If the entrance is shared with a business, ask the building how contractors are let in and pass the details on when we ring back.

The City has 28 conservation areas, Barbican and Golden Lane among them, alongside Bank, Bishopsgate and Bow Lane.

Red routes and controlled hours

Several of the City’s main roads are TfL red routes, Bishopsgate, Upper and Lower Thames Street, Farringdon Street, Mansell Street and the Minories among them, so the cleaner’s vehicle goes in a City payment bay. The whole City is one controlled zone, 7am to 7pm on weekdays and 7am to 11am on Saturdays. The Corporation is consulting until 2 December 2026 on charging from 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday from 1 May 2027, so Saturday parking may cost more from then.

Booking a carpet clean in the City

Use the form or ring 020 3734 1438 with the rooms, the stairs and any rugs. We ring back to agree a day and confirm the price against the home, and a 50% deposit fixes the booking, with the rest due once the carpets are done. Visits run from 8am to 7pm on any day of the week.

Other cleaning in the City of London

The City also has its own pages for end of tenancy cleaning in the City and oven cleaning. City of London cleaning services covers regular and deep cleaning.

Carpet cleaning around the Square Mile

For a flat over the boundary in Shoreditch or the boroughs below, the room prices are the same.

City of London carpet cleaning questions

Can you clean carpets on a Saturday morning?

Yes, Saturday is a working day, 8am to 7pm. The City’s payment bays cost £2 for any time from 8am to 11am on a Saturday, which keeps the parking line small.

Will my rug leave the flat?

No. Rugs are cleaned where they lie, at £35 up to 3 square metres and £51 above that, with the floor around them protected.

Does a Barbican flat cost more than one elsewhere?

No. The room prices are the same across London: £36 a bedroom, £43 a living room and £22 a hallway, with stairs and landings on their own lines for a maisonette.

Can you do the carpets in the communal corridors?

Common parts belong to the building, so they are cleaned only when the estate office, freeholder or managing agent books the work. Inside your own front door, every room is priced on its own line.

When can I walk on the carpet again?

Straight away in clean socks, if you need to. Shoes and furniture should wait until the pile is dry to the touch, usually a few hours with the windows open.

Ring 020 3734 1438 with the rooms and stairs you want cleaned.

Book a clean 020 3734 1438

Carpet cleaning in the City of London