Look at the third step from the bottom. In most of the two-story houses going up along South Lake Drive, that step, and the two above it, will be the first carpet in the house to look tired. Usually the stairs go long before the bedrooms do.
Stairs take a beating that flat carpet never sees. Every step lands on the same few inches at the front edge of the tread, the nosing, and the carpet there is stretched tight over a hard corner. Soil gets ground in at the exact spot where the fiber is under the most strain. Add a dog that takes the stairs at a run and a kid who drags a backpack up them every afternoon, and the nosing turns gray while the rest of the tread still looks fine.
Red Bank has a lot of these houses. Many of the subdivisions off SC-6 south of the interstate are full of newer two-stories, and a carpeted staircase is one of the most common things we're asked about here.
How we do a staircase
Stairs are done one at a time with a small hand tool sized for treads and risers. Your technician vacuums each step first, including the crease where tread meets riser, because that's where the dry grit collects. The nosings get a pre-treatment. Then each step is cleaned with our carbonated solution and the soil lifted out, starting at the top step and working down so nobody has to step on a finished stair. Since so little water goes into the carpet, the staircase is ready to use again quickly, which matters when it's the only way upstairs.
Ask about stairs when you call. They're priced with you during the walk-through, along with the rest of the house, before anything starts. Current coupons, including 3 rooms for $88, are on the coupons page.
Our opinion: if you're only going to clean one thing between full cleanings, make it the stairs and the hallway at the top. That's the traffic path for the whole second floor. In between, run the vacuum's hose attachment along the back crease of each step once a week. It takes five minutes and pulls out the grit the upright can't reach.
A limit worth knowing
Cleaning won't fix a nosing where the fibers are already worn down to the backing, or carpet that's come loose from the tack strip. Those need a carpet installer. We'll point them out so you know before you spend anything.
Call 803-310-5135 to ask about your staircase, or use the contact page. We cover all of Red Bank in 29073, from the I-20 line down past Crystal Lake and the old Saxe-Gotha Millpond to Platt Springs Rd, where White Knoll begins.