Does this sound right to you?

[libraryfreak]

We bought carpet from Home Depot last October. It has a 15 year wear and 7 year stain warranty. Already we see a traffic pattern. We contacted HD, who asked us to email them a photo, which we did yesterday. They contacted us today and left a voice message that said that in order to "activate" the warranty we needed to have the carpet professionally cleaned within the first 12 months. Huh? I would of remembered them telling us this. I know we still have time, but still. Could I ask your opinions please?

 

[dimimi]

I never heard of this either. I "googled" this for you and found this:

WHAT IS YOUR CARPET WARRANTY WORTH?
If you are about to buy carpet because of some warranty you were told about, or read on the back of a sample, stop and think about the following before you buy. Some of the newest warranties have strict guidelines that the consumer must follow or you have NO WARRANTY. The most common of these is the "clean your carpet every 18 to 24 month limitation". If you do not have a receipt from a certified carpet cleaner, don't even bother to file a claim.

learn something new everyday!

Now I have to say, it makes sense that you would try to clean the carpet in a high traffic area before it gets too soiled, but I never new not cleaning it would void a warranty!

 

[LilyWDW]

My guess is what they mean is that they require you to attempt to get it professionally cleaned since you are seeing traffic pattern this soon. If the cleaning doesn't do it, then it would be a warranty issue.

Makes sense to me. Warranty is usually for excessive stains or wear.

 

[Swimalie]

We bought carpet through Costco and in order to keep the 10 year warranty in effect we have to have it professionally cleaned within 2 years of installation so it's not unheard of. It is also on our paperwork.

 

[dd50]

I had trouble with HD years ago with carpet. It kept shedding until there was nothing left. I had the same carpet in another kids room but in a different color that looked brand new. I contacted them about 8 months out and they tried every thing to get out of sending someone. I contacted the corporate office. They finally sent someone and he said well you have 4 kids what do you expect. I contacted corporate again and got new carpet. You have to stand your ground with any warranty to get service.

 

[LilyWDW]

You have to stand your ground with any warranty to get service.

However if you look at the posts above, you will notice that many carpet warranties requires specific steps to be done before it kicks in.

WHY would any company want to pay out on the warranty if they don't have to? Warranties are for beyond normal wear and tear, stuff that can not be fixed by normal methods such as professional cleaning. If you (general you) don't take steps in maintenance then it WILL wear faster... because you didn't do what you should do.

OP do you have your paperwork? Have you checked the information on the warranty? Everything should be there on what the requirements are.

 

[disykat]

in order to keep the warranty in effect we have to have it professionally cleaned within 2 years of installation

ours too - and every two years for the life of the carpet. My warranty is for something like 20 years. I did have it professionally cleaned before the two mark, but might not worry about it any more. (I clean it myself) The likelihood that I'll ever get them to honor a warranty more than 4 years out it so small IMO.

 

[LoriABil]

We had Stainmaster carpet installed when we built our home ( upgrade). They have a similar guarantee. And guess what? Nothing in their paperwork and no one at the carpet store told us about their policy.

It has to be professionally cleaned or can be cleaned by a home deep cleaner if you use a scotchguard product afterward!

I thought I was a fool for not knowing this! Now I think maybe we've all been jipped!

 

[Swimalie]

ours too - and every two years for the life of the carpet. My warranty is for something like 20 years. I did have it professionally cleaned before the two mark, but might not worry about it any more. (I clean it myself) The likelihood that I'll ever get them to honor a warranty more than 4 years out it so small IMO.

I'm debating having it cleaned before the 2 year mark, too (this Oct will be 2 years). Professional cleaning can strip the protection that comes with carpet and right now the carpet is repelling all stains. Chances of us being here in a few years is slim so why strip that protection when the chances of using the warranty are slim as well. The only thing I can see us needing is stretching and that's not covered under the warranty.

 

[moongirl]

Be very careful about what "professionally cleaned" means. I'd ask for something in writing from HD that explains specifically what I have to do and who qualifies as a professional cleaner, what methods are acceptable, etc. You don't want them to then come back and say that you used the wrong cleaning method that voided your warrantee. I had that happen to me on a faucet warrantee. When I called, they asked me what cleaners I had used to clean it and I told them that, primarily, I had cleaned it with windex. They said that that is considered a "harsh, chemical cleaner" which was prohibited by the warrantee. Who knew?

 

[disykat]

They do make it hard to even find out what "professionally cleaned" means. I was supposed to receive a name of a certified cleaner. I had to call twice just to find out they don't have anyone certified in our area. Then they were supposed to send me a list of guidelines to follow. I had to call twice before getting that as well. I did finally receive the list of guidelines and followed them when hiring someone. That's the point where I decided not to bother again because it was clear to me that they were going to be impossible to deal with anyway.

 

[dd50]

However if you look at the posts above, you will notice that many carpet warranties requires specific steps to be done before it kicks in.

WHY would any company want to pay out on the warranty if they don't have to? Warranties are for beyond normal wear and tear, stuff that can not be fixed by normal methods such as professional cleaning. If you (general you) don't take steps in maintenance then it WILL wear faster... because you didn't do what you should do.

OP do you have your paperwork? Have you checked the information on the warranty? Everything should be there on what the requirements are.

OP said that when she called they said you have to have professionally cleaned every year and she still had time. The same thing happened with me as it was before one year was up. Our warranty said it had to be cleaned every two years. Mine didn't say professionally.

That is why I said that you have to stay on them because they don't want to honor the warranty no matter what you do. They tried to tell me that I had 4 kids. My warranty didn't say if you have more than 3 kids we will not honor the warranty.

 

[libraryfreak]

Thank you, thank you to all who replied. Sorry for the long delay in responding, I was on vacation (Myrtle Beach, wish it had been Disney.) I tried calling HD today but since it's the weekend I don't suppose the contact person is working today. I'm glad to hear its not uncommon, I'll have to dig for the paperwork but I really don't remember them telling me it had to be professionally cleaned in order for the warranty to be activated. Thanks again!