Office carpet is usually the largest soft surface in a building, the one most affected by traffic, and the one least likely to be on a schedule. It is also replaceable, which is the fact that should drive the decision: a carpet cleaned on a sensible interval lasts materially longer than one cleaned when it looks bad, and the cost of the extra cleans is small against the cost of replacing a floor early.
Extraction, encapsulation and bonnet are three different purchases
Hot water extraction removes the most soil and takes the longest to dry. Encapsulation is faster, drier and lighter, which makes it suitable for frequent maintenance passes. Bonnet cleaning is an appearance treatment for the surface only. A proposal should say which it is offering, because the cheapest number in a set of three quotes is usually the lightest method described in the same words as the heaviest.
Traffic lanes are where the decision lives
Carpet does not wear evenly. Entrances, corridors and the routes between desks and the kitchen carry almost all of the soil, and a maintenance programme that treats those lanes frequently and the whole floor rarely costs less and looks better than an annual whole-floor clean.
Matting at the door is the cheapest cleaning you will buy
Most of what ends up in an office carpet walks in through the front door. Adequate barrier matting, properly maintained, removes a large share of it before it reaches the floor, and it is a one-off purchase against a recurring cost.
Drying time is a scheduling constraint, not a detail
Extraction leaves carpet damp for hours. In an occupied office that means an evening or weekend visit and it means the air moving afterwards, both of which belong in the quotation. A cheap quote that assumes a Tuesday afternoon is not a quote for your building.
What the published record says
One company in this record publishes a deep-cleaning and specialty-services uplift per square foot on top of its standard rate, which is the closest published figure to this work. No company here publishes a carpet cleaning rate of its own. Periodic soft-floor work is negotiated rather than advertised in this market, which is precisely why asking for it as a named line with a named method is worth the effort.
Questions people ask about carpet cleaning for offices
How often should office carpet be cleaned?
Traffic lanes far more often than open floor. A common shape is frequent light maintenance on the lanes with a heavier extraction annually, and the interval matters more than the method.
Is carpet cleaning in the monthly contract?
Usually not, sometimes as an allowance. Ask which, because a monthly figure that includes an annual extraction and one that does not look the same on paper.
Does frequent cleaning wear the carpet out faster?
The opposite, within reason. It is abrasive soil left in the pile that cuts the fibres, which is the argument for maintenance rather than rescue.