By Lani Gering

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a carpet/rug cleaning business that is willing to give you the time of day about having a set of stairs and two 5 x 7 rugs professionally cleaned? I won’t name any names but I called a big name company and three small local carpet cleaning places only to be told it would be a minimum of $150-$200 to show up and then they would assess the caliber of cleaning that would be needed. Good Grief! They advertise $300 for an entire home full of carpet so what’s up with that?

After consulting a couple of local small business Facebook pages, a member of one of them recommended Payton Services, LLC. I can’t tell you all how happy I was to find someone who was interested in taking on my project. I connected with the owner/operator, Marcel Payton, and we made a plan. I about fell off of my office stool when he quoted $60 for the stairs (includes vacuuming, stain removal and cleaning) and $15 each for the rugs. I thought I was on Candid Camera (for you old folks) or Punk’d (for you youngsters) when he tossed out those numbers. I live in the heart of Old Town Alexandria where a martini costs $15 and you pretty much can’t go have lunch for $60. We set up a date and time and the rest is history.

Marcel was at my door right on time and didn’t waste a minute getting everything squared away – he is one detail oriented man. He took the rugs outside, placed them on a new tarp and went to work on them. While they dried he started on the stairs. Just vacuuming them is a chore in itself but he did it like a pro. Guess he’s had practice!

While he was doing his thing, I asked him some questions about Payton Services. He told me that he started the business in 2019 while still working for a towing company. He decided wanted to be in business for himself and being a handy kind of guy decided “professional cleaning” was his forte. Not only does Payton Services provide carpet and rug cleaning, he cleans tile and grout, upholstery, hardwood flooring, pressure and soft washing of driveways, sidewalks, patio furniture, decks and trash bins. For those of you reading this who are retailers, he also does dumpster pad cleaning.

Marcel is a self-made man. He started his company without funding from a bank or investor and has put the majority of his earnings right back into the business. He told me he isn’t in it to get rich but rather to make a decent living providing for his children and grandchildren, Milky Way his ferret, Mars his dog and his three Chinese Jack Dempsey fish. He is an easy-going guy with a huge smile and his goal is to make his clients happy. A happy client means good referrals and repeat business.

Another thing I find very impressive about Payton Services is that he uses environmentally friendly products. Marcel told me that he operates under the “Four P” mandate. If a product is harmful to “People, Pets, Plants or Property”, he won’t use it. He made sure to show me the cleaners that he was going to use before he started. He also checked the materials in the rugs before he started cleaning them. One was an indoor/outdoor rug that I had planned on taking to a pal’s house and power washing and the other was a wool/acrylic combo. After I found out the charge was only $15 per rug, I gave up my power washing expedition.

If you or anyone you know is in need of any of services mentioned about, do yourself a favor and contact Marcel at Payton Services and tell him that the Old Town Crier sent you.

His website wasn’t up and running at the time of this interview but it should be good to go by the time you all are reading this. His servicing area is Alexandria City and the surrounding area – operating in a 20 mile radius.

Payton Services LLC
571-577-6112
Ps.services.com
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