A lake house takes more abuse between Memorial Day and Labor Day than most homes take all year. Wet swimsuits on the sofa, sand from the shoreline, a dog fresh out of the water, a dozen weekend guests, and heavy Midlands air sitting on top of it all.
We clean lake homes on the Ballentine end of Lake Murray, in Lakeside at Ballentine, Beacon Point, Ballentine Cove, and the roads around them. Some are full-time homes. Others sit closed up for weeks between visits. By August both kinds tend to share a problem: a faint musty smell nobody can pin down.
Damp air, damp pad
Lakefront air stays wet. A carpet soaked by a dropped towel, or by a steam cleaning that uses gallons of water, can stay damp for days in that air, and damp pad is where the mildew smell starts. A closed-up weekend house is the worst case, since nobody is running the AC to pull moisture out. If your place sits empty for weeks, leave the air set to run a few hours a day while you're gone. A shut-up house with the AC off is how that smell gets started.
That's why our method suits the lake. The carbonated solution goes down with very little water, and the extractor takes it back up along with the dirt. Most carpet is dry in about an hour, even on a sticky day. Nothing soapy stays behind to hold the sand that comes in off the dock.
Sofas, cushions, and rugs
Upholstery gets the worst of lake season: damp clothes, snack spills, and sunscreen. Sunscreen is the stubborn one. It's oily, it builds up on the arms and headrests, and sometimes it takes a second pass. Our upholstery cleaning handles sofas, sectionals, and chairs, and the furniture is ready for the next group that evening.
Area rugs over tile or wood are everywhere in lake homes. We clean them in the house, so you don't lose a rug for a week in July.
Timing
Book once in early spring, before you open the house for the season, and again in early fall once the crowds thin. If you rent the place out, a carpet cleaning between bookings keeps the reviews friendly. Clean in the morning and check guests in by afternoon.
The tech goes through the house with you and prices it before starting. If you aren't happy with the result, you don't pay. Get the lake house on the calendar at 803-310-3848, and give us a rough count of how many guests came through this summer.