Carpet, rug and drapery care for Hillsborough houses

Hillsborough is almost all houses and almost all owners. Federal housing estimates show 98.5 percent of its 3,821 housing units are single-family detached homes, and only 235 of 3,610 occupied homes, about 7 percent, are rented. The median year built is 1970, and 437 units were built in 1939 or earlier. The Town’s General Plan calls for preserving a low density residential character through large lots, open space and mature trees. Big houses mean many rooms of carpet, stairs, area rugs and long drapes, so list them all when you call.

Hillsborough requires fire resistant construction for new building and teardowns in the Wildland Urban Interface or a High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. After a smoke event, porous items hold odor: rugs, upholstered chairs and drapes. The Bay Area air district advises staying indoors with windows closed and using a HEPA air purifier or a MERV 13 filter. Ducts are worth a look when soot is visible at the registers, though the EPA does not recommend routine duct cleaning.

The Town buys all of its water from the San Francisco regional system, and that system’s 2025 report lists hardness averaging 62 milligrams per liter, roughly 3.6 gpg, and its table runs from 8.1 to 112; the Town’s own report prints no hardness line. The weather service’s 30-year averages at San Francisco International Airport, about four miles away, read 73 F at the July high and 45 F at the January low, though the town’s hills can differ from the bayside airport.