If you wake up sneezing, with itchy eyes, a blocked nose, or that dull heavy feeling that follows you from the bedroom into the day, your mattress may be part of the problem.

If your home has reached that slightly grim stage where the skirting boards look tired, the oven has a stubborn baked-on layer, and the carpet no longer looks the colour it once was, you are probably asking the same question many homeowners ask: should you do it yourself, or bring in a professional?

Spilled tea on a pale sofa? Mud on the armchair after a wet London commute? We've all had that moment where a stain looks small at first, then somehow grows a personality.