Rapid Resoiling

Mark Johnson,

You saw Superglide Ken' and Diva's answers yesterday. here is my slant basically the same advice.

The fact that this carpet was probably bonnet cleaned to death may be your answer. It may take as many as 10 cleanings to totally remove. So what caused the problem will also solve (visually) the problem.

Steam extract for as long as you can afford to. Then go over the tips with a bonnet or preferably a pad and leave speed drying equipment in-place and you will have a visually satisfied customer.

You said you were going to look at bonnet machines. Do not make your decision until you compare pad machines and pads. I know they sound the same but if you search through the archives you will hear two very conflicting methods of soil removal.

Edited by Carpetologist

I second Ted's advice. Bonnet machines and Pad machines may look simular and both go round and round, but that is where the simularities end. The bonnet machines go round in a near perfectly circular patern that basically only cleans on side of the fiber, and mostly the tips of the staple yarn at that. They use a synthetic thick pad that often has less than 10% of the soil transfer abilities of a thinner cotton pad. The reason for this is simple. The carpet fibers are basicly made of plastic(unless they are made of wool), and only materials that are more absorbant than themselves will let them release there soil load for removal. Using another plastic pad will not do this very well. But cotton will, especially 100% cotton. The blends do not work anywhere near as well. When you use a 100% cotton pad, you are using something that is usually at least 10X more absorbantant than the nylon carpet fibers are to the soil, and much of it will transfer off the carpet leaving it clean, as long as you change them often enough.

 

The Pad machine has a much more important difference to it that a bonnet machine does not, and that makes it worth buying however. That is occillation. This is accomplished by building in an offset on the steel shaft that is turned by the motor. By manipulating this "cam profile" on the shaft of the machine , it will now shake as it operates, allowing the pad to dig down deep into the carpet and remove far more soil than any bonnet machine. The carpet fiber is getting cleaned from all sides now, not just one side like the bonnets do. In any contest between the pad machine and a bonnet machine , the pad machine will always remove at least twice the soil from the carpet. This can be proven just by examining the pads of both. This type of machine is IMO, the very best VLM system you can buy in both its degree of soil removal and the finished appearance it imparts to the carpet surface. This allows you to charge a premium price for it above what is obtainable from the HWE system alone.>30 to .40/sq ft is easily done in most markets. Your cost input costs both on the purchase side and operation side are very low as well. Chemical cost is about $1 per house, and pad costs in Canada are very reasonable around $9 Cdn or less with new suppliers coming in to make the cost less getting them in Canada as well.They will last up to 100 cleanings as well. New Pads that clean even better are on the cusp of release as well. Now is a great time to add this important tool to your arsonal. If you are a die-hard HWE guy that has to have HWE as part of the picture as well, you soon will be able to purchase a machine that can do both padding and HWE with the same machine. This machine is equipped so that if you have a  Cleanco TM, you will be able to use a system called Power-Dri with it as well and be able to clean and dry carpets in 10 minutes or less. Available the first half of next year.

 

If you want to get into this type of cleaning before then however, I wouldn't wait. The current Conquerer machine is very good already, and as long as you have the room on the truck for it, will make you lots of money in the meantime that you are not making now. No time like the present to get started.

 

 

Superglide Ken

Edited by Superglide Ken

Thanks everyone. I am going back to that shop on Saturday night (what a great way to spend "the night out") & I will try to restrain myself from overduing the pressure. I have been checking out all of your suggestions & have been to a number of other subjects, & it's good to see those of us who are nose down in carpets (for whatever reason) have a sense of humor . I will keep you posted on this page. Of course, my wish list of more equipment continues to grow.

What does "op" mean

Do you drive it like an rx20 or floor machine ?

I live in victoria , i wonder does anyone know where i can view one here ?

www.ccsop.com

www.challengerop.com

www.orbitec2.com

Check out all three, they are all American manufactured

Happy surfing!

Carpet cleaning Diva