Portable dry cleaner - Carpet Cleaning Issues

Carpet Cleaning Issues - Carpet construction, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, equipment, events, etc.

Portable dry cleaner

Posted by Drytech (Steve_B), 18 February 2004

A bit of advice is needed. Before seeing this forum and seeing all the good advice you chaps can offer I had already got myself a Ninja with internal steam but it has not got any solvent Ability/equipment. I know some fabrics can be cleaned using HWE but surely its safer to dry clean? From reading previous posts I feel I may have dropped a clanger. By not having the ability to dry clean upholstery/curtains I'm cutting off part of my possible market. Is there a portable dry cleaning machine on the market for suites/curtains or am I a complete twat.

Wot machinery do you guys use for dry cleaning?

Any other advice is always taken onboard

Cheers

Steve Embarassed

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 18 February 2004

Hi Steve

I also have a ninja but with the dry cleaning system, which I don’t use, check with Ashby’s to if it will fit in yours. I’m willing to sell the dry cleaning bit to you, but first see what the others on this forum have to say.

I’m in Sidcup

Len

Posted by Christal_Clean (Bryan H), 18 February 2004

Hi Steve,

Most fabrics can be cleaned using water or foam, there are the odd exceptions of course, but less now than there used to be a few years ago, with the demise of glazed cottons & viscose velours. I use only HWE combined with hand cleaning. Anything I can't do with that I walk away from. Maybe two jobs a year.

I used to have a small 'Extractor' spirit m/c which I very recently sold because I hadn't used it in about 4 years.

I gave up dry-cleaning curtains years ago as I found that I made very little money from it, even allowing for re-cycling the solvent.
I found that thorough vacuuming followed by hand cleaning with a damp sponge & upholstery cleaner or one-step produced just as good a job far quicker and at negligible cost. Much more profitable.

The main problem with having a dry-cleaning facility built in to your normal m/c , is that the sludge tank needs to be scrupulously clean so that you can re-cycle the solvent. This means scrubbing the tank out the night before, and doing dry-cleaning as the first job of the day before cleaning any thing else.

Bryan

Posted by Christal_Clean (Bryan H), 18 February 2004

Forgot to mention, there are of course curtain fabrics as there are upholstery fabrics that don't like water.
Cotton velvets for example.

A fair amount of knowledge, & a lot of common sense is always required.

Bryan

Posted by Nigel_W (Nigel_W), 18 February 2004

Steve,

My thoughts are similiar to Bryan. Buy a really good low moisture tool and learn to wet clean as much as possible. Virtually all fabrics can be wet cleaned. If you have to do curtains - microsplitters are better than a solvent machine. Years ago I had a variety of hot solvent machines imported from the US. They haven't seen the light of days for years now. Cleaning with solvent is a horrible, smelly , expensive and, in my opinion, ineffective process.

Nigel

Posted by Nigel_W (Nigel_W), 18 February 2004

Bryan,

Just saw your last post - I wet cleaned 2 x velvet armchairs today - tend to agree though its not good to learn on your clients furniture.

Nigel

Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 18 February 2004

Hi Bryan

I hate to be the one to tell you but there are quite a lot of the Viscose Rayon pile fabrics around...the 'new' styles are excellent copies of Dralon fabric...anything other that a 'good' look and test can fool you.

Thankfully they have got rid of the black backcoatings of old.

Cheers
Derek

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 18 February 2004

Steve

I hope you are reading these posts

Len

Posted by Cloverleaf (Cloverleaf), 18 February 2004

I also have a Ninja with the dry cleaning kit.

I have never used it, nor do I intend to for all the reasons mentioned above, too few jobs, poor results and time consuming.

Dont regret not having one Wink

Use you'r set up for more profitable and easier jobs Grin

John

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 18 February 2004

Cloverleaf

Thanks with all this negative feedback he won’t buy mine, now I will have to pay some one to take it!

Steve I hope you have just learnt a valuable lessons how to save money. I was once like you, most customers curtain have never seen an vacuum cleaner, I now advise customer to take them to a specialized curtain dry cleaners as they come out measure take down re-stretch if need and re hung, not cheap but that what I do in my home.

Len

Posted by Robert_O (Robert Olifent), 18 February 2004

One other very important reason why I dont do much dry cleaning any more, on top of agreeing with every thing else that has be stated is ' health and safety'!

I do not feel comfortable useing solvents to this extent in my customers homes.

It's a personal choice, but I shy away wherever possible, and hand clean by solvent at greatly elevated prices if my client insists.

Regards

Robert

Posted by Drytech (Steve_B), 18 February 2004

Thanks for all your replys. I dont feel such a you know what now. Have been in touch with Nick at solution for a trial package of chemicals.

What procedure and what solution product would you use for three piece suites?

Also while on the subject what procedure and what solution product would you use when HWE isnt practical or possible on a carpet.
ie: Some where like an OAP home corridors where I suspect you cant have a lot of pipes for the old dears to trip on?

Once again cleanitup has come to the rescue Grin

Thanks guys

Posted by Drytech (Steve_B), 18 February 2004

P.S Sorry Len.

Posted by Drytech (Steve_B), 18 February 2004

P.P.S I just had to add that I agree with Nigel that I dont really want to go practicing on clients furniture when like the rest of you I will be advertising my services as "professional"

Once again cheers

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 18 February 2004

Steve

I do a few aged people homes (not old peoples be politically correct) and a lot of commercial. HSE will always be an issue what ever system you use, (unless you have got what I have a magic wand not for sale) hwe, bonnet d/f etc you will always have some type of lead which can/will be a problem, this is where your RISK ASSESMENT comes in. although not in the same scenario example one of my commercial cleaning contracts had a flood the manager had the staff mopping up the floor, when I arrived I instead that all staff left the building, not happy then I explained HSE

I’m a bit peeved that you are not buying what I offered; I thought I might get a gullible person to buy it, wait to another day.

Len

Posted by Drytech (Steve_B), 18 February 2004

Sorry once again Len. But there must be one out there some where

Posted by Petersullivan (Petersullivan), 18 February 2004

Hi Steve also have a ninja but no dry solvent ashbys will adapt your machine for about £500. but as our friend says a good vacuum on curtains and fabric restorer, or dri pro will do the job if its on site, one thing not mentioned is that hot solvent on curtains can cause dye bleed then youve got a nice pair of patchy curtains, Cry

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 18 February 2004

Steve

Yes but find one is impossible as I always advise look what others say and never how great mine is!!!

Are you really in Dartford?

Len

Posted by Drytech (Steve_B), 18 February 2004

Well Erith but no one knows that. Dartford sounds much better Grin

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 18 February 2004

It’s better than Belvedere

Len

Posted by Christal_Clean (Bryan H), 18 February 2004

Thanks Derek ! You almost ruined my day ! No, seriously I do know there are some viscose piles around but I certainly see far fewer than I used to a few years ago. And believe me, I check them very carefully to verify.

Nigel, you are obviously braver than me these days, with your velvet chairs. I too have wet cleaned similar in the past, but these days the very thought gives my ageing ticker palpitations.

Bryan

Posted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 19 February 2004

I've come in late on this one but go allong with the consensus that specialised dry cleaning equipment is generally not worth the expenditure.

However I have got an Ultimate PB3 which I bought about 12 years ago for £2500 - beautiful bit of kit, computeriser hot solvent machine with internal heat exchanger and 20 foot exhaust hose - hardly used in last ten years - Any offers (sorry Len).

I dry clean only rarely these days and then with mist-spray, sponge or towel but have used HWE on a 20 year old viscous velour to great effect. This does not mean that I was gladdened by Dereks news that viscous rayon seems to be making a comeback. Since it is likely that many cleaners have been in the business for ten years or so without ever encountering this fibre, some may be in for a shock when the silky velvet turns into an old towel.

John.

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 19 February 2004

John

Forget ebay I’ll give you a £1 for it

Len

Posted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 19 February 2004

Len,

Its' right at the back of the storeroom somewhere,

I'd want more than £1 danger money to dig it out Grin

John.

Posted by pre-vac_Nick (pre-vac_Nick), 19 February 2004

I have a Prochem A20 portable dry cleaning machine they dont make them anymore but you can sometims find the little beauties!!

The A20 is the one they use on the Prochem upholstery course

Posted by lenpg (Len Gribble), 19 February 2004

John

H & S is down to you hope you’ll done a risk assessment, final offer 4 US dollars including post & packing, if you don’t pay pp take it to Watford, I’ll see you there if you are going

Len

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