[wayne zabel]

I might be being a bit hard on myself here but I dont seem to be getting great results when cleaning heavily patterned carpets

Ive dore lots in the last few weeks including BW's,Axminsters and synthetic tufted patterned carpets and although I'm getting loads of filthy water and grit in the waste tank the finished jobs dont seem that bright,

Am I doing something wrong or is this usual on this type of carpet,

Is there something I can add to boost the results

[clinton]

Why dont you take some picies wayne?

Maybe you are wanting to get them like new and in cases we caint am afraid and thats from wear n tear..

Maybe go over with a buffer and pad and see what else comes out..

Souns like your getting plenty of work in by the sounds of it too..

[wayne zabel]

First day today as full time CC and guess what not had a call for 4 days!!!!!!

Had lots of jobs booked from a few weeks ago and still got quite a lot over the next 2 weeks

With regrads to the carpets they have all been mainly dark reds and blues with cream patterns,Its just that the creams dont seem to coming out really bright.I think I might be expecying too much.

[Simon@arenaclean]

What pre-sprays are you using, what are you rinsing with?

Patients is one of the areas I used to let myself down in. Because I was keen to get on I was unwilling until I learnt that it is so important to allow my pre-spray sufficient dwell to release the dirt from the fibre. Aggitation is very important too. Another I was guilty of was trying to find a super chemical to clean all. I would get great results for a few jobs then be profoundly dissapointed when it did not work on the next. This is where experience comes in and how you evaluate the job. In general I prefer patterned carpets and get frustrated with cream/white and bloody oatmeal and often find I am working harder to achieve what I term as acceptable results. I find wiltons & axministers need considerable pre vacuuming as wool or high wool blends can absorb and get saturated with a lot dust and dirt, these will take more time to clean and if a customer has spent a few grand on their carpeting they will pay me fairly for taking the time to clean it properly.Sometimes a carpet has been so abused, and it can frankly be rubbish that it simply can not be improved. If you know you've done everything for your client you should accept it.

Don't get too down hearted. This job can be the most frustrating and rewarding all at the same time and what you are experiencing is normal. Take time and go through the steps and if you feel time constraints to get to your next job you're doing booking too much work, (edit) in the day better to raise your price.

Simon

[wayne zabel]

In general if Its sythetic using Ultrapac and rinsing with hot water and on wool using Powerburst and FF to rinse.
Thanks for your comments and I will take them all on board and I also agree about oatmeal carpets - bloody hate them

Did 2 BW's today and got loads of crap out but was a little disappointed with the outcome.that said I didnt leave the prespray on long before extracting because of the problems associated with BW's

[wynne jones]

Have you ever seen one of these carpets you cleaned dry? You might be surprised.

So presumably other carpets look better, which type are they then mate?

[wayne zabel]

Have you ever seen one of these carpets you cleaned dry? You might be surprised.

So presumably other carpets look better, which type are they then mate?

I take your point.
I get good results on dirty plain light carpets were I can see the differences with a wand pass,so I suppose the dark patterned carpets are just as good

[Fintan_Coll]

Wayne, in the past I remember often getting down on my knees and cleaning the white areas of BW's with my upholstery tool in order to get them looking bright. Slow and hard work yes, I am not suggesting you do the same but it was the only way I could get a satisfactory  result at the time.

[Phillip Mold]

Coincidentally did nearly a full house of patterned axminster types today, custy let me in, left a cheque then went out with the kids for the day, so I packed up and locked up when done, keys through the letterbox job. She rang me tonight to say how delighted she is.  I used the magic water from cornwall, sebo due to agitate and 15-20 mins dwell time, probably oversprayed the product too. Next to no spotter used .

I know I was proud of the result when I left, but then its always nice when the customer is happy too!

[Simon@arenaclean]

In general if Its sythetic using Ultrapac and rinsing with hot water and on wool using Powerburst and FF to rinse.
Thanks for your comments and I will take them all on board and I also agree about oatmeal carpets - bloody hate them

Did 2 BW's today and got loads of crap out but was a little disappointed with the outcome.that said I didnt leave the prespray on long before extracting because of the problems associated with BW's

UR and powerburst are very good chems but dwell is very important. Both need around 15 min + to be effective and preferably mixed hot (50-60C) Good agitation also is needed to distribute around the fibre, the better you do this the more effective it works. Try not to over apply, this makes rinsing hard work and the higher alkali chems can leave a dull appearance if they are not completely rinsed clear. True about BW. I apply LESS pre-spray, agitate well this avoids over wetting the backing and can be left to dwell longer. Remember poly's do not absorb so you only need to minimally treat the fibre to get a good result. M/S work well here as in general you need to apply less, try Cleansmarts HDX splitter if their Split X does not cut through, rinse with acidic rinse. Follow with good wand technique and plenty of dry strokes as you go, ie flush, dry stroke x 3 then flush again followed by dry. Wool will tolerate cleaning a larger area because solution is suspended BW/poly won't.

Don't be tied to 1 or 2 products. Multi-pro is an excellent all rounder and don't be put off by comments about other products, you may find you get on very well with them. Nemisis and M/Power have good wetting agents allowing good penetration without over application. I've been using Fusion 8 from Solutions, Pure Clean from Prochem and Cleansmarts splitters with very good results but still love DFC 105 on wool. Prochems pre-spray gold is another for wool followed by liquid or powdered woolsafe all of which improve the natural look and feel of wool.

[Simon@arenaclean]

Coincidentally did nearly a full house of patterned axminster types today, custy let me in, left a cheque then went out with the kids for the day, so I packed up and locked up when done, keys through the letterbox job. She rang me tonight to say how delighted she is.  I used the magic water from cornwall, sebo due to agitate and 15-20 mins dwell time, probably oversprayed the product too. Next to no spotter used .

I know I was proud of the result when I left, but then its always nice when the customer is happy too!

You posted whilst I was replying, well done! Let the chems do the job for you.

Edit.
I replied to this earlier and did not check who had posted it,I assumed it was Wayne  Sorry to Mr Mold, that will teach me.

[clinton]

Wayne the above posts are right mate its all about dwell time mate and do you use a sebo duo etc?

[james roffey]

Wayne if i were you i would get an Envirodri on really bad carpets it is invaluable i did one last week and the customer thought i had finished saying "wow thats amazing" all i had done was agitate, i try and get the dirt out with that before i extract it, and dwell time is no problem as by the time i have set the hoses up it's had 15 minutes dwell

[Joe H]

Wayne
Did you see the video that Derek had took with his mobile (available on You Tube - see another thread).
Just using the Envirodri you could see the dirt releasing from the carpet. It ws still there but losing "its grip" on the fibre, just waiting for a rinse out.
John Kelly was selling a Envirodry for someone, dont know if still for sale, but they are a different beast to the Duo - dont understimate that.

[james roffey]

I have just looked one is for sale on the forum take a look

[Dave_Lee]

Wayne,
Some carpets or some parts of some carpets, because of their use and abuse can still look dull in the lighter colours even after a thorough clean. Of course they will brighten more as they dry, but if you think they still appear soiled and not improving further with more passes of the wand, a simple soil test can be done.
All you do is gently rub a white cloth or even a piece of white kitchen roll over the problem area. If soil is picked up on the cloth or tissue then there is still soil to be removed, however chances are that no soil will show on it. You can then rest assured that no matter how bad it may look, it is clean, and its appearance is down to it either still being wet or discoloration of the pile through normal use.
Dave.