[Steve_B]

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

[Len Gribble]

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

[Bryan H]

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

[Bryan H]

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

[Nigel_W]

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

[Nigel_W]

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

[Derek]

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

[Len Gribble]

Steve

I hope you are reading these posts

Len

[Cloverleaf]

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

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

John

[Len Gribble]

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

[Robert_O]

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

[Steve_B]

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

Thanks guys

[Steve_B]

P.S Sorry Len.

[Steve_B]

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

[Len Gribble]

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

[Steve_B]

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

[Petersullivan]

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,

[Len Gribble]

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

[Steve_B]

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

[Len Gribble]

It’s better than Belvedere

Len