Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Colin Day on January 17, 2012, 02:24:50 pm
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Does anyone do it?
I have just cleaned 2 mouldy chair after a holiday home owner decided to switch the heating off for the winter.... :o
She paid £6 a Sq Metre for her curtains to be cleaned and I thought, as I have the correct tool for the job, it might be something I could offer....
Any thoughts on the subject ???
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Hi Colin.
I probably do around 5-7K per year on curtains.It is a piece of cake to do and you also get to push for carpet & upholstery cleaning also.
What I did was go into soft furnishing shops that make curtains and a couple pass work onto me.
If you could do with more work why not?
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I clean a certain amount of curtains, not as much as Vince though! I tend to do them as an additional service whilst doing other work, although have done plenty of curtain-only jobs. Not quite at those prices though, but depending on the job between 3 and 5 per m
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Don’t do any curtains far too much of a risk it’s got to be ladder work which I’m not insured for :o ;)
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Hi Vince,
Do you dry clean curtains? I turn quite a lot of curtain cleaning work down. Perhaps I`ll treat myself to a new machine this year!!
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curtain cleaning I advertise quite a lot but do not do it consistently. When they have come though the commercial jobs in particular have been worth while. There is a market for cleaning and fire retarding in commercial premises and if you can source that work there is not so much competition and the work is quite lucrative. There are a few pit fall that you need to make yourself aware of and you need to get the customer to sign a contract releasing you from these pitfalls. If you want to discuss it further Colin give me a ring on 07788621555......
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com (http://www.carpetcleanercardiff.com)
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Clive
If you buy a machine don’t buy the tool got an Ashby’s ONE you can have or anyone pick up only it’s FREE
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Don’t do any curtains far too much of a risk it’s got to be ladder work which I’m not insured for
Len are you only 3ft tall?! Or are the lounges round your way 15ft high?!!
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curtain cleaning I advertise quite a lot but do not do it consistently. When they have come though the commercial jobs in particular have been worth while. There is a market for cleaning and fire retarding in commercial premises and if you can source that work there is not so much competition and the work is quite lucrative. There are a few pit fall that you need to make yourself aware of and you need to get the customer to sign a contract releasing you from these pitfalls. If you want to discuss it further Colin give me a ring on 07788621555......
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com (http://www.carpetcleanercardiff.com)
Thank you, Peter... I'll be in touch.....
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@ Clive.
I use a back pack vac, dri-pro with a boost then towel down both sides.
I also have a steam pro press to take out wrinckles etc, but really it's for effect.
I've never had a problem with customers regarding quality of work and the great thing is if you have a customer who is an an old lady, they love it because it's too much for them to take curtains down, take them to the cleaners, then re-hang them.
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I'm relatively new to this,1 year,i advertise curtain cleaning but use this system,if they are heavy duty curtains which are troublesome to take down and re-hang i'll quote for the work.If however they are light and easy to re-hang,i advise the customer to a;take down and put in a cool machine wash or b;take down and have them dry cleaned.
Desi@Completeclean
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cleaning curtains whilst hanging is very much a maintenance clean or if the curtains just need a freshen,you cannot
do a deep clean this requires a dry clean at a dry cleaners
generally speaking the results are limited
gary
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.If however they are light and easy to re-hang,i advise the customer to a;take down and put in a cool machine wash
Desi@Completeclean
[/quote]
That seems very risky to me ???
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Perhaps Paul but why ? Pray tell.
Desi
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If their cotton and lined they could easily shrink a couple of inches doh!
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Oh i see,so this forum is more for 'experts' to show how superior they are to others, hope my first post was enough for you to dis me and make yourself look like you know it all,take a bow Paul.
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I clean curtains in my shop and also on site sometimes I can get stains off on site which may not come off during shop cleaning, the idea is to offer what the customer wants.
These forums are a wealth of information where you can really fast track your learning capabilities using the search option may give you more of an answer to your questions, spitting your dummy out isn't on the home screen so relax and absorb the free info.
Welcome to ecleaning there's loads of posts to sift through on here and some very good and knowledgable 'friends' to boot.
Shaun
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good results are very achievable it is a good add on. Yes there are pitfalls to be aware of and you do need to have terms and conditions accepted by the customer. There are a lot of limitations to dry cleaning in the first place, that is aside from the inconvenience you can save the customer from taking them somewhere.
You have the can do' s and the cant do,s.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com (http://www.carpetcleanercardiff.com)
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The problem I have noticed over the years is that very few people explain what method they use to clean curtains.
This could be confusing as it is possible to buy a Curtain Tool for a HWE and somebody is liable to have a go and possibly shrink the curtains.
If 6K is being achieved using hand solvent method would it not make sense to invest in a solvent machine.
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This is a problem, we use several different methods of cleaning and will decide which route to take on a survey. I do not have a solvent machine but we do steam quite a few, it is a matter of knowing what you can use without causing yourself problems.
Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com (http://www.carpetcleanercardiff.com)
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With the delicacies of un fitted and flimsiness of some fabrics there isn't one system that fits all it's more of test test test.
Shaun
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Oh i see,so this forum is more for 'experts' to show how superior they are to others, hope my first post was enough for you to dis me and make yourself look like you know it all,take a bow Paul.
I apologise if you took offence at my post, it was not meant to 'dis' you or elevate myself, it was merely a viewpoint
designed to help our fellow c/c avoid the pifalls that are out there. In this business you can never stop learning and
hope you take these posts in that spirit :)
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Just as there are many different types of curtain material, plus backings, there are just as many reasons to use different methods.
Many materials used in curtains may shrink on average 3% in a wash.
Using a dry cleaning machine, this will probably be avoided.
If the rubberized curtain backing has been damaged by uv, then dry cleaning, as well as hwe extraction or even tub washing by hand, may further damage the material.
We always pre-vacumm first, THIS IS A CRUCIAL STEP TO US, spot for stains and determine which method we will use to clean the fabric with, sometimes even just using a dry cleaning (smoke) sponge followed by steaming with a PROPER STEAM MACHINE similar to what clothing shops use is sufficient, depending on soiling.
When cleaning on-site, we carry clear plastic to cover windows and avoid any over-spray, plus spring loaded clips so we can half-fold the curtains back across themselves to clean the face material.
We also have two curtain cleaning tools that are similar to upholstery cleaning tools except that the vac; opening is stainless steel with holes drilled in it to allow air-flow and stop the curtain from sucking in and creasing.
At times, we may also use either our Sapphire or Hydrokinetic upholstery tools, just personal preferences.
We don't have a dry cleaning machine as we don't like using solvents that much, again, personal preferences.
Curtain cleaning can be very lucrative, (we don't have a dry cleaner in our city that will clean curtains), ;D BUT, it can also be tough on the body, makes you find muscles you never knew you had. :'(
Hope this helps.
Shorty.
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Curtains will shrink in dry cleaning too if the fabric isnt pre-shrunk. Its a myth that dry cleaning doesnt shrink curtains.
the Rubberized backing is a blackout lining which is bonded by adhesive to the curtain lining. Avoid putting any solvents anywhere near this because it may cause the adhesive to delaminate and you end up with bubbling.
The rubberized lining cannot be dry cleaned with ease because the solvents we use attacks the adhesive. We do curtain cleaning and fire-proofing and a its not straight forward but if you put in a bit of effort and have premises to work from it can be done.
However, during a recession the CAPEX budgets are the first ones to go. As we've found out.