Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: wynne jones on December 09, 2012, 12:26:24 pm
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Spotted this today from Lisa Wagner 'The Rug Chick' .
If you fancy making some decent money from rug cleaning, then getting this course is a no brainer. There are only a few slots left so hurry! ;D
Lisa is regarded by many as one of the best trainers in rug cleaning. OK hands on is best but the next best thing is this. You can do it at your leaisure, no days off or hotel bills and you can watch it over and over.
The biggest barriers to making good money from cleaning rugs are fear and ignorance. This course could pay for itself after a rug or two.
You will also get an education in information marketing online.
Watch this video now to get a taster. http://www.rugclass.com/
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The biggest barriers to making good money from cleaning rugs are fear and ignorance.
I don't think it is, the biggest barrier is the lack of high priced rugs in the market place,
It's easy to say market to the high end clients who own expensive rugs but like I said its easy to say that it's another thing to do.
It's about return on your effort I could market to high end rug shops to recommend me to there clients but I would be more successful spending my time on higher yielding marketing.
The rug market is not big enough to warrant spending money on. I think The only people who make consistant money on rugs are the people selling the courses
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I see them all over the place and I have thought of doing a full blown rug plant operation. Maybe it does depend where you live but I think it's more you find what you are looking for.
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Rugs are the best hourly rate earner at our place Mike. If you've got plenty and a facility to just get through them they are a goldmine. They're also great for filling short notice cancellations, no shows or just for our guys who want overtime. There are a lot of crap cheap rugs out there Mike, but plenty of decent ones people want to look after correctly. Dry cleaners are a great source, and retailers of course.
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Also it depends on price, Franklins charge some rediculously cheap prices but I've been (and at one time cleaned) a ridiculous amount of rugs in a day the rugs are out there but its finding them.
Shaun
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When you figure in the hourly cost of picking them up and returning them they are not such a big earner, unless you are driving around to pick up quite a few,
I go into some high end homes but don't see enough expensive rugs That warrant any additional marketing or training, if you come across then in your travels then great but there are not enough to go big into rugs.
And I had a unit and tried setting up a rug cleaning plant including the extra marketing to bring in rugs it was not worth the effort and my time would have been better sent on other ideas
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My wife has a rug plant, starting to work well now, been four years now, soon I think it might break even. It not a add on, you need to give it 100%.
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My wife has an egg plant. It makes f all :(
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If I can't do them on site this time of the year
it's a no no.
It's finding the space for them and drying them
after.
Plus what's been said already, the price we need
to charge makes it a no no to the customer as they
probably didn't pay much more for them.
Most of the rugs I do this time of the year are in
with the carpets making the price more palatable.
John
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John, the guys above are talking about rugs worth £500 - £700+, some in the thousands. Not £100 rugs from Ikea.
p.s. I have always found it hard to get a high price on rug cleans. Even the one's worth £1000s
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In a way Paul has just proved it . Paul is the kind of GUY who ceases oportunties and yet if I read correctly he has said it has taken him 4 years o make money. He operates in one of the largest cities in UK . I realise its not the richest but there are a lot of affluent areas and footballers , gangsters etc
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Specialised rug cleaning is not a bad thing to be associated with ......... many people with expensive rugs, would not dream of asking a carpet cleaner to 'run something over this', whilst you were working in their house !! Imagine charging £3.60 - £4.00 per sq metre for domestic carpets and then, the difference of being in a position as an 'authority on the subject', charging £25 per sq metre for plant cleaning rugs ;D
I spent over a grand on Master Rug Cleaner certification (including the book) and I have had that returned many times over, in the 2 years since ........... being one of only 15 in the UK (with said certicate) has meant people seeking me out ;) I still charge same for 6x9 rug, even if it is an Ikea or hand knotted wool ....... auto carwash costs the same for old Escort or new BMW ....still goes through the same process :P
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Chris the only people seeking you out are the drug dealers and loan sharks :D
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Chris the only people seeking you out are the drug dealers and loan sharks :D
That'll be the lot in Parliament, then..
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Then that list would include:
Misogynists, Money launderers, child molesters and sycophants to name but a few :o
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In a way Paul has just proved it . Paul is the kind of GUY who ceases oportunties and yet if I read correctly he has said it has taken him 4 years o make money. He operates in one of the largest cities in UK . I realise its not the richest but there are a lot of affluent areas and footballers , gangsters etc
Gangsters in Newcastle, I never knew that, well you learn something new everyday.
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In a way Paul has just proved it . Paul is the kind of GUY who ceases oportunties and yet if I read correctly he has said it has taken him 4 years o make money. He operates in one of the largest cities in UK . I realise its not the richest but there are a lot of affluent areas and footballers , gangsters etc
Gangsters in Newcastle, I never knew that, well you learn something new everyday.
He was talking about you, John ;D
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Master Rug Cleaner certification ;D what a load of b******s :P
Sorry but I cant get my head around ripping people off for cleaning a rug!! Its hardly brain surgery, I have cleaned very expensive rugs before and never damaged one of them, common sense really.
Picking up and dropping off can easly be planned into your diary without costing extra in fual (client might need to wait a few more days but so what) shouldn't be quoted as an extra charge.
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Master Rug Cleaner certification ;D what a load of b******s :P
Sorry but I cant get my head around ripping people off for cleaning a rug!! Its hardly brain surgery, I have cleaned very expensive rugs before and never damaged one of them, common sense really.
Picking up and dropping off can easly be planned into your diary without costing extra in fual (client might need to wait a few more days but so what) shouldn't be quoted as an extra charge.
If you wand the wrong rug, you will ruin it.
Someone like Chris spends a grand on training, spends a long time learning how to identify and clean decent rugs and then charges a lot more than the average carpet cleaner who wands everything ignorant of what may happen. And that's ripping people off?
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No one forced him to spend that kinda money on a rug cleaning course ;D Which i also think is a rip off :-X IMO Great money maker for the trainers though...
If you use a product like chemspecs oriental rug shampoo, dry it quick and use a wire brush (boffin brush? I have several cant remeber the name) to groom the pile constantly (if it needs it) then I cant see you having any problems. I'm sure someone on here is going to tell me different.
To give you an example, about 3 months a go I cleaned a rug worth around £10,000 acording to the customer. The guy is a good client of mine, has one of the largest solicitors / estate agenies firms in Edinburgh. £10,000 is a drop in the ocean to this guy. Could I identify the fibres? Could I tell you which country or year it was made in? Could I heck. Did I ruin it? Did I heck ;D
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Everyone is entitled to their opinion and if you are happy to run your wand over the last minute rug for an added tenner, then good for you ........... I, on the other hand, am more than happy to take the rug away with me, give it the specialist care it needs and return it for the extra job ticket. ........( £164 in yesterdays case ) ;D
There is something that is almost as bad as ruining a rug and that is charging someone for cleaning it, only to underdo it in case it causes a problem !! If a pair of matching rugs were given to two cleaners for the same price, the one that is done by the knowledgeable person , will be a better value job ......simply due to the other one not being cleaned to its maximum potential for fear of damaging............ I used to do exactly that, hand tool everything and keep it as dry as possible ::)
MRC has earned me a nice few bob with rug work, plus the additional carpet & upholstery cleans those customers have had and not even starting on the repairs I am now able to make for restorations ......... I think that velcro is the only rip off that I have been near lately ;)
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£1000 is not alot for specialist rug training. If you tap in to the right market you can recover that in the cleaning of one rug.
A lot of the rug knowledge is also very useful information to improve your carpet cleaning skills as well.
Cleaning valuable rugs without the right knowledge is a highly risky business. As you have proved you can get away with it but then one day your luck will run out.
Nigel
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How to make money from rug cleaning ? ( Start by Investing some time and money on training)
as time goes by you will reconize the rugs that are going to give you trouble.
Once the client is confident and reconizes you speak with aurthority and knowledge about there rugs, they are more than happy for you to clean there rugs(at a higher price of course).
colin
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Colin, sssssshhhhhhhh ......... not so specialised if everyone starts doing it ::)
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Cost of the cleaning aside has anyone ever worked out how much it is to clean a rug? ie shampoo, heating, rent of unit.
Shaun
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Not got a specific rug cleaning plant but loading space within my shared unit !!
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Who woke Colin up :D
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As Colin suggests, training & qualification came before I started charging more .......... odd that I would quote hair product advert but " it's because I'm worth it" ::)
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Cost of the cleaning aside has anyone ever worked out how much it is to clean a rug? ie shampoo, heating, rent of unit.
Shaun
ALright Shaun Mines cost about £275pm but I really need more space. SO the First 2 rugs cover the cost of it PM
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I send my rugs away to be cleaned they cost on average £25 I 'handled' over 100 last year, it makes a nice profit but the add ons with further work is what I'm after.
Shaun
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I dont "run over rugs for an extra tenner" I also take them away, and clean them in my garden (I have a large area of decking) and I dry them in one of my spare rooms.
If its a small cheap rug, then yes I will clean on site. Sometimes for free (shock horror!!!) if its part of a bigger job.
13 years and alot of rugs later, never damaged one, call it luck or maybe the suppliars / trainers / course organizers slightly exaggerating?? Also a possiblety no?
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It is a possibility but the rugs I have had sent to me for correction, prove otherwise !! I have taken delivery of 11 rugs in two years, that were incorrectly cleaned or the wrong products used ....... their luck ran out , as the customer claimed my charge back from previous cleaners or their insurance companies !! :o
I must admit that, in the good weather, I also use my 'custom built vented rug cleaning platform' (30 sq m decking area) ...... great surface for the purpose ;)
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Did the master rug cleaning course put you on a database or some how put you intouch with clients? or is the work mainly from your own maketing efforts?
Did the course also have a marketing lesson?
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Chris
Hope you laid them on some type of tarpaulin and you dried the upside down ;)
Colin
How the back ;D
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I have to smile reading this as rug courses only started over the past 2 years or so in this country. Dave Leahona has been doing training with me on rugs for about 7 years to many guys.
The NCCA a never did anything with rug training until recently nor did Paul P, Derek B, or Ken W! But now they do and are all experts.
Alot of people have been cleaning and repairing high value and risky rugs for many years with no problems ;D 8)
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Talking off training.
Next year Ruth Travis(Rug Lady) will be in the u.k. for a 3 day rug course at The Big Clean.
Len
Back is much better thanks.
Colin.
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Paul you are correct but I'd suspect that dave l. got the wheels in motion and others jumped on the band waggon albeit I think Paul Pearce had a rug plant years ago.
I started cleaning rugs before carpets i find carpet cleaning onsite more challenging as you are on the spot no chance to get wrong and correct it in front of the customer, I used to clean may be 100 rugs a week and I never saw one go wrong.
Shaun
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how did you get so many Shaun?
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Chris
Do you pit wash your rugs?
And how do you remove the dry soil?
Thanks
Mark
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Shaun the comments i made above was not to be derogatory to the guys mentioned, they are all very well skilled and pro cleaners. What i meantbwas that rug cleaning seems to be the lstest fad and only since Nick Von White startedvsome expensive rug courses did every body else jump on it and make a big thing about cleaning rugs with Master Rug Certs ;D . If you go back 5 years there where no coursesvas such and the ncca did not even include it.
Like the leather fad a few years ago where one company still makes a big thing about it . ;D
Its only cleaning....with common sense and a few baic skills and rules ;)
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I agree with Paul on the fact that cleaning rugs is easy as long as you know what fibres you are cleaning ...... more important than where it was made !!
Mark, don't use pit anymore, not enough space ...... I backdust with Sebo and the Floormac/Oreck makes a great vibro duster if used without pads/board etc !!
Len, I always take correct precautions :-\
Carpet Dawg, I am listed on their website but work seems to come via my websites .... mostly from my old strakercleaning.co.uk !!
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I agree with Paul on the fact that cleaning rugs is easy as long as you know what fibres you are cleaning ...... more important than where it was made !!
Mark, don't use pit anymore, not enough space ...... I backdust with Sebo and the Floormac/Oreck makes a great vibro duster if used without pads/board etc !!
Len, I always take correct precautions :-\
Carpet Dawg, I am listed on their website but work seems to come via my websites .... mostly from my old strakercleaning.co.uk !!
Funny you mention about the Floormac for backdusting, I was trying to agitate an offcut of carpet yesterday and it was bouncing up and down sliding all over the place, and I had a lightbulb moment of using the floormac for that purpose.
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CD
Think Shaun worked at a big rug plant before
he became self employed.
Franklins I think.
John
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Cheers John. I thought Shaun might of revealed a secret source of clients! :'(
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Chris
Do you just Hwe rugs then or some other method?
Mark
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Mark, Extract many but always the options of rotary brush, padding, hosing or pressure washing, as appropriate ......... I have immersed a wool rug, then extracted with Jaguar 6.6 and managed to return it that afternoon ........ dried without airmovers but a glided wand seemed to do the trick !!
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Thanks for sharing.
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Seems the MRC listing works ....... just returned the last of 3 rugs that came via that web listing ........ in Beckenham, SE1 and W4 ........ all out of my area of work but paid additional delivery on top of quoted cleaning price @ £25 per sq metre ;D
Seems there is money to be made from rug cleaning, after all ;)
ps ....... the SE1 rug cost more to clean, than the person paid for it ........ but he wasn't about to return to Turkey for replacement !!
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Tony I do handle approx 100 rugs a year but when I worked at franklins we used to get 1000's of rugs from the all over the place plus they had a subsidiary company called north of England cleaning who were in Manchester and Liverpool and they used bring quite a lot of rugs per week to sheffield to be cleaned as that was where the cleaning was done.
Shaun
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Cheers Shaun.