Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Paul McHugh on December 26, 2012, 09:37:58 pm
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Well My first carpet clean, my daughters pal a flat just lounge and hallway with the Jaguar 6.6 only used on the my newly acquired van front seats. Pretty grubby carpets and a four year old with kids paint on the carpet and playdoh in the pile, Sebo vac, oreck xl agitated black brushes ( a bit soft) used SPM quite liberally
on the pre spray and the synthetic carpet cleaned at about 300psi, Two and a half hours later just about finished and disaster the vacuum and pump motors stopped working, pressed the cut button switched pump and vacs on again got back to wand cut out again and again so stuffed unfinished wet carpets etc.
The result of carpets done looked pretty good. Next day back in flat horrendous smell ??
Yep went round sniffing and two metre piece near telly still somewhat stained foul stink told by client it was milk and possibly juice from kiddie, no horrendous smell prior to the clean? why should HWE make it almost unbearable to stay in the room with that smell the carpet generally now looks fair/to good. Any help as to what to do next please.Will contact Nick at Solutions re the cut out motors when they are back after break
Any one know what would cause it on a brand new machine.
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Vacs and pump stopped working would probably be trip switch or fuse which needs seeing to.
The smell most probably be that you have over wet that section of carpeting mat be where it was most stained and the latex backing is letting off odour.
There are multiple ways of correcting this I'd recommend that you contact nick to see what he can offer regards a remedy for the carpet and your machine.
Have you been on a training course yet?
Shaun
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Hi
It might not be over wetting which seems together standerd reply for every carpet cleaning related problem,you need to check the underlay the milk may have soaked through and dried and then you have rewetted the pile which would reactivate the bacteria that causes bad smells
Oliver Collins
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Hi
It might not be over wetting which seems together standerd reply for every carpet cleaning related problem,you need to check the underlay the milk may have soaked through and dried and then you have rewetted the pile which would reactivate the bacteria that causes bad smells
Oliver Collins
That's because more often than not it is the cause of the problem.
Simon
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Well My first carpet clean, my daughters pal a flat just lounge and hallway with the Jaguar 6.6 only used on the my newly acquired van front seats. Pretty grubby carpets and a four year old with kids paint on the carpet and playdoh in the pile, Sebo vac, oreck xl agitated black brushes ( a bit soft) used SPM quite liberally
on the pre spray and the synthetic carpet cleaned at about 300psi, Two and a half hours later just about finished and disaster the vacuum and pump motors stopped working, pressed the cut button switched pump and vacs on again got back to wand cut out again and again so stuffed unfinished wet carpets etc.
How many litres of water did you use?
Simon
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two and a half hours on a lounge and hall is a very long time..........
I suspect you have overworked the soiled areas and if at temperature reactivated the bacteria in the milk which will gas off giving the odor you describe.
We have all been there,, on my very first solo clean I ruined a Berber carpet ( a real one) which my boss at the time was highly delighted about :'( but it taught me a big lesson about over working areas that will not respond to cleaning.
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Hi guys the two and half hours was the total inc vac oreck agitation etc
Shaun the trip is built onto the the machine it did not trip the mains fuse
I may have overwet but the carpet was quite dry prior to leaving for the day when motors packed in
Hilton I think that could be the issue but What would you do to resolve it
Pre spray about 3 ltres HWE about 25ish isthat too much Hall about 4x2m lounge about 5x5
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If you do at least as many dry strokes as wet one's at the same speed, you won't go far wrong. Fair play to you for getting top class gear and a van to start off with, but i would have re jigged the budget a bit and bought a cheap backup machine.
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Check if the overflow switch cut out the motors, also do twice the dry strokes as wet ones.
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As John says check for that. It is often the case when first starting out and even when upgrading to another type of machine, that when it stops unexpectantly, we forget to check the basics first and start to panic.
It's also a matter of opinion, but after using portables for my first 23 years, I think 300psi is too high a pressure for any machine on carpets other than a Truck Mount, I don't care how many vacs theyve got. 150 psi is the max that I would go with. My portables by the way would only go up to 100psi with twin vacs and that combo worked well for me.
Dave.
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Did you have the auto dump on?
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Dave Thanks great point ,Yes Its already noted 300psi is too much if I am honest I did not realise it it was 300 untill well into the clean I will make sure
from now on 150 is where I need to be
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Neil auto dump no I don't really know how to use it yet gate valve so far
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John, I will bear that in mind next time 1xwet min 2x dry passes min
if I'm honest not sure if I was pressing the trigger on almost every stroke
I will be more careful next time
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Hilton Your probably right but what do I do to solve my self inflicted problem out?
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Unless the carpet took an age to dry, the cleaning probably did re-activate some odour causing nasty already in the carpet.
Often they are not noticeable once thoroughly dry, but if the smell persists, without going to the extent of lifting the carpet to see whether it is coming from the underlay (which if it is, would need that section replacing) you could heavily MIST an effective deodoriser over the pile and brush in, then allow to dry.
Make sure it is a DEODORISER and not a just a perfume or scent. A proper deodoriser will break down the odour causing bacteria, a perfume or scent will simply mask the smell for a short time, only for it to return.
Dave.
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hilton good point
for me a lounge and hall 1 hour max
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Dave_lee
Can You recommend a good deoderiser please with a supplier
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so ... it looks like in a desperate attempt to keep water from entering the stacks , solutions are retro fitting an electronic cut out switch way down the waste tank level ....
so that 50L or whatever advertized waste capacity is probably about half that usable ...
its an odd situation ... a distributor patching up various design issues ... and a manufacturer insistent that the initial design is great .
:)
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Sorry Paul
Only just seen your question,
Microban Formula X , never had any issues with it, solves a lot of bacteria problems. ;)
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Don't be disheartened , everybody on here has had to learn.
Experience is something you cant buy, there are lots of courses around, some good some not do good.
But youtube is free and there are a few good bits on there,if you can put up with the American accents !!
You'll be fine .
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Hi guys Went back again some 9 days after I am afraid to say it still smells bad have found by sniffing on hands and knees three or four particular bad areas and I have fine sprayed M power on these areas without HWE but little to no effect.
I think and the customer is asking that I reclean again which I am happy to do but very nervous it could get worse if thats possible Any advice greatfully accepted IE.
1/ What pressure
2/ Do I pre spray again and if so with what and what dilution
3/ how long should the dwell time be
4/ should I aggitate if so should it be gentle / thorough
5/ hand hot water / Cold water
6/ Hilton Who supplies Microban Formula X
Hope you people can help me out in my hour of need
Paul Mc
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Where do you live and where's the job Paul?
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High Neil
Selby North Yorks
Job In Brayton, Selby
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As John says check for that. It is often the case when first starting out and even when upgrading to another type of machine, that when it stops unexpectantly, we forget to check the basics first and start to panic.
It's also a matter of opinion, but after using portables for my first 23 years, I think 300psi is too high a pressure for any machine on carpets other than a Truck Mount, I don't care how many vacs theyve got. 150 psi is the max that I would go with. My portables by the way would only go up to 100psi with twin vacs and that combo worked well for me.
Dave.
Dave you have been doing this a lot longer than i, but i have found while experimenting with different psi that if i use about 300psi the clean is far more effective i use an Airflex Turbo and have never noticed the carpets being that wet after just slightly damp, only time i use very low psi is Belgian Wiltons and i up the temp higher to compensate but it's slow going, always make at least four times the amount of dry passes to wet though
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As John says check for that. It is often the case when first starting out and even when upgrading to another type of machine, that when it stops unexpectantly, we forget to check the basics first and start to panic.
It's also a matter of opinion, but after using portables for my first 23 years, I think 300psi is too high a pressure for any machine on carpets other than a Truck Mount, I don't care how many vacs theyve got. 150 psi is the max that I would go with. My portables by the way would only go up to 100psi with twin vacs and that combo worked well for me.
Dave.
Dave you have been doing this a lot longer than i, but i have found while experimenting with different psi that if i use about 300psi the clean is far more effective i use an Airflex Turbo and have never noticed the carpets being that wet after just slightly damp, only time i use very low psi is Belgian Wiltons and i up the temp higher to compensate but it's slow going, always make at least four times the amount of dry passes to wet though
James, that is my opinion based upon my experience with lesser powered than todays machines and is on the very careful side of things.
Of course a big part of the pie lies in the techniques used. Like yourself you are no novice and so will have developed your technique according to the equipment you use and that is probably why you get good results using the higher pressure. You are also quite correct of course, that if by using the higher pressure it reduces the amount of injection passes, then over-wetting is less likely.
It's all about getting used to the equipment we use and getting the best out of it.
Dave.
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It's a bit far Paul or I would have offered to come and have a look at the job with you.
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Dave i always agitate using a Host reliant i find this does most of the work the carpet looks a lot better after just this process, i leave to dwell and extract so i probably do use the same process, i just find with the psi lower then the wet pass must be slower to achieve the same result as a quick pass at a higher psi surely the same amount of water is passing through the carpet, i am not arguing the point i respect your opinion and am just making an observation.
I have found a higher psi will allow the job to be completed quicker and have not noted any difference in drying times
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Cheers Neil anyway
Paul
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James
I used about 300psi and it appears the milk bacteria smell maybe worse as a result of the deeper penetration into the carpet
would I have had the same strong smell at 150 psi
paul
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Guys after my ongoing issue with continuing smell
Could you answer my original points please again below as she is wanting the the re clean early this week
I think and the customer is asking that I re-clean again which I am happy to do but very nervous it could get worse if thats possible Any advice greatfully accepted IE.
1/ Machine What PSI pressure is best to use
2/ Do I pre spray again, Mist or good dousing, This time using M Power instead of SPM
and what dilution, hot or cold
3/ How long should the dwell time be
4/ Should I agitate, if so should it be gentle / thorough (Oreck Orbiter) groom brush, scrubbing brush,
5/ At the wand, Hand hot water / Cold water
Hope you people can help me out in my hour of need
Paul Mc
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Paul
I would have thought that the only way to remedy this problem is the same method used to neutralise urine contamination, it sounds like a lot of liquid has been spilt and that has gone into the backing of the carpet and possibly underlay, whatever you are using it needs to be something like cleansan from Prochem or some similar chemical you need to reach those areas that a regular clean will not, ideally pull the carpet up and treat if not then treat the affected areas allowing gravity to allow the chemical to penetrate in the same way the contaminant did.
I do not think just cleaning the carpet fibres will help at all the smell is probably coming from further down it had plenty of time to soak into the backing, a regular clean wont touch this.
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James
Pull the carpet up? do you mean try and clean the underside of the carpet and then the underlay with the wand
The flat is rented and of course the customer / or myself does not want to be replacing underlay and refitting carpets
any thoughts on that
Paul
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Hi Paul, i'm only down the road in York, and do work occasionally in Selby, either myself, or i'm sure Andy Hogarth who has Andy's Carpet Cleaning in York would be happy to help you out, i'm fully booked tomorrow but will email you tomorrow night and see if there is anything I could help you out with.
Main thing, don't stress, everything is retrivable, you've not shrunk or stained the carpet, and to replace a section of underlay (worst case scenario for client) costs a few quid only.
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James
Pull the carpet up? do you mean try and clean the underside of the carpet and then the underlay with the wand
The flat is rented and of course the customer / or myself does not want to be replacing underlay and refitting carpets
any thoughts on that
Paul
You do not need to replace anything, it's all about neutralising the bacteria that is causing the odour, the best way is getting directly to the area by raising the carpet, the next best option is spraying the area and letting gravity take it to the affected area, the difficult thing will be locating the area causing the smell.
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Another option is to soak the area with a sanitizer as suggested then apply Chemspec absorb a Stain. This will allow for the longest contact time with your chosen product. It has odor controlling properties also. Leave it to dry out then vac off the following day or so. You could possibly ask the customer to do this. Chemspec are about an hour from you in Otley.
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Dose of prochem microsan, dont rinse just vac up after ten mins, spray some of JK NR room spray around.
Always bare in mind when cleaning carpets it needs to be dry in max 24 hrs, thats the critical time frame before mildew starts to grow.
Mildew was probabily already there and when you introduced moisture you feed it and it multipiled.
You need antimicrobal (Prochem Microsan)
deodorises have less antimicrobal properties but more perfume which are just masking agents.
masking agents cover up the symptoms not hit the root cause.
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Its a good idea to keep a couple rolls of underlay in your garage or where ever, sometimes you just need to uplift cut out and replace and indeed if the problem is not yours then its a extra service and problem solver that you can charge for.
In this case it may well be you need to remove a sq mt of underlay, you will not know until you pull the carpet back and have a look, when you do ,apply a mist of antimicrobial to the back of the carpet as well.
Its already been cleaned, so no need to clean again, unless you want to as part of the service.