Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Mike Halliday on May 26, 2007, 11:29:31 pm
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too carry on from Johns question, perhaps my vaccing isn't thorough enough :o :o :o
I believe i can give it a good vac in 15-20mins this is working on an 70/30 principle so 30%of the carpet gets 70% of the effort, meaning the walkways and in-front of the settee gets lots of slow strokes and underneath the suite & in the corners gets a light once over.
mike
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No point vacing what so ever, complete waste of time. That said if your a splitter, yes vac your little heart out, you will need all the help you can get.
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:-X
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Doesn't pre spraying a dusty carpet just make things harder?
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What's your style of cleaning Matt as failure to vacuum ( in some cases ) will come back to haunt you very quickly.
I presume you don't like m/s products !
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I vac becuase, the NCCA, IICRC and CRI all say i should, im thinking as an organisation they know more than me.
Just my two penneth.
Dene
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Hear hear Dene.
For the record, so do Prochem, Chemspec, Hydramaster, BicSc, Host, Envirodri........
Safe and happy vaccing :)
Ken
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Are you all saying that this matt lindus or what ever his real name is is talking out of his A-- .saying that we could do a topic on To vac our not to vac . What do they say get some dust in your hand wet it and then try and blow it away ,VAC VAC VAC
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So how long to vac? no ones given any times yet!
Matt do you actually clean carpets?I thought you where just a distributor.
Ken I'd be interested in how long you north/south - east/west vaccing takes to do this size
Mike
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no more than 20 mins thats for sure!
Most carpets i feel you could be there all day and still be getting some dry soil out, but you're still there to make some money, so you really only realistically have time for the once over ;)
That said it most definitely needs to be done!
I did one job for an old dear a while back, and after vaccing she came out and paid me and said what a good job i'd done ::)
not sure if it was a good vaccing or she was just a bit nutty ! and yes i did stay and clean it properly before you ask ::)
regards
steve
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I tell the client to give the carpet a really thorough vacuuming before I arrive. Most clients have much better vacuum units these days and some can compete with commercial vacs for performance. Of course if the situation warrants it, I will still prevac before cleaning and would manage Mikes carpets in 15 -20 minutes.
Dave.
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Not so sure about the so called commercials performance. I've tried a fair number over the years and although they were powerful, I feel the domestic Dyson does a better job.
Yes, they are very poorly built, but they pick up animal hairs better than anything else.
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Mike
A typical through lounge, not excessively flattened and unfurnished would take about upto 20 minutes unfurnished. Traffic lanes and TV shuffle would be N-S and E-W. Un-trafiicked just one direction. Furnished rooms would take longer depending upon how much there was.
Apart from the vacuum side of machines, it should be remembered that a commercial upright will typically have a seperate motor for the beater/brush bar. This offers better agitation and pile separation, hence superior performance over most single motor models.
Safe and happy vaccing :)
Ken
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OK, now I'd like you to consider the amount of sand / grit / and what would have been "dry soil " within carpets, that is now in your return tank, having finished cleaning a house of carpets.
If you have worked in the recommended way, ie, against the grain, or across the grain, at 45%, left then right, how much do you think has been left behind ?
Very little, I'd suggest and if you are thorough, methodical and disciplined, there will be virtually no difference, between the result you've achieved and the result you would have achieved, had you vacuumed before cleaning.
Always assuming, you have presprayed and extracted correctly and with quality products
The argument for vacuuming, is that around 80% of soiling within carpets, is dry soiling, which has to be extracted before introducing a wetting agent................but what does the wetting agent do?
Well....it reduces surface tension and emulsifies the soiling, allowing it to be extracted through the powerfull suction from the extraction machine.
I see the same carpets and clients year after year and have done so for over twenty years. If my approach was flawed, it would have been pretty obvious.
I'm not knocking anyone elses approach here and I'm well aware that everyone has their standard and some will need to follow the pre vac' route, but for me and I'm sure many others, it's time consuming and not as essential as some might believe.
There is the odd occasion when I do find the need to vacuum, but in most cases it's around the skirtings, or to pick up animal fur / hair.
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Rob
Are you advocating The not pre-vacuuming approach?
Damian.
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After now going T/M my approach is very similar to Robs and the vac does not often come out of the van. :o
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Damien
I'm advocating an open minded approach, but there will times when vacuuming will be necessary, to avoid " muddying " the surface, unnecessarily, or making cat fur much more difficult to remove, than it would have been, when dry.
As in many areas of life.............There is no ALWAYS and no NEVER in cleaning, so don't get bogged down with the idea that you must ALWAYS do something, when you could be either offering your service, at a more competitive price, or you will increase your earnings, by making more profitable use of your time !
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There no topic to discuss on vacuuming, To do or not to do.
You vac before you clean.
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Hi Guys
My answer to the original question would be it would depend on the type of carpet , how well the customer had already vacced, the degree of soling etc.
So anything up to 30 mins.
I find the 'you must always do something approach' is tantamount to saying leave your brain in a box in the van and follow a procedure.
Some carpets need vaccing , some do not , some need prespray A, some B , some none at all.
Cheers
Doug
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Karl
Do you really always vacuum, before cleaning and if you do, maybe you are simply wasting time and energy, in many cases.
Do you always check your tyres / water / washers, etc, before driving off each day, of course not. Do you always clean your filters, hoses, return tanks, every day and empty the solution tanks.
I'm just suggesting again..............there is no always and no never.
Use your knowledge and judgement / experience, but if in doubt, vacuum.
Relax !
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Rob, i put you on the spot a little with my question, however with your experience and knowledge, the answer you gave was the one i was looking for. Thankyou.
Damian.
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as others have suggested use the preparation that is needed for that particular job. if you were going to decorate a well maintained room with clean walls as a spruce up you would not go to the trouble of washing down all the walls first, on the other hand if you did not wash down the walls of a nicotine coated dirty room in a badly maintained rental property you would not be able to do a satisfactory job. use your experience . not always pre vacuming does not mean you are bad at your job!
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its OK to say, match the amount of preparation to each job, but how can you relate this to vacuuming.
You cannot see how well the customer has vacuumed the carpet and unless you have remarkable eyesight you cannot see if the carpet needs vacuuming, the only way is too work to a set standard.
Mike
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Mr Lee, you mean you dont vaccuum yourself, tut tut tut tut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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" unless you have remarkable eyesight you cannot see if the carpet needs vacuuming, the only way is too work to a set standard"
I`ll go along with that.
I could waffle on but I think that sums it up. :-X
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i'm afraid I rely on my eyesight, to a great extent, but I tend to look around the skirtings and traffic areas, which I find gives a pretty accurate insight, into what goes on in any particular house,
If I can avoid carrying in an additional machine and carrying out an additional task, I will take this option, rather than add an extra 30, or more minutes to a job.
Obviously, this is reflected in pricing.
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I'm confused surely if you prevac, prespray,and then HWE you will be moving furniture around not once but 4 times,that is if your 3 methods are done correctly.If thats the case some of these times don't add up! :-\
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Jeff
This is one of those threads that can run and run, which can be educational, or entertaining, or sometimes lead to fallouts............
At the end of the day, there are some, who will be pedantic and follow the "book" others will use the "book" as guidelines and others will have read the "book" and completely ignore it.
In my case, I agree with Doug's comments
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The majority of carpet cleaners never pre-vac.
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must just be me that vacs then
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I think John is correct and in my case, as I've said, only when there is a definite need, which is'nt very often.
There's always a " However "and for the inexperienced, there are three particular situations, when it's advisable to vacuum.
When there are dogs or cats in the house, especially cats.
When there is clear evidence of accumulated dry soil inside the entrance door / hallway.
Around the skirting bases.