Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: M.Acorn on January 21, 2010, 07:25:55 am
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Quoted on a small lounge carpet last week,berber thick loop pile,wool rich.Huge big red wine stain,usual dirty marks in front of the sofa,also some dye from the rug that was in front of it.
Qualified the custy that due to the nature of the carpet,ie not being able to aggitate it,that it would be difficult to get clean,also said ask your insurance about replacement,due to red wine stain (he had put a bottle of white wine on top !)
Got most of the red wine out,but traffic areas didn`t come up very well,and also after cleaning a big pale stain appeared in front of the sofa.Got to go back and have another go today,but don`t hold out much hope of making a noticable difference.he has no idea what it was that did it ?
So not really sure how to approach it.And it allways concerns me when they ask if i have insurance before i start working.
Goin to try do browning sol,any other prods that may help getting a mystery stain out ?
I can`t be held responsible for something that was there but didn`t show up until after cleaning can i ?
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Shall I say the usual - Have you had training? If not get some ;D
I would not worry about the insurance providing you explained it to them. Did you get them to sign a waver. if so your ok.
As for the pale stain after cleaning - Does it look like browning? as it does not sound like actual browning from your discription.
What is the backing of the carpet?
Dave
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Have had training,been running for over 5 years,looks like white wine to me,did qualify the custy,but didn`t get him to sign anything,verbal contract still stands though,and on the quote form and survey i did him i did state clearly about the results i am likely to acheive !
It`s not the backing coming through,or it would be the entire carpet,it`s only just over 3 years old,so not jute
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You probably done this,
You could try Stain Pro or Neutral Pro-Spotter and rinse. Apply Fibre & Fabric Rinse solution and extract. If stain is still their try Food Colouring procedure - Red RX
All from Prochem
Dont know what else to recomend.
Dave
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You could also try a bonnet clean on the area, could be a simple case of some wick back from a previous spill
geoff
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Thats interesting Geoff. Well to me it is.
I did not think you could do bonnet cleaning on domestic carpet. Due to pile length
Please let me know as I may give it a go next time.
Dave
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Can`t bonnet as it will make the carpet go fluffy,did show him all the areas were clean,as went over with clean white towell.and there was no transfer,got all of those prods on van,going to try filter out near the doors,and will try the other suggestions too..
Stain is not brown,just a couple of shades darker than the carpet,it`s covered up with a rug anyway,just think this bloke is being a pain.
He used someone years ago,and they shrank his carpet,and he had to pay for a new one,as the other bloke told him he was not insured,so had that hanging over me for a start.
Cheers folks .Mark
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Mark, here's a thought. What sort of condition was the carpet in before you started on it? A bit screwed! These sorts of jobs mean you often have to stray outside of the textbook approach.
Using a bit of care could you not have used a rotary, maybe with a brush, for agitation? I used the rotary/brush on a 10 year old wool berber this morning, (cream of course ::) ) which wasn't particularly trashed but had definite traffic lanes and general soiling.
The trade-off is negligible in my opinion, yes you might get a little bit of pilling but the benefit far outweighs the loss in many cases.
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Can`t bonnet as it will make the carpet go fluffy,did show him all the areas were clean,as went over with clean white towell.and there was no transfer,got all of those prods on van,going to try filter out near the doors,and will try the other suggestions too..
Stain is not brown,just a couple of shades darker than the carpet,it`s covered up with a rug anyway,just think this bloke is being a pain.
He used someone years ago,and they shrank his carpet,and he had to pay for a new one,as the other bloke told him he was not insured,so had that hanging over me for a start.
Cheers folks .Mark
I , and many others ONLY ever bonnet buff, and I have done for the last 18 years , no problem at all.
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Mark long as you use a good bonnet spray and a good quality pad you would have no problem with the carpet going as you say fluffy...
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First and most important, dry vac the hell out of it.
Subject to testing, use your preferred rinse/extraction, wool safe solutions, but boost pre-spray with Energiser or Oxybrite. This will brighten the fibres and is bio-degradeable.
If local soiling is of a greasy nature, also try misting some water rinseable solvent over the area when pre-spraying.
Safe and happy cleaning :)
The Ken
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It was areas in front of both sofas,didn`t help that their red rug had left dye (feint) around it`s edge,they both wear slippers.
Hit it again this morn with de browning perscription left for 15 min,and aggitated that in with a brush,then rinsed with water,very very slight improvement. Then tried stain pro,no transfer what so ever,then tried solvent and again no transfer.Was only a £65 pound job,was there to quote and did think i had put him off when i said results would not be that good,and didn`t think i would get the red wine stain out.
Then back to do the job,then back 2 days later,i have not made any money on this one ::) and am thinking of returning his payment as a good will gesture,as he said he was not happy,neither was i,have had much much better results on this carpet.
It`s a sort of loop pile,not the cord looking stuff.
He assured me they had not spilt anything,but personally i think they had,there were other spots where he had used vanish.will post pics up in a mo....
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Here are the pics
Red wine after,stopped getting transfer,so i stopped,he had put a bottle of white on top...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/delk/DSC00549.jpg).
In front of the sofa..
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/delk/DSC00548.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/delk/DSC00547.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v452/delk/DSC00551.jpg)
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Mark,regarding your original post,,,,with what you’ve written
It sounds to me like you’ve `bitten the dust`.
You`ll get many many call backs with these type of jobs.
With oaky,5 years experience it`s accept the situation,it`s
Part and parcel,and occupational hazzard if ya like.
Your throwing good time after bad.
I would have turned the job down.
I`ve had `my fingers burnt too often.` with the very thing you
Have gone thru`.
See what your `pics`show anyway.
Lewis Doubtfire
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Inetresting comments on Berber carpets
http://www.carpetdyeing.com/berber.html
in terms of cleaning...............you have CLEANED the carpet thoroughly. What's failed to come out is STAINING and you MIGHT have success with some heavy duty applications of products which are known to lighten carpet fibres but probably NOT.
I trust you made the usual " we can't guarantee to remove stains but if you wish we will attempt to do so "comment.
The guy has admitted intervention by following a non professional approach which has rendered the full removal of the stains impossible.
There's clear evidence of abrasion in one of the photo's suggesting a scrubbing action by, I presume, the owner.
If a light mark appears AFTER cleaning it's usually evidence of a non professional product being used which probably temporarily " cleaned " the spillage, but due to the products non extraction further soiling has taken place causing darkening and your correct use of HWE has removed this soiling to reveal the lightened area which resulted from the owners attempts to clean with a product containing bleach.
This, of course, is only my personal opinion
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Jeez Rob, what are trying to do to my eyes :o
Copy and paste it into a word doc if you dont want to trip out.
Rab.
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Don't know how...................it's certainly a bit LOUD
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Marc,
Thats polyprop. I and many others have cleaned acres of it, mostly in rented or similar places. Its Allied/Carpetrites finest at about £10 a mtr. Its got a gel backing and is holding all the stuff he has spilt on it in the backing and all you are doing is suck it all up.
He has been at it himself and he wants you to perform a miracle, Marc you cant, tell him you've done your best, shrug your shoulders and walk, and dont even think of giving him his money back.
Murky
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I don't think it's a 100% polyprop ??? Red wine from PP would have cleaned out piece of cake, also the pilling wouldn't have happened.
Looks like a 50/50 to me. I see quite a bit of it with the same weave pattern, but obviously impossible to tell from the pics, just a guess. Very low pile density, you can almost feel the backing through it when walked on in bare feet, hardly any actual pile material!
I've cleaned very bad carpets like this before using a good prespray and then Ultimate Master in-tank. The general soiling always comes up pretty good, spots are normally removed but yes they do hang on to bad stains like wine/coffee etc. Very frustrating :(
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Looks almost as if the sofa was a foot further forward in the past! now pushed back into a new position has revealed un faded carpet.
Cheers Goron
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You cleaned it the customer stained it. The point i would make clear is this sems to be a all to common
situation with some customers looking for a CLAIM NOT A CLEAN pile distorsion fadeing in front of patio doors the diy stain cleaning brigade who fall short in there attempts and then expect miracles.
The only thing i can see you have done wrong is the verbal contract !
Means nothing when the customer starts telling porkies get it in writing before you start top copy to customer carbon copy in your files sign your name after last word so they cannot add to it, take pictures before
Most will say 98% of customers good as gold
BUT WE ALWAYS REMEMBER THE 2%
Dont offer money back you have done your job if he did go through your insurance you have in a sense admited liability the moment you handed the money back. good luck
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Hi Mark
Just be firm, from the photos it would appear you have cleaned the dirt and been moderately successful in removing the red wine stain.
This would make it an insurance job anyway and the other stain which is harder to spot from the photos is largely irrelevant with a big red wine one.
It was his fault and if he wants to make an insurance claim he has to do it on his insurance, not yours.
Don't take any nonsense, you prequailified and did your best.
I have never had written disclaimers and have never needed one, if you asked on all jobs you would lose some as it sets a negative tone.
Cheers
Doug
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The carpet was scrap before you started , you have failed to clean it , now it is still scrap. The customer needs to be told this in no uncertain terms
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Is this a new stain from somewhere else or the left over from the original stain?
Shaun
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Some good comments people,thanks !
Did say on the survey that i couldn`t guarantee removal of stains,and said it was a tough one to get good results with
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Another choice job on Monday,prior custy of mine,spilt an entire cup of t on her pale berber ! Neighbour suggested fairy liquid and warm water !!!! :( Which she attacked it with,now left with a big brown stain !! Why don`t people listen,i said if she ever spills anything call me before doing anything else ! Only charge prior customes a minimum for little jobs like that ! Could have possibly saved her an insurance claim and her excess !!
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Mark, are you going to do it?
Lewis Doubtfire
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Some less than honest grasping people will try it on and while most people are honest, what they all need to realise is that whatever happens, they are NOT going to get a new carpet out of you. It makes no difference whether you are insured or not. If they make a claim against you, they are legally only entitled to the value of the item as it was immediately before you cleaned it. If it was a few years old and already stained/ soiled etc it doesn't have any real value and as its bound to be better than it was before, a refund of the cleaning cost should be all that's offered imo.
Dave.
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Yeah i spoke to him prior to doing the job,and he said the excess on his policy was more than he thought it was ! When i arrived the 2nd thing he said was am i insured ! Which started alarm bells ringing.
I made it very clear to him on the survey form that i could not gaurantee getting it clean,but as the carpet was scrap,i would do my best for him to get a result,if he was not happy i would go back and have another crack at it for free,but after i pre sprayed again,and didn`t get any transfer to a new white towell,i could see it ws not going to happen.
There is just no pleasing some people.
Told the other customer i would have a crack at her t stain,but again,have made it very clear to her that she has prob set it with fairy and warm water,i have another job just down the road from her on Monday so it`s not like i am driving miles out of my way .
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Better luck today !!
Tea stain that had been attacked with fairy liquid and warm water,all gone,just a feint green patch where solvex didn`t get the fairy out (think it was just squeezed on the stain and not diluted !)
Phew ;D