Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: james roffey on February 17, 2010, 06:13:44 pm
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Went to give a quote today when i saw the carpet i thought never seen one like that before ??? i did a burn test on it and i did smell like wool but it felt felt quite rough to the touch reminded me of one of those natural shrinking fibres what do they smell like when they burn as it does not mention this on my NCCA burn test chart ::)
made me think of that one that shrank badly the crucial trading one, the wool warp runs in one direction and a weft hessian fibre runs the opposite.
I still think its probably wool and will be fine to wet clean using the appropriate safe chemicals, but i have this nagging doubt :-\ can you guys put my mind at ease :-\
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What a horrible colour; I'm glad it's not in my house :-[
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Its actually in a very nice house, and i was told its very expensive, and that it came from John Lewis :D
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Its Not Unusual ;D
Yes it contains wool and cord and it will shrink if too much moisture is introduced,
as shown by the nosing, it can also come away which means you could end up having to pay to have it re-fitted.
LM clean only and only if confident enough that you will not shrink it..
Is it stuck down or on underlay and gripper ?
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Its held down by grippers and sits on underlay.
The only low moisture system i have is envirodri and i really dont think that will work as the fibres are so tight it wont penetrate at all.
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RUN like you've never run before ;)
Its a bad shrinker
Regards
Daryl
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Come on you cleanitup gods ???
is this the definitive answer, run to the hills
Not that i doubt you Daryl but if it is then i am severely out of pocket although not as much as if i had shrunk it :'( thats why i posted, as i suspected it may shrink.
I wanted to find someone who may have come across it as i have never seen this type of carpet in a showroom or a home.
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James,
with over 22yrs in the business, YES
If you dont believe me just spray it and see ;) but make sure the grippers are firmly nailed down, it will pull them out too
Regards
Daryl
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James,
Look at thread by GLYNE on Jan 29th
Looks familiar
Regards
Daryl
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Well, it just looks like a coloured berber to me. Unsure of the face fibre content but your test should determine that. Is it a polyprop?
Check the backing to see if there is the same pattern and any jute fibres. If so then run! If the fibres are a high wool content though then it may be ok to clean as normal.
Mark
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oops I've hwe this before :o it was on a stairs only and it cleaned well, I was a little worried at first but with a pre spray scrub and then towel, hwe and then towel and turbo they took about 20 mins and were part of a full house of carpets so had the turbo on for sometime.
Shaun
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Mark there is a pic of the backing (pic 2)
Shaun
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You can see the jute from pic 1
Regards
Daryl
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after what happened to poor glynn, my partner and i paid a visit to crucial trading to ask some questions and get the feel of their carpets.
after speaking to them at length about possible cleaning methods my advice would also be RUN LIKE HELL!!!!
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the carpet if fitted properly would not be a problem but it look as if the carpet has been tacked under the nose with carpet tacks. The tacks are tapered and will not take a lot of stress. The carpet on the riser looks to be a separate piece. It is not a conventional way of fitting and I would point that out to the customer.
Peter
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or is it that this is just one of the radius stairs at the bottom of the staircase.
Not enough detail as it is only possible to see the nose of one stair by the photos posted.
Peter
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It's been skirt & capped. You can just see the curve of the bullnose on the edge of the pic.
Personally I would have ran the underlay over the nose but not under it to prevent the puffy appearance.
::)
Wouldn't fancy cleaning it either......but if I had an Envirodri I'd be tempted to test a little area after a light mist of m/s. Gingerly of course.
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James,
Almost on a daily basis I get tricky carpets and fabrics to clean and I face the decision you have with this carpet. It is very difficult to offer definitive advice when you are not on site and you can't touch the carpet or properly inspect it. I am sure that no-one here would wish to advise you to wet clean it and then for it to shrink. Like Shaun I am pretty convinced I have come across this carpet on stairs before and like most people I was pretty sure it would shrink if it was overwet or not installed correctly. All of the signals are that you should walk away or dry clean the carpet. You should consider strongly this option because it is only 1 staircase and you will regret it if anything goes wrong. If I wanted to wet clean it I would take the following steps,
1. Check the installation is good. If not make it good or do not proceed with a wet clean
2. Dry vac
3. Mist 1 of the steps with microsplitters and towel and leave for 10 mins to check for shrinkage
4. Extract this 1 step using a low moisture hand tool (cfr tool) and leave for 10 minutes to check for shrinkage.
5. If all goes well with steps 3 and 4 fire away cautiously.
6.Use an airmover to dry
7. Breath a huge sigh of relief
Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
Nigel
www.designcare.co.uk
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Hi James,
from the advice given it looks like a risky proposition and I don't believe we are in a risk taking business. Our customers value our professionalism for doing what we say we can do, they aren't interested in our willingness to take risks.
My gut feeling would be to decline the offer of the job, respectfully explaining to the customer the reasons for declining. Then walk away and sleep soundly.
Have you heard the phrase about "catching the ball"? Just because someone throws you a ball (in this case offers a risky job) doesn't mean you have to catch the ball.
I'd move on to the next job. We've all done jobs we've felt uncomfortable about afterwards for one reason or another, and life is too short for all that.
Good Luck
Regards
Ben
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DO NOT HWE THIS CARPET. It WILL shrink most of them will go on jst the pre-spray. Chances of getting them back is very very low.
Richie.
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Have to agree do not HWE. As above explain why to your customer and advise them. If they want to get someone else to do it that's their choice. If it shrinks it will drive you nuts and life really is TOO short ;D
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James,
with over 22yrs in the business, YES
If you dont believe me just spray it and see ;) but make sure the grippers are firmly nailed down, it will pull them out too
Regards
Daryl
Daryl it was the wink ;) i thought you may be gesting.
many thanks :)
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Many thanks for the advice lads, i will advise the customer accordingly, at least i spotted that this carpet may cause me problems, better than telling you all i shrunk it and ask why :-[
better safe than sorry.
The carpet is on the hall stairs and landing and a cat has been sick on it so really wanted to HWE it.
Could a solvent cleaner with a terry towel be used on the carpet just thinking how to advice the customer a way of cleaning it.
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James,
You dont have to be afraid to tell the customer the truth.
Around 6yrs ago,whilst i was with SM, i got called to one of our regular custy's , she had just spent £000's doing the hall up and was having the carpet done in the rooms off. I asked her what type of carpet she was having and she promptly went and got a sample (£80 sqym), to show me. I told her that if she wanted us to clean it not to call us because we wouldn't be able to clean it as it was un-cleanable. At that her husband came in and gave me a right mouth full about "do you know how much it cost's etc, etc, F this Jeff That" i said" i was sorry but your wife asked me and i told her what i thought". He stormed off to phone the manufacturer, i thought OH poo! he's not happy. Around 20mins later his wife came to me to tell me i was right, and it could not be cleaned. Strange thing is her husband never came to offer an apology. ; ;)
Regards
Daryl
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What really annoys me is that carpet shops know that some carpets cant be cleaned using a system (HWE) that is the only system to REALLY clean a carpet, yet dont / wont mention this to their customers. Surely that been open n honest with the customer would be the best policy. It seems obvious in been honest the customer would pick something else to the same value that can be cleaned.
Richie.
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By way of an update i thought i would let you all know how this one ended, i explained to the customer that it would not be advisable to HWE this carpet as it would shrink, she said i have found an off cut i can try that if it does not shrink, come back and clean our carpet :'(
i have now been to the house which is about 4 miles away 3 times the job was only £60
i must be mad but they have other carpet in the house so keep them sweet i suppose ::)
Anyway got the sample back home i penciled a line around the carpet and then gave it a prespray i half expected it to turn up at the ends which it did not, so after 20 minutes gave it a bit more prespray again nothing, until i offered it up to the template and it had indeed shrunk, this piece was about 2 ft sq and it shrunk about half an inch, so i was right to be wary and you were all right in confirming i am glad you were all right because if you had said differently i would be in trouble now :-[ what a stupid carpet though it has a urine stain on it too and cost a packet
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What really annoys me is that carpet shops know that some carpets cant be cleaned using a system (HWE) that is the only system to REALLY clean a carpet, yet dont / wont mention this to their customers. Surely that been open n honest with the customer would be the best policy. It seems obvious in been honest the customer would pick something else to the same value that can be cleaned.
Richie.
Richie,
I fitted carpets for a few carpet retailers including big stores, for a period of about 10 years, before telling them where to go.
It was clear that they didn't even know what they were selling and didn't have a clue about cleaning. They would say and make up anything to sell a carpet and talk cr-p when asked about cleaning, just to make it looked like they were knowledgeable.
A major carpet retailer in the town where I live, a family firm, although they were one of the best around, always told customers that carpets should never be cleaned apart from vacuuming. A few years ago the owner retired and his son took over the business. Shortly after he retired, he asked me to clean some carpets and the suite. Ive been doing them ever since.
Dave.
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This whole busines of floor coverings being sold as carpets is something the NCCA and hopefully CLEAN should/will take up with trading standards. Perhaps they could lobby for better inormation to be given to customers at the time they buy the carpet.
I suppose it is the old case of let the buyer beware, though when Crucial Trading avoid straight answers to straight questions on their website arning bells should ring.
It can be quite hard work when you tell an estabished customer that they have just bought a product that will be difficult and expensive to merely try to clean.
Any jobs going as a postman?