[Ryan @ Transparent, Carlisle]

i bought a 2nd hand rug doctor pro, cheap,

i know its not the ideal machine (as i found out today) but i was just testing the water, so to speak,

i cleaned a "double" living room, had to fill the bloody thing up about 10 times with water & solution.

It (eventually) got the carpet cleaned, however there was a stain there that i couldnt manage to get out, it was red candle wax,

If my new venture takes off, i'll be looking at investing in a decent machine, any suggestions?

It made a nice change from window cleaning, and certainly looks liek it can be a useful "add-on" to my business.

[Kinver_Clean]

do some searches on this board- there is acres of replies to just your question.

[Ryan @ Transparent, Carlisle]

i thought someone might say that 

[john martin]

budget ?  as in how much would you ideally  like spend on one .

[davep]

If you filled it up 10 times you better go back tmrw with some wellies!

[Jim_77]

Make sure you take your rod & reel, you could go fishing in it

I could "add on" window cleaning to my business very easily.  I could spit on a tissue and rub it round a pane of glass... which is the equivalent of the hatchet job you've done with that rug doctor (I hope you or whoever's carpet you "cleaned" like the smell of mildew by the way!)

Truth is, if you want to be a carpet cleaner you have to be dedicated to it and make a significant investment to get yourself going (£10k is nothing).  If I had a fiver for every windie posting on here wanting to "add on" carpet cleaning with a kid's toy for a machine....

I would make contact with a few different carpet cleaners not too local to you, who'd be willing to take you out for a day with them so you can get some real world experience of how the pro's do it.  Ask them to tot up the value of their equipment and make sure you're sitting down at the time.  Costs a few quid more than a bucket, squeegee or one of those waggly poles.

Failing that, if you absolutely must try to clean carpets, just offer a "dry" system with something like Host or Envirodri.  Even a complete nobber would struggle to screw up a carpet with such a system.  Doesn't clean many carpets very well though, probably the least effective system in most cases.

[L.Doubtfire - The Blade Runner]

Ryan,that’s good sound advice from Jim Neal.
Including the part about `dry`systems.
You do need some form of rotary system that
Gives you some agitation / mechanical action.
I could go on forever,


Lewis  Doubtfire

[AshWhite]

Failing that, if you absolutely must try to clean carpets, just offer a "dry" system with something like Host or Envirodri.  Even a complete nobber would struggle to screw up a carpet with such a system.  Doesn't clean many carpets very well though, probably the least effective system in most cases.

 

[Paul Heath]

Can you be serious !!!
Turn it around...i want to go into window cleaning and have brought a 2nd hand sponge & leather, but keep leaving streeks on the windows
Like any trade you want to be able to do the best job possible, so you invest in some decent equipment to start off.
There are lots of decent 2nd equipment around if you look and plenty of training courses.
Rug doctors are not the equipment you want if you want to be taken seriously

[mike roberts]

i bought a 2nd hand rug doctor pro, cheap,

i know its not the ideal machine (as i found out today) but i was just testing the water, so to speak,

i cleaned a "double" living room, had to fill the bloody thing up about 10 times with water & solution.

It (eventually) got the carpet cleaned, however there was a stain there that i couldnt manage to get out, it was red candle wax,

If my new venture takes off, i'll be looking at investing in a decent machine, any suggestions?

It made a nice change from window cleaning, and certainly looks liek it can be a useful "add-on" to my business.

Ryan,

Interesting... why are you looking to add carpet cleaning to your services ??

[Simon Gerrard]

You'll get laughed out of most places if you turn up with a Rug Doctor. If that is the best you can do then stick to window cleaning. If you're serious about CCing then go on a training course then invest in some professional equipment.

Simon

[Neil Williams]

It's ok guys it's the winter season when window cleaners want to come indoors (can't say I blame them but........) so what 'cleaning' can we do that allows this'..... oh I know carpet cleaning can't be that hard can it

Are you in Southampton tomorrow by any chance Simon?

[Simon Gerrard]

Neil,
No, I'm going out starting a window cleaning business, p easy, apparently.

[Simon Gerrard]

If you filled a Rug Doctor Pro ten times on a job that means you've put 100 litres onto the carpet and no doubt left the majority of it there  

[oliver collins]

Hi Guys

Such helpful info all upbuilding. : : :

Oliver Rise & Shine

[Simon Gerrard]

We like to give our window cleaning friends a 'clear view' on things.

[D woods]

There are some real Bellends in the carpet cleaning world,learning how to clean carpets is very easy.

The hard part is getting customers, but if you have an established window cleaning round you are already ahead of the game.

[Simon Gerrard]

There are some real Bellends in the carpet cleaning world.

Likewise in the window cleaning world

[D woods]

That's the truth

[jim mca]

If you are going to start carpet cleaning the starting point is on a training cource and then buying a machine that can work to the level you set for your standards if like my window cleaner its just a fill in and charge £35 for a suite then please dont bother but if you want to learn and provide a good service and charge for it then you know where to start (basic training)

Jim