[matt jones]

Hi guys,
Do any of you stop to think sometimes what all this carpet cleaning is doing to our postures especially if your using a hwe. For instance im quite a tall lad about 6ft 4" and cleaning carpets can really play hell on my back if i have a big job on. I am gonna buy a glide for my want very soon to help but i also find my wand to be a little to short, anyone adapted theres?Also i think someone was saying back along on here it is important to swap your leading leg otherwise you could end up with abit of a twisted posture. When i started up i wrote to a local carpet cleaner for some advice, one day he came round my house for a chat which was nice of him he had been doing this for about 30 yrs and told me because of it one of his legs is alot bigger then the other because of the way most of your weight is distributed on your leading leg. So i was just wondering what some of you lot do to eliminate future problems?
regards
matt

[prodry]

one of his legs is alot bigger then the other
regards
matt

Sounds like good old fashioned Devonshire in-breeding to me.

[des]

Matt i switch from one side to the other to give my leg and hand a rest .It seems strange to start with but you soon get used to it Des

[ollie]

I cleaned a carpet for a surgeon just before xmas and while he was watching me he told me i needed to get a longer wand (cant remember what he called it!) or my back would suffer in the future.  My back is hurting though.  p.s im 5 foot 9

[AquaMagic]

Hire a peasant to do the work for you!

Seriously a glide makes a world of difference, and im sure if you looked around you could get a longer wand if not here then in the USA, the yanks cannot help themselves they have to make everything bigger.

With a wand you dont have to bend your back at all if you do it right so you just have arm movement, ive got arms like popeyes now, shame about the Brutus belly?

Dene

[Ken Wainwright]

The most versatile and adaptable component in the rinsing process is the person holding the wand. Find a posture that is safe for yourself, then adapt your technique to suit.

What surprises me is that technicians will adapt a scrubbing action with the wand.  Why?  If you have prepared your carpet correctly, all you need to do is rinse away the soil and residues and dry the carpet. A glide may well help. A scrubbing action seems to consume a lot of energy for little return.

SAFE and happy cleaning
Ken

[carpetguy]

Switching sides is a non starter...............do footballers / squash players / golfers switch sides, of course they don't.

I have suffered chronic back pain since my teens and still do, but it's nothing to do with using the c/c wand............

I am also a qualified Pelvic and Spinal Realignment therapist and it was only while training for this that the back problem was diagnosed..............following 40 years of agony and the failure of the NHS and other therapists to resolve the problem.

beatingbackpain.co.uk

ps
Ken is absolutely right about the efficient use of your tools.

[Kinver_Clean]

When doing a room I start at one corner and work across the room till I hit the other wall, this makes me rebound and automatically change hands and direction, having worked across the room again I swap hands and direction etc...etc,,,etc

The back is not a tenth as bad as it was since I did this.

The back was hurt coming off a horse at 25 mph.

Trevor

[jeff1966]

check out Extracta's scrubba range.Saves you loads of time as well as your back!I've had one for 5 years ,worth every penny.It hooks up to any H.W.E machine.  
              regards Jeff

[mark_roberts]

Im 6'2" and find the wands from westpak via solutions are longer than most.  A glide is a must with a TM but Im not convinced a portable needs them or benefits the clean or recovery.

For me carpet cleaning isnt a problem its stairs and upholstery.  I dont book two suites into the one day and prefer a hand tool for stairs.

If you do lots of commercial an RX20 will save your back and get better results.

Mark

[Dave_Lee]

Well ive been scrubbing for 27 years. I have glides and agitation brushes as well as a Host for agitation, but its my scrubbing action that imo makes all the diference, both to the quality of the clean, the thoroughness of the rinse and the speed of drying. This is what I have found on the majority of carpet in average condition, that I clean. Of course a well maintained lightly soiled carpet may well only require a sweep back rinse, however I have exhaustively trialled techniques with diferent carpet types and degree of soiling, with and without glides, and this is the conclusion I have reached. I do get occasional back trouble, as I have ever since I started in this business, and I find 'Voltarol' gel invaluable!
Dave.

[matt jones]

cheers for the response guys