[scott.]

how many people actualy do this on site? it shouldnt affect the quote that much, as the trained eye should be enough..wouldnt it be quicker to take the fibres with you, and qualify the customer if and when you return to do the job? never saw much point in doin it in front of them. :-/

[John_Flynn]

Scott

It intrigues the client to see that you are taking an interest in their furnishings and installs trust in them that  a one cell brain dead cleaner can tell them the type of fibre their carpet is by something so simple!!

Think about it, you are there to sell your services to make you some money, not just to clean the damm carpet (thats the back breaking bit, OUCH!!).

[Dynafoam]

Very well said John  

[John_McGavin]

The only time I do a burn test is when a stain is evident and may require treatment before the actual cleaning of the carpet. Its always handy to know the composition of the carpet before you start hitting it with excessive heat or solvents.

For just the run of the mill clean I dont see the point in a burn test providing you are pre-testing the carpet before hand, not over-wetting it during the clean and not using excessive temperatures. So far Ive not encountered any problems.

Is this something you would suggest I start doing?

John

[woodman]

I carry it out on a regular basis now , a lot of carpets now days are designed to trick us into a false sense of security.Some of the Polyprops can look identical to an 80/20 and so on.

Best play safe

[scott.]

cheers, john, john, and er...john...and woodman...i see... yeh maybe ill change my tactics..didnt want to appear like an arsonist to the customer, as im sure its new to most of them..as most of the customers ive had, have never even heard of a survey, let alone have one done...what a backward world we live in.

[shaun_pearson]

ive never done a burn test, never pre_tested and never had any problems. explain

[Dave Parry]

You beat me to it shaun, I also have never burn tested. However I did find a working lighter whilst in the bank today, so might give it a whirl, just to see the custards reaction.

[shaun_pearson]

lol

[Dynafoam]

ive never done a burn test, never pre_tested and never had any problems. explain

Blind luck

[John_McGavin]

Shaun, are you one of these cowboys doing 3 carpets for 10 fAgs and a bottle of Irn Bru??  

What type of Vax do you have?  

[neil 47]

John went to a house to do a quote after reading this post.
the carpet was a very bright blue ,first thought it could be b/wilton so I looked for somwhere to lift it as he didnt have a off cut but was unable to find anywhere .
so I now did a burn test which left a round black hard bead this  showed it was polyester.
just to double check I LIFTED A BIT IN THE CORNER WHICH SHOWED IT WAS  PLASIC/LATEX BACKED.
I NOW FELT CONFIDENT ABOUT CLEANING THIS CARPET.shaun you,ve been very lucky
And the customer was very impressed so it worked well both ways
        Neil
                 ps sorry about caps
     oh and he booked me straight away

[scott.]

Is polypropylene the only fibre that floats then?  i had a fibre today that didnt behave like one when burn tested..but it floated so im guessing that its polyprop....anyone know?

[Ken Wainwright]

When carrying out the float test you need to make sure there aren't any contaminants, the most common being latex adhesive. Before immersing in water, soak the fibre first and expel all air as this could make any fibre float. If the fibre does float, this suggests that it's polyprop or a high percentage polyprop blend.

Burn tests have various indicators to suggest the fibre type. The nature of the ash/bead, the flame, the extinguishing properties and the odour being the principal indicators.

For the way I clean, Woolsafe and Microsplitters, it is not usually important to know which exact fibre I work with, only if it's wool or synthetic. In the real world, with an experienced eye, it would be reasonable to presume that, for example, an expensive looking Axminster weave is going to be a wool/wool blend. I have to admit though, that experience and knowledge isn't infallible. Several times a year I reckon to be caught out by tufted twist piles which I presume to be wool but are actually polyprop in good condition. But as mentioned earlier, because of the way I work it isn't a problem. I merely change from my soft Host brushes to a harder grade. Oh, and I wouldn't apply protector.

safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[scott.]

thanks ken....i didnt need to do a burn test as there was no stains to worry about, ...i was trying to gain experience in this area, so i nicked a few fibres from him.
It burned back with a yellow flame and fused to a hard black ball. smelled like a sweetish smell and hair... i soaked the (latex free)fibre, and it floated..baffled me.
might be wooly mamoth fibre!!

[paulchambers]

I recently did a burns test it the fibre burnt rapidly couldnt distinguish the smell all i worked out is the it was man made . Determining which man made fibre is not easy experience here will help   Paul