[paulchambers]

I was delivering leaflets today when i came across a chap who runs rather a posh guest house, but he has 2 cheap carpets made into rugs with felt backing.

The carpets are only 4 months old and are covered in black patches, which look like shading but the carpets are only 4 months old but being a guest house must get a lot of traffic and the patches are all over.

After speaking to him i found out that he's ben using a spray carpet cleaner (kleeneze)so i am now thinking that the black patches are infact resoiling because detergent has been left in the carpet. I didnt have anything with me to test at the time as i was delivering leaflets. I have offered to do one for free to see if it can be cleaned and if it does he will pay me from the other one, and he wants the rest of the 10 room house done at a later date.

Does anyone think i may be right with the resoiling issue



Paul

[Ken Wainwright]

Yes Paul, your presumption is reasonable.

You don't need any kit to check for this type of residue, just a glass of water and some paper towels or a cloth. Tip on a small amount of water, agitate a little and you should produce some foam and the mark will disappear. Dry off with towel/cloth. If results are inconclusive then yes, a professional cleaner is required anyway

Safe and happy cleaning:)
Ken

[woodman]

Hi Paul

Your almost certainly correct about the re-soiling issue.

So as to educate him on future spot removal procedures do the following:

Once cleaned, supply the owner free of charge with just two spotters.

Solutions Eco Spotter & Other Solutions Woolsafe spotter who's name escapes me just now :

Together with these supply him with a laminated A4 spot removal guide that has your name and number on it and inform him to follow the guide lines and only use these solutions to avoid any future damage.

Anything that can not deal with himself he should call you immediately.

Finally and most important tell him that as he is now your client that you will replenish his spot removers when empty, free of charge.All he has to do is ring.

He will be blown away by this amazing service you are providing and inform others in the trade locally.You will know that he only used approved products and this will assist you on future cleans.

Good Luck

[Doug Holloway]

Paul,

My advice is to stop offering your services for free!

I'm pretty sure your right on resoiling but remember you're a professional, you do not work for nothing'

Good luck,

Doug

[Len Gribble]

Paul

I concur with Doug FREE

Trevor’s idea is good, problem in this type of environment he may be calling you every two week have run out of spotter.

Bit surprised a posh guesthouse using whipped felt back carpet.

Len

[paulchambers]

You can just about see the carpet in the following link i believe its a foot in the door for further work   , but thanks for all your feed back its good to know other peoples opinions   Paul

http://www.jamiesstives.co.uk/breakfast.asp

[Len Gribble]

Paul

Noted

“Please let us know of any special requests when making your booking”

Do you really want me to reply?

Len

[Kevin_Gare]

Hi Paul
Good luck.Hope you get the rest of the guest house.
And don't forget to put him on a maintenance program.

Regards Kevin

[paulchambers]

One Carpet came up a treat the other one i made a BIG mistake, the carpet has been made into a rug type carpet about 100 sq ft with the edges finished off . There was adhesive on the carpet from double sided tape used to hold a small rug in position.

The backing was felt i was unaware of and couldnt see the latex secondary backing and i used citrus gel to remove the glue BIG mistake.

Customer is ok about what i did i offered a refund and to pay for the carpet but he refused to accept a refund and is not willing to allow me to buy a new carpet.  He wants a discount when i clean the rest of the house.

Lesson learnt    Paul

[Dynafoam]

Paul,

The carpet was loose-laid, yet you still did not lift a corner to look at the backing ?

Most of the carpets you encounter will contain latex somewhere in their structure, so especially when dealing with adhesive on the pile, always consider what lies beneath.

Apply a suitable volatile solvent to a carrier, such as a cotton towel, and use this to lightly apply to the surface adhesive. On large  contaminations it may be worth dealing with the contamination in stages, permitting the surface to at least partly dry in between. This will lessen the chances of deep penetration of the solvent.

[paulchambers]

John I did lift the corner the and saw the felt backing the carpet was stitched all the way round so i didnt see the latex above the felt backing   Paul

[Dynafoam]

Paul,

How did you think the felt was attached elsewhere?

In future always assume the presence of latex unless you can prove to yourself otherwise.

Even woven carpets, such as Axminsters can have latex or synthetic starches spray-applied to the backing.

[paulchambers]

Thanks John i will remember that.  One thing to come out of it was i learnt from my mistake..    Paul

[Doug Holloway]

Paul,

I always use white spirit on an old towell to remove this type of adhesive and it works a treat.

Provided you do not pour in on you will not have any problems,

Always extract afterwards to remove white spirit and its smell.

Cheers,

Doug

[paul@ctcs]

On the subject of solvents breaking down latex bonds, are any of you aware if Solutions Eco spotter may cause similar problems?

Paul

[Doug Holloway]

Paul,

It contains alcohol , apparently , so yes it will affect latex but  again if used sparingly on a cloth you w'ont have a problem.

To damage latex so that it will delaminate /come unstuck will require quite a lot of solvent.
It is always good practice to use the minimum amount of any chemical and to rinse afterwards.


Cheers,

Doug

[paul@ctcs]

Cheers Doug

Paul

[Glynn]

which is why "gelled" versions are better, they dont soak in.

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys,

If you put in on a towell first then it too w'ont soak in and you have 100% active ingredient.

The trouble with gells,thickeners etc is they reduce the effectiveness and increase the cost.

Cheers,

Doug

[paulchambers]

I did use a gel but the problem still occured.   Paul

A few lessons learnt Paul