[kinder clean]

Going to do a quote tomorrow morning, at an abbey !

I've just googled the place and it looks like buckingham palace, what tests should I be doing and any tips on what to quote at what I guess will be a huge quantity of curtains.

Little vague I know, but thats all I have till I've seen the job, it will be a clean in situ.

Many thanks

Paul

[Peter Sweeney]

Hi Paul

Hope your'e well.

You need to include a fire retardent application in your quote and I believe you need to provide a certificate to confirm it has been done for H&S reasons (by memory though, this may only apply to natural fibres as the synthetic materials do not wash their retardent, perhaps someone else could clarify this one). You will also need to consider access if they are tall ones and get a scaff tower erected.

As for the material, you have a number of options but again, that will depend on the material.

Pete

[Hilton]

almost certainly you will not be able to take them down any way, due to weight etc.

Shed loads of vacuuming at high level, so you may need to hire a movable scaffold, vacuuming will be 90% of the job,

nice even neutral spray and towel off and I would leave it at that. you will not need to re-apply fire retardant if you clean in this manner, unless you want to for extra bucks ,thats up to you.

I would imagine they would be very high value and bearing in mind the location you will not want to use any solvents, an Abbey stinking of solvents before and after Xmas will not go down to well.

Be prepared to come across all manner of nasties up high in the folds, bird skeletons, mice, black dust (so always vacuum first as this will stain) etc so wear masks.

Otherwise I would imagine a relatively easy and prestigious job, so take plenty of photos, before and after etc and good luck. 

[Ian Rochester]

Curtain cleaning on site ...............................pain in the a/*e!!!!

The ones we have done in the past have been more hassle than they are worth and the results have never been startling.   Maybe it's just me!!!

[Neil Williams]

Curtain cleaning on site ...............................pain in the a/*e!!!!
Maybe it's just me!!!

Me also. Back ache, shoulder ache and neck ache are guarenteed.
And results are always going to be limited when done in situ instead of off to the dry cleaners.

[kinder clean]

Hi guys

Due to weather only got to see this job today, and what a job it is !

This is the largest job for me since I started trading.

Items to be cleaned are 22 Pairs of curtains (in situ) ranging from 3ft x 2ft up to 8ft x 12ft ( per pair ) and now theirs an unexpected bonus of 138 Sq mtrs of carpet and a flight of stairs (18 double width) to be quoted for.

I've been reading some old threads and as the curtains seem in pretty good condition, I was going to give a thorough vacuum followed by a fine mist with micro splitter and towel off.

A few questions:

When cleaning curtains do you normally clean the backings (linings) as well, or just vacuum (noticed about 100 ladybirds snuggled together on the back of 1 pair)

Is cleaning with the fine mist / towel method likely to cause shrinkage or any other problems on certain curtain materials ? ( theres a good mixture of materials )

I'm ok for quoting carpet but any pointers regards the estimate for time taken and pricing for the curtains would be very much appreciated, total area for the curtains is approx 965sq ft. spread over 2 floors.

12 feet high is the max height, so should be ok with a ladder, will be taking a helper ( me dad ) 

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Paul

[Jim_77]

Sounds like a nice little job!!

Ladders are dodgy Paul, all it takes is one little loss of balance but can be used OK if no other option....

If the floor is fairly clear by the curtains, seriously consider the tower scaffold approach if feasible!  It's not just getting up there, it's having all your kit to hand.  Presuming your vacuum cleaner hasn't got a 15ft hose you'll need that up there with you, don't try balancing while holding it.  Then you need your sprayer and towels to hand, plus maybe a couple of different tools for the vac.

I use a Hunter turbo vac for curtains but that's doing a few pairs of domestic ones - that machine is a bit heavy to lift up and down all day.

I'd definitely be going for the spray/wipe approach, almost zero risk of shrinkage IMO.  Normally the back sides (linings) are just vacced, gets rid of said insect skeletons.

Before anything else, give each curtain a damn good shake which will dislodge a lot of loose crud etc.  As well as the curtains, I also allow for vacuuming the window reveal or area immediately around the curtains - no point spending all that time cleaning them if they're still surrounded by dust & cobwebs.  Explain this in your quote.

I use M-Power @ 1:100 for curtains, does a cracking job and fits the bill perfectly.

You've got about 90m² of curtains there, which believe it or not isn't actually a monstrous amount.  I recently did a regular curtain job in a private house that is over 100m.  It took me and the mrs about 6hrs, one with the vac the other spray/wiping.  Some of those curtains were about 12ft and a real hassle off a ladder but not really a job where you could use a scaffold cos it was a lounge & dining room, so it's a bit of a tricky one really.  I used a cylinder vac for that job which I bungee strapped to the ladder

You'll need a hot bath when you get home, and a good rub down from the wife, to ease the aching neck & arms

[fenman]

We clean a lot of curtains in situ.
The most important part is the vaccing which will take about 60% of the job time.
We use a fogger ( Command or Fogmaster ) to apply the cleaner.
This has 2 advantages. You have complete control over how much cleaner is applied and because it is a very fine mist it gets into all the nooks and crannies of the header.
We use damped microfibre mitts to actually clean which again gives you control over the moisture.
The linings are generally untreated cotton and you will never have any luck removing stains, fly dirts etc due mostly to the uv light that they are constantly exposed to.
You need to explain to your customer that you will not make much improvement to the linings for this reason.
12 ft is the maximum height you can work off a step ladder and even then you will need to be very careful.
12 ft being the height to the top of the curtains.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Get yourself if you haven't already a vacuum which you can carry either on your back or a smaller vacuum which you can strap round your hips.

The weight of the hose and head assembly is much less and you will be far more mobile and agile. you'll do the work more quickly as well especially if you are on ladders.

[Hilton]

As above Jim's dilution rates and method very similar to ours and also agree that we would not work off step ladders in that environment.

We clean front and back and as mentioned we would advise that linings have very limited success but they still will be cleaned and sanitised.

On the linings check these first especially folds for any signs of cracking from sun light damage etc and point this out before starting.

On price very difficult, its sounds like a prestigious job so you want to do it, I won't go with our prices they would be too high, for example 18 x 12 would be around £100.00 but it gives you some idea.

Good luck with it let us know how you get on.

[clinton]

Roger is right and you can buy a backpack vac that runs on a batterie..

[Joe H]

If the batterys are in the backpak - that will be added weight.
On that basis I would go for the mains operated.

[clinton]

Just the batteries seem to run down quik joe.

Think for h and s he will have a problem if its going to be scafolding..

[Joe H]

I dont think I would be up for this type of job - unless it was VERY big money.

Scaffolding, back pacs - too much hassle, and sounds it all could go very wrong too easy.

Just stick to my carpet & upholstery cleaning and leather.  Does nicely.

Then again - if I was a young man........

[Nigel_W]

My alternative point of view would be to take them down, dry clean them and re- hang them. This is the only way to clean them properly. A lot less hassle for you and a better result for the client. I will only clean on site if the curtains are very very lightly soiled. The only issue is to make sure you subcontract the dry cleaning to a specialist dry cleaner of curtains as a lot of experience is necessary to avoid the many pitfalls of curtain dry cleaning.

Nigel

[kinder clean]

Thanks for all the advice guys very helpful, I sent the quote over today.

Will need another vac so added a little extra to the quote. Could do with a back pack vac if anyone knows where I can get one.

Thanks again

Paul

[Mr Dvae]

don't forget your diving suit or at least a mask!!!


Dave

[richie]

We have hired backpack vacuums in the past from HSS.

Richie.

[kinder clean]

Got the job ! 

Thanks for all the advise guys.

I was told to expect to hear from them on the 4th january after ther holidays, so I'd kind of given up the ghost on this one, but got the call this morning. I gave 2 separate quotes one for the curtain cleaning and a separate one for about 140sq/mtr of carpet plus a large stair case and we got the lot ! Very prestigious company this one, so could lead to future work.

Will be taking my dad with me for:
general help
ladder support
massage treatment to my neck 
Photographer

I need to get a back pack vac sorted now, will take a look at HSS cheers Richie, or maybe I can pick a second hand unit up ( I will post a wanted advert on here )

I will also need a decent ladder, I noticed there are some combi type ladders that can be made into small platforms for about £70.00 that might be a better option. ( don't know what the safe working load is mind, we like our pies up north. Clinton and Shaun are classed as malnourished up here  )

End Jan early Feb for this job, will post some photos when complete.

Thanks again

Paul

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Nice one Paul !