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When Bad Things Happen To Good Cushions

I received a series of emails and calls this week from two different fine fabric specialists about gross contamination of cushions on upholstery.  Specifically vomit and urine.

In each case, a guest in the home was the source of the “contamination”.  The major difference in each was not the contaminant, but the type of fiber in the fabric, the value of the furnishing to the customer, and the risk the cleaners were taking.

In each case a high volume of body discharge saturated into the cushion foam, requiring the recommendation that the cushion foam be replaced. It’s the easiest way to solve that part of the problem, more healthful, and the likelihood of success is the best.

However, that leaves the dilemma of how to treat the saturated upholstery fabric which retained absorbed quantities of the discharges without causing fabric damage.

For step by step procedures, read more…
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/906.cfm

Article source: http://www.jimscleanchat.com/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-cushions/

You Gotta Love This!

Lately I’ve been talking to cleaners in my age group (mid 50’s) who are looking beyond the time in their life when they are willing (and able) to push a wand in homes and commercial establishments. Most cleaners in my age group who aren’t prepared to hire young men to do this work, and are either unwilling or unable to sell their business as it is are now contemplating how to move into this next stage of their life.

Many of these men have thought that setting up a “rug and fine fabric cleaning” shop would be a sensible and more importantly a rewarding way to move into a business model that is both profitable and that the work is self paced.

If you are contemplating this sort of long term move, you should consider this:

I have often heard Lisa Wagner, a recognized rug cleaning expert (and my Textile Pro training partner), say that to be successful at rug cleaning, you have to love rugs.

I’ve been pondering her view of “loving rugs”, and what it means:

In Lisa’s view, you can’t look at rug cleaning as a high product “dollars per hour” enterprise, such as you might with wall to wall carpet cleaning. Instead, to take the time to do detail oriented stain removal, fringe cleaning, texture restoration, etc, you need to enjoy restoring what is, in many ways, a work of art.

In my experience with fine fabric upholstery and leather, I think that same level of attention to detail for the love of restoring something beautiful is just as important, even if the item itself is not an individual work of art, like handmade rugs are.

For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to put all three items together under the category of “fine interior décor”.

Owner/operators who have long taken pride in doing their best at their craft in stain removal, odor removal, and cleaning of wall to wall carpet should find that becoming a “Fine Interior Décor” restoration expert – even more rewarding in this next phase of their business life.

If you have that combination of true enjoyment in being a “cleaning craftsman”, as well as the need to create a service business that suits the needed lifestyle changes age brings upon you, you just might consider opening a small, in plant cleaning service for rugs, fine fabrics, leather, and other “Fine Interior Décor” assets.

For more information about how you might create such a business model for yourself, go to…
http://tinyurl.com/texpro

Article source: http://www.jimscleanchat.com/you-gotta-love-this/

Protector Sales Declining?

In my conversations with cleaners, and my observations of current trends of protector sales and purchases, its become clear to me that the sales of protector after carpet and upholstery cleaning continue to decline.

Some industry persons point to current economic conditions, but based on what I’ve observed, I believe its much deeper than this.

Consider the events of the past decade. Could it be . . .

Health Issues?
* A “warning letter” is sent to consumers nationwide from a labor group that had a conflict with a major protector manufacturer. Regardless of the motive, it put fear and doubt into the consumers’ minds about protector safety. It also created fear and doubt in the minds of many cleaners!

Lack of Clarity From Carpet Industry?
* Carpet manufacturers state that carpet protector is no longer necessary on carpets made from their new fiber technology, and/or that they incorporate new protector technology at the manufacturing level.

Inferences were made in print, and said verbally by uninformed carpet salespeople that the application of protector might even void a carpet warranty. This obviously impacted consumer purchases of protector, and also frightened cleaners into not offering protector at all; since trying to determine what type of carpet anyone owns is nearly impossible without exhaustive research and availability of documentation.

Cable Advertorials, Pitchmen Super Guarantees?
* The prevalence of consumer owned carpet cleaning machines and spotting machines have lessened the fear of spills and soiling between professional cleaning.

Changing Marketplace?
*The higher percentage of hard surfaces in homes, thus limiting the amount of available carpet that can have protector applied.

While many of the upscale consumers are experiencing real or imagined financial pressures, I won’t accept the “bad economy factor” as a major contributor to this trend because of increasing sales of hard surface cleaning services, rug cleaning services, and deodorization and decontamination services.

These are, of course, simply my observations and opinions gathered from my experience and perspective. I would appreciate feedback from those who read this regarding your observation of trends in your market area.

Please feel free to email me with the form below:

Article source: http://www.jimscleanchat.com/protector-sales-declining/

When Dark Colored Fabrics “Water Mark”

Most articles about water marks (“water stains” “rings”) discuss how sizing that is dissolved by spills or spotting creates stains in the form of a ring that can be challenging to remove.  Most water stains of this type encountered by cleaners are seen on white and light colored fabric.

When water marks occur on dark colored fabrics, however, the cause may be different…

For complete article, please visit…
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/901.cfm

Article source: http://www.jimscleanchat.com/when-dark-colored-fabrics-water-mark/

Deodorizing, FAQs, Fine Fabric Care, Odor Control, Spotting | Jim Pemberton | January 20, 2012 3:24 pm

Article source: http://www.jimscleanchat.com/urine-treatment-on-fine-fabrics-what-defines-success/

Not All Upholstery Is Worth Cleaning!

(Don’t Waste Time and Money on Cheap Furniture)

I recently had a discussion with a lady who was preparing to have a sofa reupholstered.  The old fabric was worn and faded, and surely not worth having cleaned.

But neither did the lady want to replace the sofa.  She rightly noted that the furniture itself was solid and well made, and only needed new fabric.   She so loved this piece of furniture that she intended to keep it for a lifetime.   She also felt, based on some shopping she had done, that she could never find another sofa so well made.

She is going to spend much more to reupholster this fabric today than the piece of furniture cost her when she originally purchased it!

Conversely, I also recently noted sofas for sale for only a few hundred dollars.

Such furniture might not last more than a few years before falling apart.  But many consumers who are price oriented and who do not think ahead when they buy are filling their homes with furnishings that cannot be described as anything other than cheap.

What does this mean to you, the “Fine Fabric Care Specialist“?

Customers who will pay a fair price for taking care of their carpet may NOT see the same value in your upholstery cleaning service!

The investment of time, products, and skill in cleaning upholstery fabrics is such that some cleaners struggle with the fact that they can’t seem to get paid enough to make upholstery cleaning as profitable as carpet cleaning.  Its easy to say that you should just “raise your prices”, but if you do so without recognizing that some furniture can be replaced for not much more than you might have to charge to clean it, you will likely become frustrated with your prospects objections to your pricing.

You need to find customers such as the lady that I know who is having her furniture reupholstered.   People who see their home furnishings as a long term investment, and who are more concerned with décor than function are very often your best prospects for “fine fabric care services”, as well as related carpet, rug, and hard surface care in their homes.

When you seek to establish your pricing for “fine fabric care”, bear in mind what your service is worth, and what profit you deserve.   That price will be one that will be very well received by the type of customer who values their belongings, and wants to preserve their investments for years to come.

Lisa Wagner and I have developed a serious training program for those who want to become specialists in rug and fine fabric care.This is not the typical sit in a classroom and get “powerpointed” to death course. It’s limited to those who want to be the best in the craft in their region.We are currently finalizing the companies we will work with in 2012, so if you are interested in more details, please fill out the form below and we will email you more info.

Article source: http://www.jimscleanchat.com/not-all-upholstery-is-worth-cleaning/