Help me find the right vacuum cleaner

FredC

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Yah, that's the type of cleaning I'm trying to educate clients to avoid, or at least so they understand it is a subpar cleaning. 90% of the cleaners out there, that's all they do.


and 90% of customers out there, thats all they want. Not some OCD carpet cleaner vacuuming for hours calling them over to see the latest speck of dust sucked in............


Edit: and welcome back Ron...we missed your OCD :D
 
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GeeeAus

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Dry soil extraction is recommended best practice. I'm pleased to be OCD and In Ron's exclusive club.

Grant
 
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Goldenboy

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Sorry Ron but 99 percent of your customers are calling u for appearance cleaning just because YOU are so hung up on your fetish with removing staple fiber by over vacuuming YOU are ignoring what your customers really want that's stain removal. Keep telling yourself that its ok not to remove colored stains but that probably explains why you don't have enough clients and you have to do another cleaners over flow to get work. Colored stains are a hassle for you so YOU choose to ignore them.
 

Russ T.

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Thanks Grant, I was hoping you would chime in. I really appreciate the time/effort you have put into sharing your knowledge in this thread. Ron just hit it on the head when he mentioned how he was trying to distance himself from the "blow and go" hacks, I'm doing the same thing. There have been quite a few decisions I've made this year where I relied solely on the info I got here. Sometimes it takes sifting through a lot of useless noise but it has been worth it, saving me lots of time and money. Grant and Ron, if you guys take the same care with your customers, you have something special. Keep up the good work and I hope to hear from you again on here.


The Clean Machine
 
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GeeeAus

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Thanks Russ.

Waldo mate, I haven't previously had the pleasure of speaking with you, I'm still new here and to the industry in general. Every day seems a learning day, and no opportunity to learn is wasted at this point. Just concerned with the turn this thread is taking, there is obviously going to be many schools of thought on issues we all face day to day. Still it's good to be constructive.

Ron seems a pretty stand up guy, his exchanges are informed and respectful, surely he should be awarded the same kind and calibre of response in kind?

Grant
 
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Russ T.

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Most customers don't really know the difference between a good cleaning and a "once over" until we educate them. After this education, a superior cleaning and service, and ultimately paying a higher price, hopefully you have a customer for life who will know and trust you. There is little loyalty from the customers who shop around without knowing the difference...seeing only prices. There was another good thread about "raising the bar" yesterday that talks about this. I couldn't always provide this level of quality and service (not that I'm done improving). Over the last year we have slowly transformed our company mostly because I have gained the knowledge and tools to compete at a higher level. I have much more CONFIDENCE now and that is priceless when it comes to this biz. We are hopefully creating an educated client base that won't jump on the next Groupon that comes out.
About the colored stains...check out Red Zone by Bridgepoint. If you need to remove drink stains, it makes it about as easy as anything I've tried. I think Waldo just likes to get a reaction sometimes but he made a good point about removing stains. Many customers are very concerned with this and I value products that work well and work fast.


The Clean Machine
 

GeeeAus

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Great post.

Myself I did some chemistry in school and liked it a lot so took a good bit of It on board. I tend to use the base agents employed in the dye removers rather that a fixed product. I buy Hydrogen Peroxide and Amonia and Potassium Metabisulfite from a company in Adelaide. I have found these good tools in my dye stain removal process. Of course not all dye stains will respond to oxidisers or reducers. I do not currently offer carpet dyeing p, but may do so going forward.

Grant
 

ruff

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There goes Grant's chance of being called "Whyalla's Best."

Grant, you've no one to blame but yourself.:winky:

Maybe Waldo will let it slide this time. Though, that was a roo size mistake mate.
 
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ruff

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220px-Khruschev_shoe_fake.jpg
 
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GeeeAus

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Really can't make sense of this.....?

Isn't wheather or not I represent Whyalla's best up to or perhaps "down to" me.

Don't follow you gents.

Grant
 
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Russ T.

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Waldo puts out a list of who he feels are the best cleaners. It is a bit of a joke on this board I think.


The Clean Machine
 

ruff

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Isn't wheather or not I represent Whyalla's best up to or perhaps "down to" me.

Them are fighting words! :winky: :errf:


And yes, I'm afraid Russ may be history.

Though he's definitely endangering Ron's status as the perennial Olympian OCD award winner. Ron is a fighter though, I'm sure he's got something new up his sleeve.
 
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Jimmy L

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Grant can you either tell us or show us a picture of your extraction machine?
 

Ron Werner

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and 90% of customers out there, thats all they want. Not some OCD carpet cleaner vacuuming for hours calling them over to see the latest speck of dust sucked in............


Edit: and welcome back Ron...we missed your OCD :D

Invariably, this topic has come up over the years since I started using the Cleartrak and began telling other cleaners what they're leaving behind. Its always the same conversations, the truck gets all the soil, the customers don't want it, you're spending too much time, you're just there for appearance cleaning, yada yada.
AND the next day I go out to clean and I run into a place that confirms exactly what I was trying to get across. You cannot clean out the stuff I'm getting with JUST a truck, even an AT/V. The customers DO want it and they don't mind me taking the extra time.

Now let me clarify something. What some say, that 90% of customers out there don't want it, is almost true. I wouldn't say 90%, probably more like 60-75%. Those are the people that call Stanley, or Nationwide, or Sears, or Coit. They ARE NOT MY TARGET MARKET. I don't need 10 jobs a day to make a profit. My market are people that are tired of those cleaners, tired of watching a cleaner come in, prespray rinse, and they are gone and the next day the carpets look soiled. My clients are people that want to KNOW its cleaned properly, they KNOW it'll take some time and know it costs a little extra to have it done right. I have customers that stopped calling as frequently because I told them how to prevent the soiling. My job is to remove the soil load so their house is clean and healthy. Not every cleaner wants to do that. Fine. Don't tell me I'm out to lunch and don't tell me you're "cleaning", YOU are the ones that are appearance cleaning. If that's all you're doing, why are you spending $1000's on a TM, go buy OP.

Couple other points. If I remove the soil from the carpet, the carpet WILL LOOK clean. Appearance issue solved. If I don't, I may be back because of wicking.
Also, My busn is doing just fine. I am not doing another cleaner's overflow work, I'm doing all his work because he's has back challenges and I have him spoiled because I'm the best tech he's ever had. He's a friend. Do you have a friend Waldo?
One more thing. If I were to go to your clients and you were to go to mine, who would convince whose clients they were with the wrong cleaner? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get many of mine, but you might be a little worried.


Yesterday I went to clean a white berber, a room and a hall. It looked soiled but she had just vacuumed and it looked totally free of any surface soil. After Wernering it for about an hour, I had a good load of fine soil that would have made a mess with just a PS/R, or it would have still been in the carpet. This is the carpet before I started.

DSC_5109_zps962d913e.jpg
DSC_5113_zpsb16cd28f.jpg

and yes Grant, it had a lot of weight to it. :winky: :icon_cool:

And then a set of berber stairs and a hall. You can see how fine the soil is if you look at the inner blue cone.

DSC_5112_zps99c9be2a.jpg

Oddly enough, when I steam cleaned it, it looked just great.
yeah, I know, its the Cleartrak, its cheap looking, but it works.


Grant, you started something of your own. Seems there are a LOT of cleaners buying up all the used Kirbys!! :) I've seen your pics, You're out cleaning many of these PS/R guys! Keep going!
 
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Desk Jockey

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I admit I thought you were nutz when you first started talking about "Wernerizing carpets. But after seeing what you're recovering it opened our eyes to spend more time than we previously had vacuuming. Now we don't spend anything in comparison to the time you do but we do realize the value in more time spent in doing so. The proof is hard to argue with when you see it right there in the container.

So while I can't confirm that you're not nutz, you're one sharp cookie for coming up with this "Wernerizing" thing!
 

GeeeAus

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I've spoken with you on *** Jimmy L, you know what I use.

Grant
 

GeeeAus

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Invariably, this topic has come up over the years since I started using the Cleartrak and began telling other cleaners what they're leaving behind. Its always the same conversations, the truck gets all the soil, the customers don't want it, you're spending too much time, you're just there for appearance cleaning, yada yada.
AND the next day I go out to clean and I run into a place that confirms exactly what I was trying to get across. You cannot clean out the stuff I'm getting with JUST a truck, even an AT/V. The customers DO want it and they don't mind me taking the extra time.

Now let me clarify something. What some say, that 90% of customers out there don't want it, is almost true. I wouldn't say 90%, probably more like 60-75%. Those are the people that call Stanley, or Nationwide, or Sears, or Coit. They ARE NOT MY TARGET MARKET. I don't need 10 jobs a day to make a profit. My market are people that are tired of those cleaners, tired of watching a cleaner come in, prespray rinse, and they are gone and the next day the carpets look soiled. My clients are people that want to KNOW its cleaned properly, they KNOW it'll take some time and know it costs a little extra to have it done right. I have customers that stopped calling as frequently because I told them how to prevent the soiling. My job is to remove the soil load so their house is clean and healthy. Not every cleaner wants to do that. Fine. Don't tell me I'm out to lunch and don't tell me you're "cleaning", YOU are the ones that are appearance cleaning. If that's all you're doing, why are you spending $1000's on a TM, go buy OP.

Couple other points. If I remove the soil from the carpet, the carpet WILL LOOK clean. Appearance issue solved. If I don't, I may be back because of wicking.
Also, My busn is doing just fine. I am not doing another cleaner's overflow work, I'm doing all his work because he's has back challenges and I have him spoiled because I'm the best tech he's ever had. He's a friend. Do you have a friend Waldo?
One more thing. If I were to go to your clients and you were to go to mine, who would convince whose clients they were with the wrong cleaner? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get many of mine, but you might be a little worried.


Yesterday I went to clean a white berber, a room and a hall. It looked soiled but she had just vacuumed and it looked totally free of any surface soil. After Wernering it for about an hour, I had a good load of fine soil that would have made a mess with just a PS/R, or it would have still been in the carpet. This is the carpet before I started.

and yes Grant, it had a lot of weight to it. :winky: :icon_cool:

And then a set of berber stairs and a hall. You can see how fine the soil is if you look at the inner blue cone.

Oddly enough, when I steam cleaned it, it looked just great.
yeah, I know, its the Cleartrak, its cheap looking, but it works.


Grant, you started something of your own. Seems there are a LOT of cleaners buying up all the used Kirbys!! :) I've seen your pics, You're out cleaning many of these PS/R guys! Keep going!

Not much carpet fibre in there, that's for certain. Nice work Ron. I cleaned a carpet this morning and it had surprisingly little dry soil. Don't find too many like there in Whyalla which is an an arid region.

Grant
 
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Mardie

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Ron for what it is worth if any of these naysayers have ever dusted a rug they just may be able to begin to understand how important good vacuuming is.
 
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Vivers

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There is no doubt that a proper vacuuming with a quality vacuum prior to pretreating and rinsing is essential for a quality clean
 

Ron Werner

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One other important reason I like the Cleartrak, because I can see the soil coming in I can tell when I do and do not have to Werner the carpet. The job today I vacuumed it in about 15 min, about the same area that took me an hour yesterday. I got about a 1/4 the soil as yesterday. It saves me a lot of time when I know I don't have to take all that time.
 

Johnny

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Lots of Kirbys for sale around here. Which Kirby model is best?
 
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