Moths

-JB-

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Custy. calls w/a moth problem in the home (via the ori's), how do you handle it?
 
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Shawn Forsythe
A carpet cleaner should, at the bare minimum, have at least two companies that they can refer clients their clients to when they have such a requirement.... That being;

1) A Plumber
2) An Exterminator

Both of these companies should be those with which a reciprocal relationship exists, so that they will refer their clients who need the services of a carpet restoration professional, to you.

I'm sure there are other specialties as well for which you should have a reciprocal referral relationship, if you do not offer such a service, e.g. a carpet repair specialist, a color repair technician, etc (unless sub-contracting is an option).
 
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This is an excellent point. I always make certain to network with professionals that offer complimentary services that I can refer customers to. This is something that a lot of people lose sight of. If you have a network of professionals that you can go to to handle things that you can't then its only natural that you should partner with them. You'd be surprised how much extra business you'll get from this strategy alone.
 

-JB-

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Let's try again. MOTHS.

Maybe THIS post won't get hi-jacked. :evil:

I am the undisputed KING of hi-jacked threads.

Custy. calls w/a moth problem in the home (via the ori's), how do you handle it?
 

Ken Snow

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Re: Let's try again. MOTHS.

call an extermination company John and handle the wool rugs yourself if you have the capability, otherwise refer them out to a rug plant.
 

The Great Oz

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Re: Let's try again. MOTHS.

We can handle the moths, eggs and larvae in the rugs and carpeting, but not do much of anything for the infestation. Moths like dark places and will live in places you can't clean them out of, like under the baseboards.

To rid a rug of moths, immersion clean it. Treat it with a laundry sour to keep moths from eating it when you return it to the customer. I may be wrong, but I believe all wool used in wall-to-wall carpet is permanently moth-proof. I can't recall seeing any machine-made wool carpet in the last twenty years that was damaged by moths.
 

sweendogg

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Re: Let's try again. MOTHS.

Correct in that almost all wools of new Zealand products claim to have a lifetime resistance to moths and insects. However, this does not mean they are completely moth proof, we have seen one or two Karastan rugs less than 20 years old that have been damaged by moths. (proven beyond the shadown of a doubt that it was moth vs other bugs in the Karastan Claim.) It all depends on the environment and how hungry those little buggers are.

One Tip about handeling the rugs JB, if you are in charge of moving them either to your shop for full immersion cleaning or off to another rug plant. Take a piece of visquine and lay the rug on top and roll it up so its completely sealed off on all the ends and tops. You don't want to keep it in the plastic very long, but you DO want to isolate any moths, larvae or casings from infilitrating your shop, other rugs/materials. So wrap it up until you are going to work with it.

If you dust with a badger, pick a nice sunny day and do it outside and clean out your duster afterwards. Then straight into the pit. Laundry sour works to add a protector afterwards. We prefer Master Blend Repel.
 

-JB-

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So the rest of you don't need ta Google it...


visquine



Visqueen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the brand-name plastic sheeting material. For the musical group, see Visqueen (band).

Visqueen is a brand of a family of plastic sheeting produced by British Polythene Limited, commonly between 4 and 10 mils (0.1 to 0.25 mm) thick, used as a temporary tarpaulin. It is commonly used to cover concrete as it sets, as a drop cloth when painting, to line decorative ponds, and to cover the ground before applying stone or wood chips to prevent weed growth. Large (100 x 20 ft) sheets of Visqueen[1] are also used during floods to protect levees from wave wash erosion.


Sounds like plastic sheeting? :wink:

Seriously thanks for the advice.

Here's the story, got a referral FROM the exterminator, he wants to coordinate pick-up w/us.
What I was wondering I suppose is do I let them treat the rugs w/the rest of the home? Sounds like a yes, but treat them as still infested anyhow, that sound about right? What about charges, I assume you charge a premium for all the extra handling, and precautions and "moth proofing" ? ( I know there's no such thing, technically)
 

sweendogg

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We typically charge about $4.00 to $5.50/sqft for moth decontamination depending on size of rug and location of pickup. You can let them treat the rugs but doing a full immersion wash should remove most of it. Also a consideration is what sideeffect will their product have on the rug ie dye bleed, odor, wool incompatability. As long as its relatively color safe we use an application of Microban X-580 on both sides and then let it air out and then wash it.
 

The Great Oz

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Contrary to what some chemical sellers might have you believe, moths and their eggs and larvae are easy to kill, and are picky eaters so it doesn't take going nuclear to handle them. We charge an additional $1.30 for moth repellant treatment, and use a laundry sour (Masterblend's Repel) so we're not adding any toxins to a rug.

I haven't seen a Karastan Karaloc be eaten, but Sweeney's right about the "American Orientals." They have a mothproof label even though the wool is not mothproof, and Karastan will replace any moth damaged rug with a new one. Why they don't use permanently mothproofed wool for these rugs is a mystery.
 

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