175 hack needs

[Russ T.]

There are occasions where access is very difficult to an apartment where profit is very slim anyway.

I've never done VLM with a 175. It's on my truck though and I'm wondering if I couldn't make the most of it in these cases.

These apartments are 1,2,&3 bedrooms with laminate in the living areas for what it's worth. Not a ton of square footage.

What do I need to be bare bones VLM in a pinch?

Pads?
Chemistry?
Equipment?

The other thread made me think of this but I'm nowhere near a VLM Pro. I'm not wanting to be, just have some instances where it might come in handy with MINIMAL additional stuff to store in the van??

Thanks!

 

[grizzley]

There are occasions where access is very difficult to an apartment where profit is very slim anyway.

I've never done VLM with a 175. It's on my truck though and I'm wondering if I couldn't make the most of it in these cases.

These apartments are 1,2,&3 bedrooms with laminate in the living areas for what it's worth. Not a ton of square footage.

What do I need to be bare bones VLM in a pinch?

Pads?
Chemistry?
Equipment?

The other thread made me think of this but I'm nowhere near a VLM Pro. I'm not wanting to be, just have some instances where it might come in handy with MINIMAL additional stuff to store in the van??

Thanks!

Yep. Many of my apts has access issues, and even more of them pose liability issues. To make a go at apts with a 175, I would advise getting a dirt napper, or a dedicated brush and a bristle driver. With the dirt napper, you complete 2 steps at once, but the trade off is you will go through more pads. A good thing about the bristle driver is you wont have to have multiple different size pads. Make a run with the brush, and the follow with a pad.

Everybody has opinions on pads. I carry microfiber with scrub strips from direct mop sales and pro cottons from Bonnetpro, along with some tuway thin ones. This combination will handle just about any carpet in an apt setting.

For Apts, I have 3 preferences on chemical. I like Hot Knife extreme and Grease Hawg fromVacaway, and Omega from Bonnetpro. These do a great job at cutting through the nasty.

Other equipment you gotta have to vlm apts successfully would be a buffer for steps if your apts has them, a good vacuum, and I prefer an electric sprayer, but a pump up would suffice.

I primarily use op machines though but do have rotaries. I am beginning to use them more often, especially on apts above the second floor.

 

[steve_64]

i really prefer scrubbing with a green stripe pad then a cotton bonnet to remove soil. Just a splash of releasit to a couple gallons of hot water in the tank on the 175 using a shower feed. some dry solvent spotter for the spots that don't come out (even gum) and a couple towels. I'm really liking the oreck vacuum for cgd but we got a bissell bagless recently and we especially like using this on residential carpeting.

a pocket knife and a 5 gallon jug to carry water and a carpet brush.

i made $450 today doing some offices that took Genny and I 3 hours and 5 gallons of RTU releasit to clean 2600 sq.ft. Most of it was dry when we left.We may start pushing this more, its easy work with two people and we don't have to worry about dumping waste water. Just have to clean a Lot of bonnets!

to do this everyday id at least have a spotter and a product for urine and vomit and such also. you can use the spotter for steps and upholstery too.

can you tell ive been thinking about this?

 

[grizzley]

Releasit is great, but I'm not fond of it in the apt setting. Only because I think it leaves the carpet crunchy once dry. There's two major encapsulant types out there, crystalizer and film former. The crystalizer has more polymer, but the film former has more cleaning power.

I've been meaning to buy some pads with the green strips to try out.

 

[Russ T.]

I've got a couple green stripe pads for my 17" 175. Several gallons of Matrix DS.

I normally use it in the Cimex to clean commercial carpet.

I've got a 3 gallon pump sprayer.

Can I just mix the stuff up in the pump sprayer, spray it on, and scrub with the dirt napper deal? How many dirt nappers will I need for 3 very average size (130 ft.²) bedrooms?

 

[grizzley]

I've got a couple green stripe pads for my 17" 175. Several gallons of Matrix DS.

I normally use it in the Cimex to clean commercial carpet.

I've got a 3 gallon pump sprayer.

Can I just mix the stuff up in the pump sprayer, spray it on, and scrub with the dirt napper deal? How many dirt nappers will I need for 3 very average size (130 ft.²) bedrooms?

short answer yes...............The dirtnapper is a pad driver. The outside row is a carpet brush, but the inside is for a pad of choice. Great aggitation, plus absortion from the pad. Downfall is you will have to get smaller pads to fit the dirt napper driver. Count on 1 pad per room ( double sided)........Probably wont need that many, but we are talking about apts, so you just never know.

If you want the bare minimal. Just get a ful size carpet brush. After you vacuum, and prespray, run the brush in all soiled areas and traffic areas. You could go wall to wall if you choose too. After brushing all rooms, pop on your pad driver of choice and pad extract. On larger pads,you should be able to use 2 pads ( 4 sides) on the bedrooms only. The larger pads, because they are larger hold more soil.

 

[grizzley]

This is a dirt napper. i have a 15 inch driver that accepts a 13 inch pad, but you can get different sizes..

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

ya know it really really really depends on the soil load. It's always a judgement call when you see the job. A really freekin hammerd job means yer gonna be filling up a bunch of pads with your 175 (and hey, need to add in the laundering time of those bonnets), and that's after you slow vacuum it other wise yer gonna be leaving debris on top. I've added 20-30 volume hydroxide to 2 different brands of encap with success on several hammered office and commercial jobs now (can't be much different then a hammered apartment), but then recently found BonnetPro's Revive. Got the oxygen loaded in it. Took care of one of my rough looking church jobs, 175/cotton pads.

Our resident Irishman said at Ice last year the average ticket for him on an apartment in SF bay area was $150. But hold on, that's with stain removal and repairs, and again average. That's tough sledding less you gottem lined up and know your stain treatment and repair routine. And those reducers on the reds and such need rinsing out (gonna need a spotter machine along with your 175). Been there done that, had them back fire on me when I didn't rinse.

If you get a routine down and get paid promptly, more power to ya. There's worse ways to make a living. Jeez, I say that every day....

 

[grizzley]

ya know it really really really depends on the soil load. It's always a judgement call when you see the job. A really freekin hammerd job means yer gonna be filling up a bunch of pads with your 175 (and hey, need to add in the laundering time of those bonnets), and that's after you slow vacuum it other wise yer gonna be leaving debris on top. I've added 20-30 volume hydroxide to 2 different brands of encap with success on several hammered office and commercial jobs now (can't be much different then a hammered apartment), but then recently found BonnetPro's Revive. Got the oxygen loaded in it. Took care of one of my rough looking church jobs, 175/cotton pads.

Our resident Irishman said at Ice last year the average ticket for him on an apartment in SF bay area was $150. But hold on, that's with stain removal and repairs, and again average. That's tough sledding less you gottem lined up and know your stain treatment and repair routine. And those reducers on the reds and such need rinsing out (gonna need a spotter machine along with your 175). Been there done that, had them back fire on me when I didn't rinse.

If you get a routine down and get paid promptly, more power to ya. There's worse ways to make a living. Jeez, I say that every day....

Prices are about right here too. Sure, I've done $300-$400 jobs in apts with the clean, stain removal, dye and repair, but in general apts, 70% require some sort of additional treatment and are in the $100-$150 range. Apts money is made on volume. I show up to one complex and get 3 done, drive a mile down the road and do 3 more, and so on.
When it comes to spotters. Vacaway products does not have to be rinsed. Their Red Vanish is amazing with or without heat, along with hel gel, pig. All dry to a crystal.

But you are right. Soil Load plays a huge factor. Some apts you can just throw a bonnet on and go. Others, a brush would be required, followed by a pad.

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

hey I never knew that about his red vanish. Now my hell jel can have a friend to sit next to on the truck.

 

[J Brown]

There are occasions where access is very difficult to an apartment where profit is very slim anyway.

I've never done VLM with a 175. It's on my truck though and I'm wondering if I couldn't make the most of it in these cases.

These apartments are 1,2,&3 bedrooms with laminate in the living areas for what it's worth. Not a ton of square footage.

What do I need to be bare bones VLM in a pinch?

Pads?
Chemistry?
Equipment?

The other thread made me think of this but I'm nowhere near a VLM Pro. I'm not wanting to be, just have some instances where it might come in handy with MINIMAL additional stuff to store in the van??

Thanks!

To really up your results with a rotary use a vct pad, I use a burnishing pad, to scrub with and shower feed your cleaning solution, you'll need a shampoo tank if you don't have one. Then remove soil and moisture with cotton pads like the Bonnet Pro pads they don't run as smooth as micro pads but worth the results.

You may need to pre treat first for some chem dwell time depending on how dirty the carpet is.
One more thing that can increase your results is to heat the water in your tank with a bucket heater, then your shower feeding hot cleaning solution directly to the carpet with out much if any heat loss.

Heat the water in the tank first then add the chem, then you can put the heater in a bucket of water to be heating up while your cleaning.
Make sure your heater and rotary isn't running on the same circuit.

 

[Russ T.]

What in the world did I get myself into?

 

[rick imby]

What in the world did I get myself into?

An easy way to clean 3rd floor apartments?