Any recommendations for a good starter combo for carpet cleaning (CGD and pile)

[cleanman71]

Currently using Nautilus 200psi and a wand. Would like to use a 360i and a VLM or Brush pro.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Are you only wanting a good porty? Or are you looking for a TM?
If you are doing mostly CGD I would recommend a much more powerful potty and a Zipper.

 

[Mikey P]

my personal experience with my "Starter" package of a Sapphire 370, 360i and a 10" Brush Pro is that...


I can out clean anyone or thing.

 

[Mikey P]

btw, I love Hilo.


Best spot on the Biggins.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

my personal experience with my "Starter" package of a Sapphire 370, 360i and a 10" Brush Pro is that...


I can out clean anyone or thing.

Anyone?!

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Are you only wanting a good porty? Or are you looking for a TM?
If you are doing mostly CGD I would recommend a much more powerful potty and a Zipper.

Please note that I meant this if you are only wanting a porty.....lol.

 

[Mikey P]

Anyone?!

Honeychild I have two bigass trucks.

For single wand work my new combo does it all, for less.

 

[Cleanworks]

I think adding a brush pro to any system is the best thing you can do. You will get a better bang for your buck with that than trying to add a rv360i. You don't have enough pressure or flow to maximize the 360. Scrubbing the carpets with the brush pro will take care of most of the heavy soil and you should be able to rinse it out with your portable pretty easy. Anything doesn't come out, hit it again with your prespray and scrub it again and rinse. Make sure you are not using foaming chemistry or use a crystal defoamer. I'm looking at adding a 10inch brush pro as my next tool.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Honeychild I have two bigass trucks.

For single wand work my new combo does it all, for less.

Lol...I just hope you aren't cleaning actual people with them! You missed my joke.....I suck!

 

[Mikey P]

Trust me, humor in print aint eaay.

 

[TConway]

I n all honesty I would have to say Mikey pointed me in a direction not to long ago. We had just added a account (Pizza Joint) and we were on the phone Bsing about what else carpet.
Anyway Mike asked me " Have you ever tried a VCT pad on cgd carpet? I said no, I am concerned it is too harsh. he replied it is like "VOODOO!?"
Well I tried it and I am not kidding I probably could have walked away from the job and called it good with just the buffer (175) and not even HWE. It totally blanked out the carpet....not one spill not one stain remained.......but then we wand rinsed and the carpet just "POPPED"
I got a call two days later ( stilll have it saved on my phone) The owner was blown away with the results she said the carpet hadn't looked that good except when it was first put in!
I think a crb would be a great choice for everyday use but on CGD carpet I have yet to find anything that has turned out the results we get with a VCT pad and a good old 175 buffer.
It truely is like VOODOO.

 

[Cleanworks]

What color/type pad?

 

[Mikey P]

Red.

And make sure its new as they wear quick.

Under a 1.5 horse 175, along with a liquid citra solve booster ( I swear by Chemspec BioSolve) you'll be blown away. Powder "solvent" just aint the same.

High flow, high heat, use a rinse agent and you'll be the king ding dong of resturants.

Zipper Wand is a big plus.

 

[Cleanworks]

I try not to do a lot of restaurants but I have a commercial IT account where they are always moving desks around leaving areas where the chair pads were, looking new an t rest not so much. I often use prochem citrus booster as a additive. Is this similar to your citrasolve?

 

[hogjowl]

There is nothing new under the sun.

Except guru's.

 

[Mikey P]

I try not to do a lot of restaurants but I have a commercial IT account where they are always moving desks around leaving areas where the chair pads were, looking new an t rest not so much. I often use prochem citrus booster as a additive. Is this similar to your citrasolve?

Im sure its very similar

 

[Ron K]

my personal experience with my "Starter" package of a Sapphire 370, 360i and a 10" Brush Pro is that...
I can out clean anyone or thing.

A lot of of normal folk have been achieving excellent results with out the "Big" truck that's been touted for years!

 

[Nate The Great]

A lot of of normal folk have been achieving excellent results with out the "Big" truck that's been touted for years!

We all know your aren't "Normal"! More like Abby Normal....

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

For a serious start up, not just half ass? Good vacuum cleaner for both comm. (not talking about restaurant) glue down and residential. A 12" Proteam would be a solid stepping off point, $375 off the net. A counter rotating brush costs a premium compared to a 175 with scrub pads and bonnet. I'm talking encap. I'd personally dive in for a Cimex before a CRB starting out.

On residential carpet for single truck owner, more then a couple truck mounts to choose from. I'd like to think/recommend my SS370 but it's not even a year old. Been the bomb so far, fear me. On CGD I broke free many moons ago from firing up my truck mount. My view is its a complete waste of resource if you're not trying to perform on a greasy eatery. You'll add boat load of profit to your bottom line, labor less (oh a
lot less) if you hike down the encap road for CGD.

There will be however so much yer gonna have to learn on your own. Getting soils loads off in so many different situations is very much about....you. Gotta find methods and sustainable routines that are "profitable". Gotta portable yer already using? Everyone is different, you may like it. I personally hate with passion the noise. Gotta be marketable and always profitable. There are curveballs all around us like sponge VLM and encap. (which really isn't new, brittle shampoo has been here long time) being used in residential. The recent webinar here about Facebook took me back as the guy is using Host in residential down in Vegas. I'm still taken back that his sales are going up and up, and it kinda annoys me

 

[Old Coastie]

Are you only wanting a good porty? Or are you looking for a TM?
If you are doing mostly CGD I would recommend a much more powerful potty and a Zipper.

Problem with using a potty is that they are always bolted firmly to the floor.

Mm-hmm.

 

[Todd Millar]

Red.

And make sure its new as they wear quick.

Under a 1.5 horse 175, along with a liquid citra solve booster ( I swear by Chemspec BioSolve) you'll be blown away. Powder "solvent" just aint the same.

High flow, high heat, use a rinse agent and you'll be the king ding dong of resturants.

Zipper Wand is a big plus.

Hey Mikey, would that be the same or similar to the red pads available at Lowes?

 

[Mikey P]

I've never shopped at a Lowe's but if they sell or rent 175 floor machines, I'd bet on it. .

 

[Old Coastie]

The Lowes pads are cheap but soft. They won't last long. However, they'll give you a good idea how it works.
We use Interlink pads on a 175 all the time, to prescrub carpet.

If you are encapping, a red pad to scrub and a dampened green and white sorbent pad to polish off. There are other types of sorbent pads. Excellent Supply could advise you and there are probably others as well.

 

[Todd Millar]

Awesome, I will check it out!
Thanks Mikey and Stephen!

 

[cleanman71]

I think adding a brush pro to any system is the best thing you can do. You will get a better bang for your buck with that than trying to add a rv360i. You don't have enough pressure or flow to maximize the 360. Scrubbing the carpets with the brush pro will take care of most of the heavy soil and you should be able to rinse it out with your portable pretty easy. Anything doesn't come out, hit it again with your prespray and scrub it again and rinse. Make sure you are not using foaming chemistry or use a crystal defoamer. I'm looking at adding a 10inch brush pro as my next tool.

Thanks. That was very helpful. I might go with this idea. Can you recommend a good portable for CGD and pile type carpets?

 

[Cleanworks]

All depends on how much money you want to spend. One of my favorite basic portables is the EDIC Galaxy 10 or 17 gal. 220 psi. You will actually get 160 psi on a 3 or 4 flow wand. You can go bigger and better but it will cost more and will need 2 power cords. Take a good look at the type of work you are going to do and go down to your nearest supplier and physically look and try to move them around.

 

[Cleanworks]

I see from the beginning of the thread that you have a nautilus. That's as good as anything else as far as a basic machine goes. If you are adding a crb to that you will be able to clean just about anything with the right chemistry. Maybe think about adding an inline heater to your portable. Also it has been suggested using a 175 with red scrubbing pads. That may be a cheaper alternative if you already have a 175. If you are planning to do large square footage, you may want to look at a machine with auto fill/pump out capability.

 

[Captain America]

Sooner or later you haft a graduate to a truckmount......
That portable is 4000$......
You can find a 5000$ used truckmount add a kero or propane heater for 1500$
You will have at least 4-5 times the vacuum 2-3 times the water flow and 3-4 times the heat.....
Or buy a newer 10 k truckmount and add the kero heater......
You will be able to clean almost any carpet area no limits.......
Got rid of my portable within my first year as restaurants wouldn't talk to me without a truckmount....

 

[Cleanworks]

Sooner or later you haft a graduate to a truckmount......
That portable is 4000$......
You can find a 5000$ used truckmount add a kero or propane heater for 1500$
You will have at least 4-5 times the vacuum 2-3 times the water flow and 3-4 times the heat.....
Or buy a newer 10 k truckmount and add the kero heater......
You will be able to clean almost any carpet area no limits.......
Got rid of my portable within my first year as restaurants wouldn't talk to me without a truckmount....

The problem is that sometimes the truckmount can't reach the job, hence the word "portable" In theory, the truck mount is always the better option, however, in the real world, the portable is sometimes the only machine that works for the situation.

 

[Captain America]

Guess you would have to get a portable for a large city with a lot of high rises......
I still wouldn't spend over 1000$ for a good used one as all those portables are is a pump
And vac motors....
After using a truckmount I can't imagine using 2 plugs for a portable...
You might look at one of these portable truckmounts for about 5000$.....
I believe I saw one on propane and a pumpout....might give you adequate heat and vacuum...