Be honest, what percentage of stairwells really need the riser cleaned?

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I rarely rinse and extract the risers any more. Anytime I do try it just over-wets the bullnose and is really doing more of a disservice.

We prevac all areas of the steps (which 90% of people do not) and then pretreat the steps only. Drill brush if necessary. Then rinse and extract. If I do see that a riser has a spot on it, I'll mist it with my wand and then dry stroke it.

I think there's a good number of carpet cleaners out there over-wetting. The sad thing is, is that there's people like Roger Lloyd training people to do it, so they don't know any better.
 

hogjowl

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The first two or three in every job. Then the likelihood decreases as you go up. If you’re trying to talk yourself out of making your stair wand functional for cleaning risers you can console yourself in knowing virtually every customer you have is a hack and doesn’t even consider cleaning risers.
Dumb your tool down and make it as unexceptionable as every other tool we have to choose from.
You moron.
 

Mikey P

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The first two or three in every job. Then the likelihood decreases as you go up. If you’re trying to talk yourself out of making your stair wand functional for cleaning risers you can console yourself in knowing virtually every customer you have is a hack and doesn’t even consider cleaning risers.
Dumb your tool down and make it as unexceptionable as every other tool we have to choose from.
You moron.
I'm not interested in making tools when I can make unexceptional tools, exceptional...



for example

 
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The water from cleaning the step and crest runs down within the carpet and needs to be extracted.
A puddle and browning will eventually appear at the bottom of the stairs if you don't.
Avoid a callback and spend the time to at least extract the riser.
And to expand on what papa said, it’s the only part of carpeting in a house that NEVER gets vacuumed….(yes Marty, edging aswell).

And you ‘Mericans wear your shoes in the house (a practice I will never understand).

So, all the shmeg that you guys track in, it inevitably gets tracked onto mats and carpeted surfaces. And YES, that includes the riser on stairs. (From the toe of the shoes)

We ALWAYS clean the tread, bullnose, AND RISER on stairs….
 
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And to expand on what papa said, it’s the only part of carpeting in a house that NEVER gets vacuumed….(yes Marty, edging aswell).

And you ‘Mericans wear your shoes in the house (a practice I will never understand).

So, all the shmeg that you guys track in, it inevitably gets tracked onto mats and carpeted surfaces. And YES, that includes the riser on stairs. (From the toe of the shoes)

We ALWAYS clean the tread, bullnose, AND RISER on stairs….
What tool do you use to clean the riser?
 

Mikey P

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The water from cleaning the step and crest runs down within the carpet and needs to be extracted.
A puddle and browning will eventually appear at the bottom of the stairs if you don't.
Avoid a callback and spend the time to at least extract the riser.


Those things are happening because you are over applying your pre spray.
 

Mikey P

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And to expand on what papa said, it’s the only part of carpeting in a house that NEVER gets vacuumed….(yes Marty, edging aswell).

And you ‘Mericans wear your shoes in the house (a practice I will never understand).

So, all the shmeg that you guys track in, it inevitably gets tracked onto mats and carpeted surfaces. And YES, that includes the riser on stairs. (From the toe of the shoes)

We ALWAYS clean the tread, bullnose, AND RISER on stairs….


Note to self, never visit Jeff's house.
 
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Cleanworks

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We only clean them if they're dirty. They do get presprayed, rinse is sprayed over them then we use the end of the vac hose to extract the bullnose and the riser. I like the PMF swivel stair tool as the jet comes down over the bullnose, giving it a good flush.
 

BIG WOOD

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cleaning a riser with an "s" shaped stair tool is a pain.

remove the bend at the head of the wand and it will be more enjoyable . I told you Mike when you started setting your stair tool that the "s" shape is not the best out there
 
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What tool do you use to clean the riser?
This as a daily…. And the little Prochem shorty straight guy when things get tight…

IMG_6336.png
 

jeffexe

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I use a hydro force to spray the entire step. Obviously spraying the tread heavier than the riser, unless, there are marks or spots on them. I find many people drag their foot up the risers when they ascend the steps. After agitation, I clean the tread using the Chosen wand. After, I use an enclosed 4" upholstery tool to clean and extract the risers and the bull nose. Then I cuff the edges and wipe with a microfiber towel.. Is that overkill???
 

Cleanworks

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I use a hydro force to spray the entire step. Obviously spraying the tread heavier than the riser, unless, there are marks or spots on them. I find many people drag their foot up the risers when they ascend the steps. After agitation, I clean the tread using the Chosen wand. After, I use an enclosed 4" upholstery tool to clean and extract the risers and the bull nose. Then I cuff the edges and wipe with a microfiber towel.. Is that overkill???
Not at all, as long as you're getting paid for it. I often find I have filtration soiling on stairs and I will use a short edging tool to improve them. Always wipe down the wood edges. I use a Prochem upholstery tool to clean the risers if I find it necessary.
 
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Jim Pemberton

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Not at all, as long as you're getting paid for it. I often find I have filtration soiling on stairs and I will use a short edging tool to improve them. Always wipe down the wood edges. I use a Prochem upholstery tool to clean the risers if I find it necessary.

Even after I moved to the Sapphire Upholstery Pro for all things upholstery (with some PMF tool use for detail work), I kept selling the Prochem Upholstery Tool as a stair tool for just that reason.
 

Cleanworks

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Even after I moved to the Sapphire Upholstery Pro for all things upholstery (with some PMF tool use for detail work), I kept selling the Prochem Upholstery Tool as a stair tool for just that reason.
Nice that it fits nicely and has good flow. Can use it directly with a 2 inch hose or insert a 1.5 inch inside. Very versatile.
 
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sassyotto

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what percentage of stairwells really need the riser cleaned?​

100 percent. Why?
1. Ive seen posts where they say "they dont look dirty". Well Ive cleaned plenty of carpet that at first didnt "look dirty" where in fact after cleaning made a big difference.
2. If you skip this step, it leads to skipping other steps too. After awhile your just like everyone else, so how do you differentiate from everyone else?

Just today I had a set of steps where the risers were bad. Took an upholstery bonnet to them and they looked like new. Thats the rare case tho.

But if you want to be a 2 percenter you better clean 100 percent and give 100 percent effort, 100 percent of the time.
 

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