Best advice on pre qualifying traffic lane....

[Bucey]

cleaning. I am new to the industry and often have a difficult time pre qualifying traffic lane damage in white and off white carpeting. I recently cleaned a older ladies home who was selling and when I encountered the hall, which for 10 yrs had a runner rug down the middle, and to their bed room a trail around the bed and to the closet. I did speak to her about the traffic lane and made no promise it would come completly out. I did assume that her husband did not take his shoes off before entering to home. I got that off the only closet with heavy traffic lane trail. Anyways I was a bit disapointed that I was not able to remove a majority of the soiling. My question is what determines success with this type of carpet color.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Ryan, what's up with the Bo-Sox avatar but you live in NC?

anyway, what kind of pre-spray are you using now?
and how much are you applying ?
a gal pr 200 sf of carpet?
gal pr 400sf?

what are you using to apply it?
pump up?
Hydroforce?
trigger sprayer?

PS..the bird room is for goofy off topic chit
Post your questions in the clean room.
anything biz/cleaning related goes there.
I moved this thread for you


..L.T.A.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Vacuuming will remove about 80% of the dry soil, so its a very important step. Pretreat, prescrub and extract and GROOM the carpet when your done.

But first you have to have good communication with the customer and be confident when you do that. you show any sign of weakness and they will own you.

The bottom line is carpet wears out and so does the color. Its not your fault they cant maintain their carpets. Ask the questions how often has it been cleaned, what method, how old, has the protective coating ever been reapplied.

All the question will show you know whats up and they feel better about the work you do. Its all wbout how the customer precieves you. You got a nice unform, clean van, corner guards, shoe covers, wet floor signs, air mover, furniture sliders, velcro stair hook?

 

[Hoody]

Ryan,

Think of this business as being a problem solver. When the client calls you they're asking you to solve a problem. The route you take to fix it is up to you. Under promise and over deliver, and you'll always win. You should be explaining how regular maintenence will keep the appearance of the carpet to their liking, as well as prolong the life of their investment. Brent gave you some good information on how to provide quality. The cleaning you can learn as time goes on, the SERVICE and EXPERIENCE you provide needs to be learned now. People will purchase on an emotion basis. You treat them well in their home, they trust you, AND BE HONEST - they will buy. When you're able to identify problems later, and correct them; then you can really WOW them.

 

[joe harper]

Ryan,

Think of this business as being a problem solver. When the client calls you they're asking you to solve a problem. The route you take to fix it is up to you. Under promise and over deliver, and you'll always win. You should be explaining how regular maintenence will keep the appearance of the carpet to their liking, as well as prolong the life of their investment. Brent gave you some good information on how to provide quality. The cleaning you can learn as time goes on, the SERVICE and EXPERIENCE you provide needs to be learned now. People will purchase on an emotion basis. You treat them well in their home, they trust you, AND BE HONEST - they will buy. When you're able to identify problems later, and correct them; then you can really WOW them.

:wink:

 

[Ron Werner]

the other good advice given in a class:
Explain something to them ahead of time, its education
Explain something to them afterwards, its an excuse.

Carpet fibres will scratch and wear and don't reflect light they way new carpet does, so even after cleaning it may still "appear" soiled.
And then there is pooling, or nap reversal.

As Brent said, vacuum, prespray with a good emusifier, agitate/brush/groom it in, rinse it away. A final grooming if its part of your package to make it look tiddley.

 

[Jeremy]

A quick post encap will leave you explaining a lot less "wear"...

 

[Hoody]

Explain this to me Ron. After you do all of your extended vacuuming, and stuff. How is it I could take your wand, and leave it in spot for about a minute, and leave a nice clean spot if you're supposively removing all of that soil ?

 

[renegade_cowboy]

the other good advice given in a class:
Explain something to them ahead of time, its education
Explain something to them afterwards, its an excuse.

Carpet fibres will scratch and wear and don't reflect light they way new carpet does, so even after cleaning it may still "appear" soiled.
And then there is pooling, or nap reversal.

As Brent said, vacuum, prespray with a good emusifier, agitate/brush/groom it in, rinse it away. A final grooming if its part of your package to make it look tiddley.

Not to nit pick but its the way the light refracts in the fiber not reflect.

 

[Bucey]

On this job I used zone perfect, with a yellow tip. If I followed all of the above and I did, maybe should give alittle more blah blah blah. Then I dont feel so bad. I did my best for sure. I just want to make sure Im giving the customer every thing possible. The "Bo Sox" avatar comes form a college intern I did near Boston. Love baseball never really had a fav team untill I sat in FENWAY. and no it was before they picked up Manny, yes they were suckin really bad they lost to the triple A Rays when I was there. I love that town and my SOX!!!!!

 

[Bucey]

oh yeah using a HF. I have been using O2 just had some ZP and thought I would use it.

 

[Ron Werner]

Not to nit pick but its the way the light refracts in the fiber not reflect.

You're right Brent, forgot about the term refracting. Actually, I think its both.

Explain this to me Ron. After you do all of your extended vacuuming, and stuff. How is it I could take your wand, and leave it in spot for about a minute, and leave a nice clean spot if you're supposively removing all of that soil ?

I know what you're referring to. I try to clean so that doesn't happen. If I "speed wand", ie move the wand faster than its working, I know that will happen. Just have to move the wand a little slower. Speed isn't always a good thing.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

You're right Brent, forgot about the term refracting. Actually, I think its both.

It could be, its one of those usless knowledge things that you only get to whip out once in a great while.

 

[Dolly Llama]

are you sure the HF is drawing properly?
they stop drawing completely at 200 degrees

as others have mentioned, sometimes you can only do as good as can possibly be done

you need a good pre-spray that's safe for stain resist and a "sledgehammer"

Sledgehammer's that I have personal experience with are;

Number One on my list is Prochem Powerburst
It's been our "go to" sledgehammer for quite a few years.
I've done side by side comparisons with many juices in ratholes
Nothing I've tried has been better than PB.
the over whelming majority were clearly inferior to PB and only a couple have equaled it
It's an excellent pre-spray that covers a broad range of different soils

Bridgepoint PowerBreak
One of the very few that will equal Powerburst's efficacy
I hate the smell of it though as it dwells

DSC Relief ...similar to P-Break...I don't like the smell during dwell time
but it kicks azz too

Chemspec Enzall ..it rocks
I don't care for the way it mixes though and had some issues with clogged filter/screens in our electric sprayers

Bridgepoint Flex
a wicked potion of heavy butyl and lye
melts grease like butta..


unfortunately, the top four are all powders and a PITA to mix strong in a Hydroforce

your best bet is to do side by side evaluations in the empty ratholes.
Yea I know it takes more time...yea I know it's a bit of a PITA changing juices.
But it's the ONLY way I know of to separate the wheat from the chaff.
otherwise you're just taking someone's word for it and you'll never really "know"


..L.T.A.

 

[Bucey]

thanks for the info, didnt know bout the temp on the HF. Other question that I have been wondering in one you hit on. Is the only way to know if your dealing wiht stain resitant is test with water and ask? you cant use any thing abve 9.5 on SR, right?

 

[Art Kelley]

I stopped having this problem 35 years ago. I learned early on how to remove traffic lanes. It's either that or you need to learn how to bullshit your way out. Vacuuming won't do it. Chemicals won't do it. Heat won't do it. Your most important tool will be a nice heavy 175 scrubbing in a strong prespray. Let it dwell then steam out.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Other question that I have been wondering in one you hit on. Is the only way to know if your dealing wiht stain resitant is test with water and ask? you cant use any thing abve 9.5 on SR, right?

just assume that every nylon in good shape is stain resist, Ryan
if trashed/fouled bad , it doesn't matter anyway
POUND IT into submission ....

..L.T.A.

 

[J Scott W]

thanks for the info, didnt know bout the temp on the HF. Other question that I have been wondering in one you hit on. Is the only way to know if your dealing wiht stain resitant is test with water and ask? you cant use any thing abve 9.5 on SR, right?

Larry's right. Assume that all residential nylon is stain resist. Over 99% of it is anyway. Using a pH above 10.0 will void the warranty. But many times we clean carpets where the warranty is already expired, the warranty is void due to pet accidents, water damage or so other reason.

Sometimes you need more than 10.0. The point is not that you can't use it, but you might void the warranty if you do. Do what you need to do to get the job done.


Whenever I was unsure about the results in a traffic lane, I would wipe across it with a damp white cotton towel. If the towel came up soiled, then there was still soil to be removed. Maybe I needed to finish off with a bonnett and Encapuclean Green. If the towel was damp but clean, any appearance problems were just due to the condition of the fiber rather than any soil that could still be removed.

 

[B&BGaryC]

Use Feel - Felt - Found

Usually used to address a specific concern or worry, but you can adjust it.

I can see how most people would feel like their carpet wasn't clean if you could still see the walkways, and I felt that way before I became a carpet cleaner, but then I found what you are seeing is usually just texture change. Show them the twist on the yarn somewhere not trafficked, and then show them how the tips are blooming in the traffic area, or how the carpet is laying a different way, or how the loops are all crushed flat etc. Explain to them about scratches and abrasion to the fiber and how that will cause it to reflect light in a different manner, on olefin explain that sometimes those little scratches will be filled in with the water droplets and then the carpet will appear to dull as it dries because the water evaporates out of the nicks in the carpet etc...

AND THEN:

Actually get the dirt out of the traffic area. Take a white towel and rub it across the traffic area and see if the towel is still clean. If the towel is dirty, all the explaining in the world isn't going to fix the fact that there is still dirt coming out of the carpet.

 

[Wayne Miller]

The best advice I can think of in a situation like this is more agitation. If you can get your hands on a rotary you might be surprised at how much you can improve it. Post bonnet and finish up with a bath mat.

Some things, like traffic lane grey, are beyond your control. There's a limit to how much damage you can undo. Unfortunatey, there's nothing like time and experience to learn what your real limitations are.

 

[Fred Homan]

From Ron Werner....Speed isn't always a good thing.

That's what SHE said.... shiteatinggrin

 

[Royal Man]

Could also be shading.

Shading will appear dark from one angle and not another.

Shading is fiber distortion, direction, light refraction and wear.

It is not soil.

It also can not be removed.

 

[alazo1]

Maybe I needed to finish off with a bonnett and Encapuclean Green

LOL Shawn, was encapuclean even around when you were out in the field?.

How long is a warranty for anyways, I would think anything older then 5 years is fair game to nuke.

Albert

 

[The Great Oz]

In addition to advice above, you'll need to learn to ID type 6 nylon, which will scratch easier than type 6.6 and is more likely to show a permanent traffic area. Also, brown soil discoloration will not be so well hidden by white, cream, light blue or gray carpet.

 

[B&BGaryC]

How do you tell the 6 and the 6.6 apart? What is the test to do that?

 

[The Great Oz]

How do you tell the 6 and the 6.6 apart? What is the test to do that?

Type 6 is less chewy.





I use look and feel and experience, and can usually tell them apart looking at the fiber and the general condition of the carpet in use. Sometimes the way a carpet doesn't clean up is the tell. Maybe one of the tech types can help me out here, as I'm not sure using a microscope or exact melting points will be helpful in the field.

Things to look for until you get the hang of which is which: If the carpet is post-dyed it will likely be type 6. Look for pattern register that isn't sharply defined, or color that doesn't reach the bottom of the nap. Builder's spec carpet and nylon carpet with so little face fiber that you can easily get your fingers all the way to the backing will likely be type 6. These are generalities, as there are some carpet manufacturers that will dye type 6 fiber and then tuft it into a densely packed carpet.

Post cleaning: If coffee stains can't be removed without damaging the color it's type 6. If your leaky fitting takes the color out it's type 6. If traffic area that could be easily removed from most carpet can't be removed - it's type 6.