Bona PowerScrubber

[thecleaningdude]

Great post, thanks!

I do recall you posting about a demo you did at a restaurant with the DD. You posted a pic and looked amazing. This was at least a year - maybe two - ago so I could be funny on this. With that said, I'm sure a wand, or even a wet/dry vac, would be simpler and faster.

Ben almost every wand company sells hard floor wands. Most have a squeegee or a brush ring option, the PMF that I have has both..


Westpak, Prochem, Gecko/Interlink and Turbo Force all sell one similar.

300 to 400 is all you need to clean wood, vct, laminates or any other non porous surface.

Grouted floors, stone, concrete and the like need more pressure but there is far better chance of streaking.


Work quick, dont let the cleaning solution or the rinse water sit for more than a few minutes. PITA with out a helper.


With wood its all about pre qualifying the customer. Tell them it will be so clean that white socks wont show any soil but scratches, water stains, wear, fading and every other signs of patina will still be there.

Charge for estimates cause if you advertise this service you get lots of calls from lots of clueless home owners that think cleaning will repair all of the above. You wont get 80% of your estimates is my experience.


We have wood guys in town that will pad and recoat for $1.50 to 2.00 a foot and do a complete sand and refinish for $4.00 so I feel .75 is a fair price for professional cleaning.

 

[thecleaningdude]

How are you guys handling laminate and especially engineered wood floors? Are they as easy to clean as wood? Another cleaner I know had a bad experience with engineered wood floors and I'm pretty sure that he has since sworn them off.

Personally, I'm seeing more and more laminate and engineered flooring on the bottom floor of quite a few residential homes and in lots of commercial businesses.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I do recall you posting about a demo you did at a restaurant with the DD. You posted a pic and looked amazing. This was at least a year - maybe two - ago so I could be funny on this.

I think that's when I bought mine.

What's Larry say about the soup of the day.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I said I charge .25 for the mop and glow, take your angst elsewhere

Are you still making enough money at .25 to make it worth your while or would you rather not sell the mop & glow?

 

[TomKing]

laminate is a no go for us just a problem ready to happen.
Engineered hardwood depends on the quality. Cheap crap from the big box stores stay away. Professional installs no problem.

 

[TomKing]

You do these 2 jobs brought in high $20's combined.

Now I want one again!

 

[tmdry]

We looked into purchasing the Square Scrub to screen the floors and lay down the basic coatings product, but the square scrub was so slow to do.

A local distributor came out and did a demo at our office, true sanding on that thing is very very slow, just not worth it. Screening could possibly be a decent thing if you have several units, but at the retail cost of the higher rpm one 3500 and up, we just couldn't justify it.

 

[thecleaningdude]

Great info, thanks.

How are you able to identify the quality engineered floors vs. the box store stuff? Is there a guide or class you sourced to learn this?

laminate is a no go for us just a problem ready to happen.
Engineered hardwood depends on the quality. Cheap crap from the big box stores stay away. Professional installs no problem.

 

[Dolly Llama]

How are you able to identify the quality engineered floors vs. the box store stuff? Is there a guide or class you sourced to learn this?

big box stores sell both cheap and quality, Damon.
Unfortunately, it's not always easy to tell when the floor is down

Minimal amounts of water is the key
Flood a cheap floor/allow water in the seams (where it won't/can't dry fast) and you'll risk getting a call back on swelled/peaking seams .
The "fix" is replacement of the floor


wood floors that have been sealed, can handle a good bit of water while cleaning if you get it sucked up and dried fast.
The real problem is, by the time many (most) res folks consider wood floor services, the floors are typically worn/beat and in need of sand and refinish .
That's why Mike's telling us 80% will decline (tells me he's pre-qulifying right)
cause most want/expect more than just a clean 'n shinny sheeity looking floor


..L.T.A.

 

[thecleaningdude]

Thanks, Larry.

 

[Ron Werner]

we use the DirtDragon and the basic Coatings products. We 175 when we need to. We have never regretted our choice. My second job was 11,000 sf. A gym floor we did last year. Homes are no problem. Expectations are the key when you sell.
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Zipper?

 

[Willy P]

Speaking of soup of the day does anyone remember the stainless steel polishing?