Carpet NEWBIE needs help

[CarpetBurn]

Hello all... i am New new new to this line of bizz...and I am starting one of my own. Now before everyone says hey retard learn it before you start it... i understand lol and i am learning through doing family and friends homes and plan on taking the classes. BUT until i get there i need somewhere to start. I am curious how i tell wha type of material the carpets are made of...wool...etc...? because i am not suppose to use the heat on my machine if it is wool. I operate out of areas with some older houseing and older carpet styles. I am running one Daimer 5900I right now. using their Eco-Green cleaner that came with the machine. Also, do i prespray the carpet cleaner on the entire surface and then use the clean water when i use the extractor. or do i batch mix it with the "clean water solution tank" and just go at it all at once? I only ask because i was doing the prespray... and a friend who owns a company mixes their chem right in their fresh water tank?!?!


THANKS!!!!! Any advice would be great

 

[Art Kelley]

Definitely prespray first to get at least a few minutes for the chemical to do it's work, then rinse with fresh water or a weak detergent solution. Only hacks run all their cleaners through the rinse cycle, which may speed up the job by a few minutes but will guarantee a quick resoiling and a loss of future business from the unhappy custy. BTW, good luck.

 

[FLYERMAN]

Man you are green/new. Hey we all started there. First learn to use the search button on this and other websites so you can get your questions answered before you even know what they are.

As for chemical usage, prespray goes down on the carpet and emulsifier goes in the rinse tank. Some use plain water to rinse with. Some use an acid side agent to rinse with but most use an alkaline side agent to rinse with. Oh and watch some videos on youtube to see some techniques.

 

[Mike Draper]

some use soft water to rinse with.

 

[Goomer]

Definitely spray first, but with only 60psi and 100 cfm spray lightly!!

 

[Robbie]

pre-vac 1st before you put any solutions down

 

[MicahR]

Cleaning how to is one thing, but before you get to gung ho look into info on running your own business, marketing, and where you want to position yourself in your market. Just don't beat the other guys pricing and expect to get work.

There is an overwhelming amount on info out there. A couple of guys with great info and with marketing packages that won't cost an arm and a leg is Steve Marsh and Doug Heiferman.

Steve Marsh's site: http://www.becompetitionfree.com/makeover.html

Doug Heiferman's: http://dhseminars.net/Meet_Doug.php


As far as cleaning. Your portable is only going to get you so far. Your Daimer is a capable machine but at only 4.5 gallons your going to be spending so much time dumping and filling it is going to be hard to be profitable. Look at stepping up to a larger portable or one that has an auto dump and fill.

Get yourself to a class asap and you can learn the basics to build on.

And search, search, search! You can find a bunch of archived info on here.

 

[HSeven]

If you can find someone willing to mentor you in the beginning, you will avoid a lot of mistakes and learn a great deal.

Also, get to the basic IICRC carpet cleaning tech class.

Good luck,
Brady

 

[sam miller]

Daimer 5900I

http://www.daimer.com/carpet-cleaners/x ... -5900i.htm

That thing cost almost 2 grand ouch! 3 more grand Ill sell ya a use 405,

seriously

http://www.***************/store/mytee- ... -7576.html

I would have gone with this instead but good luck buckets of love!

 

[Dolly Llama]

wanna learn to clean carpets, evaluate chems, methods and perfect your craft??

go shmooze a couple/few apt complexes to cut your teeth on.
Most likely you won't make $hit for profit cause only appx 20% will pay what they're "really" worth to clean .
and if they give you the account, it's almost a sure thing they're cheap and really don't give a chit about anything but a cheap price .
(no offense intended in that comment, i promise, it's just the facts of life)

But don't sweat the fact you won't make much (if any) profit on them , cause you'll won't keep them forever.
You'll dump them as you become established later down the road.
(or they'll dump you when the next rookie they can take advantage of comes along) !gotcha!

"IF"...you have some common sense and are able to figure out stuff for yourself, you'll gain more "practical" experience in two years cleaning ratholes than anywhere else ...cause you'll see every situation under the sun.....in spades


BTW, my suggestion is not to the exclusion of the other good suggestions on this thread .
Classes , by and large are a good thing.
However, without "practical experience" ...you really don't "know" sheeit


..L.T.A.

 

[J Scott W]

I have a nice chart that well tell you how to do burn tests and chemical testing to know one fiber from another. I don't know how to post it, but send me an email and I will attach the chart to my reply.

Same to anybody else who wants a copy of the fiber testing chart.

scottw@bridgewatercorp.net

 

[John Buxton]

I wouldn't worry too much about wool, you'll know it's wool, if it smells like a wet dog when wet. usually it's oriental rugs not wall to wall.

My advise is to price competitive with whomever is the leader in your area but go above and beyond on service. If you charge $200, give them 2 hours of work. Use refrigerator magnets, and ask for referrals. Find a good distributor in your area (not a janitorial supplier) and buy from them, talk to them. They may have someone you can ride and work with for a couple days.

Larry is right about apartments, you'll get business but don't work in homes like you work in apartments.

 

[Nate]

You certainly have a lot of work to do my friend. You can do it though, just like anything else. I would say after about a year of steady carpet cleaning (40 hours per week) you will have a pretty good handle on all of it; especially the basics. And seriously, be sure not to use heat on wool. You will have some very displeased customers. Have you checked out some of the reviews at angie's list carpet cleaning reviews?

 

[Art Kelley]

You certainly have a lot of work to do my friend. You can do it though, just like anything else. I would say after about a year of steady carpet cleaning (40 hours per week) you will have a pretty good handle on all of it; especially the basics. And seriously, be sure not to use heat on wool. You will have some very displeased customers.

Don't worry about heat on wool, especially if you're using a porty. I never turn down my TM heat on a wool rug or carpet or upholstery and it cranks out 240 degrees. Just keep the pH on the south side of 7, the high pH in most traffic lane cleaners will damage wool fibers.

 

[CarpetBurn]

Holy crap... sorry it took so long to reply, i never recieved any emails so i assumed there werent any replies yet :?: haha...

OK, well for starters im not looking to make millions, but if it happens it happens, im picking up business left and right and have been trained by another guy that has done this for a while. So im not SOOO clueless haha... i am trying to get into the classes but due to my scheduling and a newborn im having time issues. I use the eco-green solution as my prespray, AFTER vacuuming into and back out of the room(vacuuming twice basically). When its available i sue just plain SOFTENED water as my rinse. otherwise i dont have much more to offer. other than the ZEP spotter, and an enzyme for pet spots and such. Ive enjoyed my daimer it works great, and it doesnt use near as much solution as my buddies unit. i last twice as long as him and his unit is larger(NO PUN INTENDED BUT PLEASE, DO HAVE A LAUGH HAH). the unit heats to the 210degrees very quickly and dry time is awesome. ive gone back a week later on multiple jobs to check for resoil and it looks great. I go out of the way to do the little things that keep the customers calling and refering. Ive got a good base for the business, advertisement, book keeping, etc. so im not so worried about that.

In reference to the "SEARCH BUTTON".... i have attempted to use it multiple times, it wont allow me to . I have read many many many things online and use sites such as:

http://www.cleanlink.com/
http://sfs.jondon.com/

and for some reason my other saved links are gone hah...


DOES ANYONE CLEAN CHURCHES?? ive got a couple possibilities for quotes on a few here, but have NO IDEA how to quote them.

Alright thats enough... lemme know what yall think, THANKS A CRAP LOAD FOR THE ADVICE, i dont care how harsh some of it was haha thats life.

THANKS! shiteatinggrin

 

[Mikey P]

All your features are turned on no, good luck!

 

[CarpetBurn]

All your features are turned on no, good luck!

THANK YOU!.....ps... OUCH on your signature... im from TEXAS! haha

 

[renegade_cowboy]

"Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth."

Heres my advice...

Buy a book called The "E" Myth, learn what it means to be a business owner. Its more than just cleaning carpet. Write a business plan and marketing plan. You are starting a business with no experience, odds are that you will fail unless you add structure to what your doing. Lay the foundation with your business and marketing plan on how you are going to operate, what your cleaning process is and so on.

This job is mostly customer service, so you have to look the part and be fully uniformed & clean shaven. Effective communication is something you must do in order to prevent cleaning and customer issues. Dont make their problem your problem. Be up front and honest with everything you do and assume there is a nanny cam in every room.. everytime. If you are doing residential cleaning, your target market has many concerns before they choose you, unless referred. Many can be eliminated prior to contact if you have done a good job at selling yourself through your website and marketing.

Cleaning is easy..

Just prevacuum the carpet, it gets 60-80% of the soil out.. skipping this step could cause issues in some cases. It also adds value to your product.. carpet cleaning. The more value you offer, the more likely they will choose you over the other guys with little value.

Go to the search option above and start learning about the different products you can use to clean with. After you determine that... you pretreat the carpets after they are vacuumed.. some stains might need different products depending on what it is. Which you must learn before you do something that will cost you big time$$$.

Extract with your TM..

Groom the carpets, it helps with dry times and it also makes the carpet look better. First impressions are very important so get it looking its best.

Use airmovers if you can.

Practice safty too. Use corner guards, drop cloths for hardwoods, stair strap, yellow cones for your van and hoses. Jon Don sales bright safty signs you can leave on all hard surfaces to remind the customer of the slipping hazards. They are $24 for 1000 sheets.. A MUST HAVE.

Keep your van clean as possible, you are not only selling carpet cleaning you are selling an image.. one that you have to get people to like in order for them to use you.

I would PM Harper and chat with him, he would be a great resource for you, along with many here.

Good Luck..