Cimex Brushes

[Shorty]

CIMEX, something different.



Over a period of time, I’ve noticed my white brushes getting a pink hue to them.



No big deal, I guess after a lot of work, they must discolour.



After a days work, they are always washed out religiously.



Today though, whilst cleaning a silk rug, it started to pill.



Again, no big deal, this happens with many rugs including some carpet.



What was a concern, was the fact that this rug had NO red fibres in it.



Inspection showed no damage to the rug & I could find NO PILLING.

Finished the rug & groomed it, then let dry.



No further pilling.



BRUSH TIME:

Started to rinse out the brushes & noticed some red fibres clumping.



So I started deconstruction of the brushes using a small pointed tool.



Now, Grace MAY have been Amazing, but nowhere near as Amazed as I, when I saw what

was coming out of those brushes.



The amount of loose fibres, mostly red, + minute soil deposits, had to be seen to be

believed.



Unfortunately, I had already removed a fair amount BEFORE I got the table, tool &

camera.



Anyhow, the pics will give you some idea of what can be lodged inside your Cimex

brushes that you may be unaware of.



Despite all the hosing out when finished.

The pics of the loose rubble, illustrate what was removed, & I'm sure there's still more in there.

 

[Mikey P]

What the heck are you scrubbin with it?

Hostess Snow Balls?

 

[Shorty]

Actually, these brushes are several years old.

Use an Australian encap boosted with an H2O2 product.

Have always hosed them out when finished cleaning, but this is the first time I've had the "red pilling" effect.

So that's when I started getting into them.

Glad I did, hope this helps others out there be aware of what can happen.

Most jobs, I'm using gray or beige pads.

We don't get snow here.

 

[Willy P]

 

[Nomad74]

Wow, that's a lot. maybe the weft is some sort of red fiber. Is it tufted? Maybe the glue is red.

 

[Old Coastie]

Nice to see you back, Shorty.

 

[Shorty]

Wow, that's a lot. maybe the weft is some sort of red fiber. Is it tufted? Maybe the glue is red.

No Damon, it wasn't coming from the rug at all.
Rug is two tone brown silk.
I've cleaned this rug several times before, the client lives a couple hours drive away & only lets me clean it.
Lesson learned.

 

[Shorty]

Nice to see you back, Shorty.

Thanks Stephen, I drop in here every couple of days, but don't post much anywhere, anymore.

 

[Shorty]

View attachment 103248

Willy mate, that's way down south in Mexico.

I'm in the tropics, something like Florida.

 

[Shorty]

Wow, that's a lot. maybe the weft is some sort of red fiber. Is it tufted? Maybe the glue is red.

I think just build-up over time & the red dye has migrated??

Definitely NOT from the brown rug that I was cleaning.

 

[hogjowl]

Willy mate, that's way down south in Mexico.

I'm in the tropics, something like Florida.

Without the hurricanes?

 

[Shorty]

Without the hurricanes?

True Marty, NO hurricanes below the Equator, which is where I am.


Although we do have the occasional Cyclone, here's an extract::

FOUR cyclones are expected to form in the Coral Sea this season in what is expected to be an above average season for tropical cyclones.

The Bureau of Meteorology has released its tropical cyclone outlook for the 2020-21 season, which runs from November to April.Oct 12, 2020

We take precautions naturally, all new homes are built to withstand a cat 4 cyclone.

 

[hogjowl]

Well dang
You’re screwed too

 

[Willy P]

Willy mate, that's way down south in Mexico.

I'm in the tropics, something like Florida.

I wanna go to the outback and use a detector to grab a fistful of those monster nuggets. Here they mine for flour gold, there you get giant chunks growing out of the ground.

 

[roro]

I wanna go to the outback and use a detector to grab a fistful of those monster nuggets. Here they mine for flour gold, there you get giant chunks growing out of the ground.

Try this one Willy. It's a penny dreadful but the buggers went fishing for battery components and ended up finding gold as well https://renascor.com.au/
My retirement fund if it ever gets up and runs

 

[markco]

Shorty, Can u give me any tips on how to get the fibers out of the cimex brushes, I really like using them on some carpets but it takes me a long time to clean the carpet fibers out of them after, especially wool?

 

[Desk Jockey]

CIMEX, something different.



Over a period of time, I’ve noticed my white brushes getting a pink hue to them.



No big deal, I guess after a lot of work, they must discolour.



After a days work, they are always washed out religiously.



Today though, whilst cleaning a silk rug, it started to pill.



Again, no big deal, this happens with many rugs including some carpet.



What was a concern, was the fact that this rug had NO red fibres in it.



Inspection showed no damage to the rug & I could find NO PILLING.

Finished the rug & groomed it, then let dry.



No further pilling.



BRUSH TIME:

Started to rinse out the brushes & noticed some red fibres clumping.



So I started deconstruction of the brushes using a small pointed tool.



Now, Grace MAY have been Amazing, but nowhere near as Amazed as I, when I saw what

was coming out of those brushes.



The amount of loose fibres, mostly red, + minute soil deposits, had to be seen to be

believed.



Unfortunately, I had already removed a fair amount BEFORE I got the table, tool &

camera.



Anyhow, the pics will give you some idea of what can be lodged inside your Cimex

brushes that you may be unaware of.



Despite all the hosing out when finished.

The pics of the loose rubble, illustrate what was removed, & I'm sure there's still more in there.

View attachment 103242 View attachment 103243 View attachment 103244 View attachment 103245 View attachment 103246

Back in my shampoo days we would clean our scrub brushes with these.

 

[encapman]

Nice to see you posting Shorty. Sure was a bunch of red fuzz! My guess is it's mostly wool? Since wool is a staple fiber, and you have a lot of wool carpet in Australia.

Question for you Shorty... You mentioned using a hydrogen peroxide based encap product. We've always heard that hydrogen peroxide is taboo for wool, although that's often debated. I'm curious about what the carpet cleaners down in the land of wool think about using hydrogen peroxide detergent on wool? Have you ever seen or heard of any discernable damage occurring?

 

[Mikey P]

Robert Mann aint afraid of no bubbly water..

 

[Lee Stockwell]

The actual NZ and Australian cleaner laugh at the "conventional wisdom" of north American cleaners (and many suppliers) for our wool phobias.

Also some of the wool-mafia certifying bodies feed our fears.

 

[Shorty]

Nice to see you posting Shorty. Sure was a bunch of red fuzz! My guess is it's mostly wool? Since wool is a staple fiber, and you have a lot of wool carpet in Australia.

Question for you Shorty... You mentioned using a hydrogen peroxide based encap product. We've always heard that hydrogen peroxide is taboo for wool, although that's often debated. I'm curious about what the carpet cleaners down in the land of wool think about using hydrogen peroxide detergent on wool? Have you ever seen or heard of any discernable damage occurring?

Hi Rick,
yep, definitely heard of "Cleaners" screwing up using H2O2.

Keeping it below 3% I have never had a problem.

Those that TRY & be smart to remove the problem & have upped the %, thereby causing burning or other damage to the wool fibers.

They really need to do a WOOLSAFE course to protect the fibers & their business.

Merry Christmas & a Happier, Safer & MORE Profitable New Year to you all.

 

[markco]

Nice to see you posting Shorty. Sure was a bunch of red fuzz! My guess is it's mostly wool? Since wool is a staple fiber, and you have a lot of wool carpet in Australia.

Question for you Shorty... You mentioned using a hydrogen peroxide based encap product. We've always heard that hydrogen peroxide is taboo for wool, although that's often debated. I'm curious about what the carpet cleaners down in the land of wool think about using hydrogen peroxide detergent on wool? Have you ever seen or heard of any discernable damage occurring?

Rick, based on Shortys 3% answer, what would your Hydrox be at 10oz per gal?

 

[encapman]

Mark, I'd think that down around 8 oz per gallon would be closer to the range that Shorty 's talking about.

 

[roro]

Sheep aren't white.
They have dirty bottoms.
How does the wool scour get it nice and clean for the mills to use.
DYOR
Hint Scour I am most familiar with used to buy perox in container loads (i.e. about 18 tonne at a time)

 

[Willy P]

Try this one Willy. It's a penny dreadful but the buggers went fishing for battery components and ended up finding gold as well https://renascor.com.au/
My retirement fund if it ever gets up and runs

Interesting prospectus Ross. With Rio Tinto sniffing around, they might be a target for a buy out.

 

[encapman]

Thanks Ross.
Just found this resource. Check out the last sentence on the page...
"Finally, the wool passes through a final bath containing a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide bleach (H2O2) to improve the colour before it is dried."

Scouring and Carbonising | The Woolmark Company

Scouring or washing removes grease and dirt from fleece. Carbonising is unique to the woollen system and breaks down remaining impurities.

www.woolmark.com

Looks like the lore about H202 damaging wool is officially debunked.

 

[Cleanworks]

Thanks Ross.
Just found this resource. Check out the last sentence on the page...
"Finally, the wool passes through a final bath containing a solution of Hydrogen Peroxide bleach (H2O2) to improve the colour before it is dried."

Scouring and Carbonising | The Woolmark Company

Scouring or washing removes grease and dirt from fleece. Carbonising is unique to the woollen system and breaks down remaining impurities.

www.woolmark.com

Looks like the lore about H202 damaging wool is officially debunked.

Processing raw wool and cleaning manufactured wool carpets are 2 different things.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Processing raw wool and cleaning manufactured wool carpets are 2 different things.

Probably splitting hairs Ron?

 

[encapman]

Processing raw wool and cleaning manufactured wool carpets are 2 different things.

The claim has been made in our industry that hydrogen peroxide can damage the cuticle of wool. (Cuticle cells are the outer protective layer of the wool fiber.) Since the normal process of wool production includes a hydrogen peroxide bath, there would appear to be no basis for concern that hydrogen peroxide would damage the wool's cuticle layer. I'd also think it's probably safe to assume the H202 dilution we use during cleaning is much lower than what the fiber was exposed to during the bleaching process.

 

[Cleanworks]

The claim has been made in our industry that hydrogen peroxide can damage the cuticle of wool. (Cuticle cells are the outer protective layer of the wool fiber.) Since the normal process of wool production includes a hydrogen peroxide bath, there would appear to be no basis for concern that hydrogen peroxide would damage the wool's cuticle layer. I'd also think it's probably safe to assume the H202 dilution we use during cleaning is much lower than what the fiber was exposed to during the bleaching process.

I'm just wondering why the claim would be made if there's nothing to back it up.