Hi. I have a large office complex that I maintain. Carpet has clean traffic and I just maintain it by encapping 3 to 4 times per year and hwe the entrances/mats. Been doing this for about 3 years. Anyway, someone has been talking with the management and telling him he should get it hwe to help with removing germs - i.e. someone sneezes/coughs. Have you ever had this come up? I'm not big on encapping in residential because of this. But in an office setting your not really down on the floor like someone might be at home. I'm also not opposed to hwe CGD - if it needs it. In this case the carpet is being maintained and looks great. I'm just trying to figure out what to tell him. Or to see if you guys feel I should be including a yearly HWE.
Ethics of Encapping
- Thread starter jawhit
- Start date
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
Bogus line of reasoning, implies that our hwe equipment does all that, which it doesn't. Yes we remove a LOT of soil and debris, but we shouldn't oversell "unseen" benefits.
I agree. I think a competitor is planting that in there. I just went to have some sound reasoning to some back with.
Cleanworks
Moderator
I'm just getting my feet wet in uncapping but there seems to a lot of products that help to sanitize the carpet just like there is in hwe
WillS
Supportive Member
Throw some HOST on top of that encap next cleaning. Show them the tub saying it removes 82% of allergens, dust mites, mold spores, etc. 
Desk Jockey
Member
Hack! 
Seriously if it needs it or if the client wants it, do it. It will flush it out well. It won't look any better and it may take longer to dry unless you have a Zipper.
Educate the client as to why you use Encap but don't force it down their throats.
I agree with the need to HWE to remove germs...I mean all the employees crawl and drool on the floor right?
Seriously if it needs it or if the client wants it, do it. It will flush it out well. It won't look any better and it may take longer to dry unless you have a Zipper.
Educate the client as to why you use Encap but don't force it down their throats.
I agree with the need to HWE to remove germs...I mean all the employees crawl and drool on the floor right?
hogjowl
Idiot™
It DOES need rinsing at some point.
Why fight it?
Why fight it?
encapman
Member
I agree with all the comments above.
Seriously, NOTHING removes 100% of the soil/bacteria/spores etc. Carpet cleaning is not sanitizing the carpet. It just makes it more sanitary.
So if your competitor is selling them on SANITIZATION - call them out on it. They're fibbing to your customer.
OK, now that we've established that your competitor is pushing their buttons in a not particularly honest way... Let's bring your service onto the table with them. Have they been satisfied with the appearance, the price, your company's performance, etc.? Would they consider trading your 3 years of good service for a company who is making exaggerated claims out of the gate?
I think that if you'll attempt to reason with them like this, they may be helped to see that you have provided them with a totally suitable service that matches their needs and their budget. Who would want to risk losing that?
My advice is to sell them on CLEAN CARPET. You're the expert. You have all methods at your disposal. And you're in the best position to expertly evaluate which method will work best (albeit encap, HWE, whatever).
Stop selling your customers on "method". Sell results instead. Sell them on your professional approach to customer care. Demonstrate how great their carpet will look on a day-in day-out basis. Sell them on no more recurring spill stains. Sell them on quick dry times. Sell them on a maintenance program that's tailored to their needs and their budget. (All possible with a well implemented encap program).
If some chump is breathing down your throat to try to steal your account, it's time to respond in a positive way to your client. Help them see the value your service brings to their company! And help them recognize that this competitor is blowing smoke about sanitizing their carpet.
Seriously, NOTHING removes 100% of the soil/bacteria/spores etc. Carpet cleaning is not sanitizing the carpet. It just makes it more sanitary.
So if your competitor is selling them on SANITIZATION - call them out on it. They're fibbing to your customer.
OK, now that we've established that your competitor is pushing their buttons in a not particularly honest way... Let's bring your service onto the table with them. Have they been satisfied with the appearance, the price, your company's performance, etc.? Would they consider trading your 3 years of good service for a company who is making exaggerated claims out of the gate?
I think that if you'll attempt to reason with them like this, they may be helped to see that you have provided them with a totally suitable service that matches their needs and their budget. Who would want to risk losing that?
My advice is to sell them on CLEAN CARPET. You're the expert. You have all methods at your disposal. And you're in the best position to expertly evaluate which method will work best (albeit encap, HWE, whatever).
Stop selling your customers on "method". Sell results instead. Sell them on your professional approach to customer care. Demonstrate how great their carpet will look on a day-in day-out basis. Sell them on no more recurring spill stains. Sell them on quick dry times. Sell them on a maintenance program that's tailored to their needs and their budget. (All possible with a well implemented encap program).
If some chump is breathing down your throat to try to steal your account, it's time to respond in a positive way to your client. Help them see the value your service brings to their company! And help them recognize that this competitor is blowing smoke about sanitizing their carpet.
hogjowl
Idiot™
It doesn't completely vacuum out anyway.
encapman
Member
hogjowl
Idiot™
Straw manAnd all the soil won't completely come out with HWE either.
encapman
Member
Marty, as I mentioned above... "NOTHING removes 100% of the soil/bacteria/spores etc. Carpet cleaning is not sanitizing the carpet. It just makes it more sanitary."
Encap doesn't remove all of the soil. HWE will remove more soil than encap in a single cleaning, but it's not perfect either. There's no golden goose.
Encap doesn't remove all of the soil. HWE will remove more soil than encap in a single cleaning, but it's not perfect either. There's no golden goose.
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
I just want to avoid "the call" that sometimes comes Monday or Tuesday after a brutal weekend project.
Desk Jockey
Member
Alternate cleanings or HWE the traffic areas periodically. One trick ponies of any method are limiting their abilities as a cleaner.
NobleCarpetCleaners
Member
- Joined
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- Name
- Noble Carpet Cleaners
Just extracted one of my commercial stops; about 6,500 sq/ft of of church entry. Encap several times a year and after 4 or 5 scrubs I HWE. If I was successful attaching the movie this is the water coming out. The only point I'll make is to agree with Rick, you never get all the dirt out. If you encap then you must have a vacuuming program. Oh by the way if you HWE you must have a vacuuming program. So why do I HWE and show the church office manager and the parish priest a short movie. To show them the carpet gets filthy and that lack of maintenance is never an option. The competition that is whispering in your customers ear is either lying or misinformed or both. Get your ducks in a row and speak plainly to your customer.
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If this is a steady repeat account, it definitely won't hurt to do hwe in some other high traffic areas. And I'm sure you've already explained the reason to encap.
Just let your customer know that as soon as you "sterilize" the carpet, it'll be toxic again after hundreds of public restroom traffic tramples on it the day after
If they're wanting to focus on a cleaner environment, change the focus to how much more important it is to properly vacuum every day in the office for less airborne allergens setting on the carpet and how much better the carpet will stay cleaner in between
Just let your customer know that as soon as you "sterilize" the carpet, it'll be toxic again after hundreds of public restroom traffic tramples on it the day after
If they're wanting to focus on a cleaner environment, change the focus to how much more important it is to properly vacuum every day in the office for less airborne allergens setting on the carpet and how much better the carpet will stay cleaner in between
Other than the sanitizing claims, I'm on the competitors side here. Periodic cleaning by hwe is better and in my opinion necesssary. Shaw use to (maybe still does?) recommend encap cleaning if done with a crb in between hwe cleanings for commercial buildings. The key is to implement both.
Questions for you smart ***** guys.
How did the germs get into the carpet??
What germs are they, be specific if you know??
How long can these germs live for in the carpet??
Clean carpets are great, BUT, for how long are they really clean??
Be reasonable, but also be practical & honest.
How did the germs get into the carpet??
What germs are they, be specific if you know??
How long can these germs live for in the carpet??
Clean carpets are great, BUT, for how long are they really clean??
Be reasonable, but also be practical & honest.
Old Coastie
Supportive Member
Joe, there is truth in nearly every answer here.
What strikes me is that you have been made aware of management's concerns. That is yuuuuuge! It shows trust!
Perhaps if you really and honestly examine the carpet (wih a magnifying glass) for clotting, or do side by side sections to see how they look AND how a close examination compares, reassuring the manager that you will only do what is in HIS best interest. That would impress me, if I were head honcho.
What strikes me is that you have been made aware of management's concerns. That is yuuuuuge! It shows trust!
Perhaps if you really and honestly examine the carpet (wih a magnifying glass) for clotting, or do side by side sections to see how they look AND how a close examination compares, reassuring the manager that you will only do what is in HIS best interest. That would impress me, if I were head honcho.
kevinj6121
Member
So you clean a carpet and tell the customer it's now nice and clean and sanitized. What happens when you leave and homeowner and all its other occupants start walking on it? Well you can forget the "sanitized" part. It'll stay clean, but no longer sanitized, except for maybe under the couch where nobody ever walks. I think it's just "marketing" when advertising "we clean and sanitize your carpets" to me this falls in line with the old bait and switch. Just trying to be realistic here, no disrespect to anyone intended
Spurlington
Member
Sounds like an opportunity to make more money offering more HWE intervals.
encapman
Member
Not a bad idea. Give the customer what they're asking for. It'll cost them more. But that's their call.
This shouldn't be that difficult to understand. HWE yearly or every 4-5 times of shampooing.
I've seen a video where someone used HWE and with a wand sliced right thru a "Clean" encap shampooed carpet.
Quite an eye opener as to what it really means to be cleaned.
Quite an eye opener as to what it really means to be cleaned.
Jack Zipper Zerkie
Member
When the temp is 240 atm that should do a better cleaning than my orbot or portable, BUT each job should be decided as to which to use. The same hammer does not work for ALL jobs. jz.
Cleanworks
Moderator
It's not so much which is better but which is appropriate for the job at hand. I am with Jackie. 240atm hwe is hard to beat. The
