Hey Mike. Thanks for asking.
-What year did you start the encAp crAze and how has the industry? Or has it?
The Encap Craze - LOL. A few years back I was the first guy to coin the phrase “ENCAPSULATION”. That was somewhere back around 2001/2002. Whittaker had been out there with their Crystal Dry product prior to that time and it was, and still is, a good product. And DuPont had also recently introduced their Resistech product. But no one had yet used the term “encapsulation” to describe the process. When I started talking about this new way of cleaning on the message boards, I was trying to come up with a way to describe the process and I thought that the word “encapsulation” was a good way to explain it. So as far as I know, I was the first person to use the word “encapsulation” in this context. And I guess I probably should have trademarked the word - because it really caught on in the industry. I’d be rich. :wink:
-What is the maximum amount of cleanings that a ground floor heavily used commercial establishment can take before it needs a good ol' fashion HWE?
That depends on the level of traffic, the degree of soil, and the frequency and the quality of the encap program. If a (a ground floor heavily used commercial establishment) building like you’re describing gets set up with a good regular encap maintenance program, HWE cleanings can be kept to a minimum. As a professional cleaner you should regularly inspect the carpet to evaluate the condition of the carpet. And then implement a thorough HWE flushing whenever you see any significant level of soil build up in the carpet. As a general rule of thumb you might plan for an annual HWE cleaning. However adjustments could be made according to wear, traffic level, soiling conditions, and the level of encap cleaning that you’re providing.
-Would you say Releasit is the 1st, 2nd or 3rd best selling Encapsulating Shampoo on the market?
Of course I believe
Releasit is the BEST product on the market. There are a few reasons why I feel that is true. (1) The cleaning ability of
Releasit is extremely good. We use a very strong surfactant blend that is highly effective on heavy commercial soil conditions. (2) Beyond
Releasit’s cleaning ability - another KEY reason why
Releasit stands out is its polymeric base. We load
Releasit with polymer.
Releasit contains a higher level of polymer solids. And the type of polymer that we’re using is unique too. Our polymer is an oil loving polymer. It resists re-soiling. And since we bulk
Releasit with so much polymer it has a sufficient polymer density to hold soil in suspension until the soil can be extracted during the normal routine of post vacuuming. (3)
Releasit also contains a fluoro-chemical that adds a measure of soil resistance to the cleaning and helps the polymer to release more readily from the fiber.
-And if your company ran out of it what product would you use on your accounts?
If our cleaning company ran out of
Releasit? We’d have to reschedule the job.
-Is the Cimex still the best scrub and run machine available?
Yeah, I think it is. The Cimex is a burly machine that can easily clip along cleaning 2,000+ sq ft per hour. With a 6.6 gallon tank it makes light work out of commercial carpet care. The 3 head design is easy to operate and the planetary scrubbing action provides deep agitation to commercial carpet fiber. For serious commercial cleaning I still like the Cimex best.
-What is the best detergent to rinse Encap impacted carpets with?
Releasit Encap-
Punch is a great product for HWE cleaning. It contains the same polymer that’s in our shampoo product (Encap-CLean DS). And for a hot water extraction detergent, Encap-
Punch brings the added benefit to the table of NOT leaving a residue in the carpet that could attract soil. Any residue that remains in the carpet will actually dry to a brittle residue that can be vacuumed out of the carpet following the HWE cleaning.
-Where do you see Excellent Supply Co in five years?
Excellent Supply has continued to grow every year since we started the company. We enjoy our place in the industry. We are in a position to help guys become more effective at commercial carpet care. We’ve been doing this for the past few years and we hope to be doing it for many years to come.
-How long would it take to "Cimex" 1000 sf of empty room/ moderately soiled CGD and how long would it take to OP the same carpet with cotton pads and keep going till the pads come up clean?
It would take roughly 1/2 an hour to clean 1,000 sq ft. I’ll let the OP specialists address your question about OP cleaning.
-Who is your biggest competitor in equipment and juice sales?
JonDon and Interlink are the largest equipment suppliers in the industry and they do a good job of providing everything a typical carpet cleaner might want to purchase.
Excellent Supply provides commercial cleaning supplies exclusively for cleaners needing products for commercial carpet care. So we’re on a different path. I don’t know that we have a single biggest competitor for juice. There are a lot of chemical & supply companies that have now jumped onto the encap band wagon. A few of the competitors have some decent products, and there are a number of products that aren’t quite ready for prime time.
Releasit continues to stack up well in the market. It seems like we’re always the one that the other companies compare themselves to - so we consider that an indirect complement to our reputation as a leader in the industry.
-How big or small is your cleaning biz and how often to do you get your hands dirty?
Our cleaning company “KleenStep” is still going. I have to admit I haven’t given KleenStep as much attention during the last few years, as we’ve been primarily focused on developing
Releasit and
Excellent Supply. However we still have several regular monthly accounts that we service. I didn’t want to let KleenStep just die on the vine - it’s still a solid brand with a registered trademark and a long history of service in the Tampa Bay area (I started my cleaning business in 1982). So I’ve just recently purchased a new van for KleenStep and we’re getting a wrap on it (see image below). We are going to be stepping up the marketing for KleenStep once again. I still love cleaning! I guess it’s in my blood. I don’t get out and clean as often as I used to, but I still manage to get out and do an occasional job. I have a really good technician named Ryan who has been with me for a few years now. Ryan is the person who handles most of KleenStep’s cleaning jobs these days.
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