HELP! What would cause this Spot/Customer Concern?

[Bryan S. Bennett]

A day after we cleaned carpets & upholstery for this repeat customer (which they were very happy with), I get a text that says "Brian - please don't take this the wrong way! But is there anything you guys use to clean carpets that would eat through a a linoleum floor? I noticed a spot on the floor that's never been there before? Call when u have a second"

Hmmm, strange I know. We didn't even clean this entry hallway except to flat mop it on the way out the door when finished. I ask her to send me some pics.

The only chemicals used in this house was Bridgepoint Flex, POG Remover, Maxim Advanced and Avenge Prespray used on the furniture cleaning.

Now I know from experience none of these would harm or melt a linoleum floor.

So I stopped by on Sunday afternoon to check it out.

The spot smelled fruity compared to the rest of the floor. When touched, the top surface felt very rubbery and you could actually move it. A PH test on the spot was mild alkaline.

She says she cleans this floor very often and never noticed this discoloration before until after we cleaned the carpets. Her 5-6 year old son "out of the blue" says mommy remember this was here before they came. I had to chuckle but you know how young children are. Who knows.

The spot is directly under a wall outlet as you will see.

To help her understand our chemicals would not do this, I poured each chemical on the floor directly and let dwell for several minutes - no change which is what I thought would be the case.

She's not accusing me but in her opinion its rather odd that all of sudden she noticed this after we did the work.

I have a thought to what caused this but I want to hear from you. I'm pretty confident someone here has seen this situation before.

What do you think caused this?

I told her I would post this to the board and let her know the response from yinz all!

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Does she use plug in deodorizers? The location of the spot under an outlet is a clue.

A spill from the perfume oil could account for both the odor and the color, though I'm not certain about the damage.

A well meaning (or guilty) housecleaner or family member could have attempted to clean up the perfume oil spill with "GKW"* and caused the damage, either because of strength of the cleaner, or the fact that it was left unrinsed on the surface.


*"God Knows What"

 

[Scott S.]

Does she use plug in deodorizers? The location of the spot under an outlet is a clue.

A spill from the perfume oil could account for both the odor and the color, though I'm not certain about the damage.

A well meaning (or guilty) housecleaner or family member could have attempted to clean up the perfume oil spill with "GKW"* and caused the damage, either because of strength of the cleaner, or the fact that it was left unrinsed on the surface.


*"God Knows What"

i agree with Jim, I've seen discoloration like this under outlets on linoleum. but not the wrinkling. but i know some oils can degrade plastic and make them feel rubbery.

 

[Spurlington]

Yes !!!!!!! The min u said under wall outlet - I knew exactly what it was !! I was going to say it before I read Jims comment/suggestion !! He's got it !! I had a plug in deodorizer that dripped on my linoleum floor and it was dissolving it - made it bumpy, stretchy, gooie and discolored !! Listen to the kid .. It was there before !!

 

[FB7777]

Ding ding ding

Plug in deodorizer 100%


Interrogate the kid... He probably pulled it out of the outlet and dumped it on the linoleum



Fricken homeowners... " wasn't there before you cleaned"

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Fricken homeowners... " wasn't there before you cleaned"

One of the worst things a cleaner can hear....

 

[Bryan S. Bennett]

Keep sending your comments/experiences with this type of thing. Even if its a "ditto"

 

[Jimmy L]

Yeah that what it is because I've had that conversation with people BEFORE I cleaned for them.

 

[Papa John]

This is what makes MB such a powerful tool for our business.
Having this wealth of knowledge from different people increases our intelligence and professionalism.
So become a supportive member today

 

[Charlie Lyman]

The plug in Scentsy candles can do that too. They are easily knocked sideways and I see it all the time on carpet too.
I would take a close look at the wall and top of that baseboard. Look to see if it was cleaned or if there is the deodorizer or candle on or even behind it.

 

[PrimaDonna]

Plug in makes sense...especially with the "fruity" smell you got from the area.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Does she use plug in deodorizers? The location of the spot under an outlet is a clue.

A spill from the perfume oil could account for both the odor and the color, though I'm not certain about the damage.

A well meaning (or guilty) housecleaner or family member could have attempted to clean up the perfume oil spill with "GKW"* and caused the damage, either because of strength of the cleaner, or the fact that it was left unrinsed on the surface.


*"God Knows What"

You read my mind.....

 

[Mikey P]

the baseboard looks oily too.

 

[dealtimeman]

Have seen it many times and it is a 100 percent a plug in heat deodorize unit, as Jim stated.

It has been there for a long time to get wrinkled like that.

They probably just noticed as their envirment was just changed by you cleaning and NOW they are noticing all the defects or imperfections throughout the house as they have a new expectation or realization of how their home should be.

They really probably never have noticed it until now, so to the homeowners "it just appeared" because of the change of consciousness as a result of your cleaning.

People don't realize how much and how well they adapt to their envirments, wether the change is a positive or negative, that when a substantial change to that envirment occurs, a change in their perception or level of attention\awareness to the situation or state of that envirment triggers different reactions such as new sense of discovery or a longing to correct other issues in their envirment.

But I am just a janitor and this could just be a janitors way of seeing how things work.

 

[Bryan S. Bennett]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

This is what I thought too after looking over the situation.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Happy to help Bryan.

You are one of the "good guys" out there, and its a pleasure to share our experience and insights.

The great thing about Mikeysboard is that its full of "good guys" (...and gals!) that bend over backward to help each other. The list of great folks here continues to impress me.

 

[Zee]

I hope you got this resolved....

Without even reading any of the responses I thought right away: it's gotta be one them smelly-goody plug in products.
I see this all the time...and I have repeat customers with the same damage on carpets and so far nothing has worked on "getting it out".

I don't want to say they're lying about it being there because often they see things "stick out" a little bit more after the service is done. People tend to look more -for things- to make sure "the guys didn't miss anything".

 

[Bryan S. Bennett]

Alright lets put this one to bed.....

I shared your responses with the customer (in an email sent to her" and this is what she said back in a text.

"Before you were coming to clean I noticed a plug in sittin on the fish tank... Empty and not plugged into the wall! I never thought anything of it - I had one in the downstairs bathroom that I noticed is no longer there. I asked Matt (husband) and Trent (6 or 7 year old son) but they both said they didn't take it so??? I bet thats what happened. Apologize to the boys for me too. Thank You Brian - I gotta say I agree now (with the responses from Mikeys Board).....I wonder if Trent (son) accidentally did it and didn't tell me that one of the days surrounding you guys coming. Thank you for your help, Bryan."

Whew! The win here is that together we all saved a customer relationship from going sour. Kuddos to the MB Gang here! Thank you all!

 

[Scott S.]

Alright lets put this one to bed.....

I shared your responses with the customer (in an email sent to her" and this is what she said back in a text.

"Before you were coming to clean I noticed a plug in sittin on the fish tank... Empty and not plugged into the wall! I never thought anything of it - I had one in the downstairs bathroom that I noticed is no longer there. I asked Matt (husband) and Trent (6 or 7 year old son) but they both said they didn't take it so??? I bet thats what happened. Apologize to the boys for me too. Thank You Brian - I gotta say I agree now (with the responses from Mikeys Board).....I wonder if Trent (son) accidentally did it and didn't tell me that one of the days surrounding you guys coming. Thank you for your help, Bryan."

Whew! The win here is that together we all saved a customer relationship from going sour. Kuddos to the MB Gang here! Thank you all!

We are always here to help.

 

[Old Coastie]

We are always here to help.

And now for the fee...