How about this idea for carpet protector.

[daniel@procarpet]

I am open to all thoughts good and bad.

I really hate pushing carpet protector on some jobs especially if I am trying to achieve faster drying times. I also don't believe the protector works good on damp carpet. My plan is to sell the protector priced as following for ready to use.

10 dollars for a quart sprayer
40 per gallon
75 for 2 gallons (this is the one I would push and package it in a two gallon jug similar to the ones the multi sprayer uses)

I would explain that I can apply the protector after the job but since the carpet is wet I would need to apply twice the amount of concentrate to get the same results. With this approach the customer could allow the carpet to dry and apply the protector with a trigger spray bottle to individual areas after the carpet dried. I could package the protector in two gallon jugs and get 190 gross off one gallon of protector. Now I don't have to breathe the toxins in, the carpet will dry faster, the customer can apply to rooms as needed and dry them before doing other areas. To work the protector in I would advise them to just brush or groom the carpet with a broom. I could even sell a rake if needed at cost. If the customer had any left over they could use it to touch up places where they had to do a clean up. Most would just prefer me to clean and protect, but homes with children, pets, etc. may prefer to apply the protector in certain areas and allow them to dry before doing other areas.

This may be a dumb idea.

 

[Ron K]

Why not buy an Air Path?? How wet are the carpets when you leave?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

You have been given wrong info on coverage on wet versus dry carpet.

Exactly same amount of active ingredients per square foot covered.

 

[dgargan]

Use hardball solvent protector and it will increase dry times

 

[daniel@procarpet]

My dry times are good because I run lower pressure, dry stroke, run 4 to the door, and have a strong machine. I could never use a solvent day in and day out. When I spray protector and brush it in, I can smell it and just know it is getting in the air and in my LUNGS. This was just a thought. I might present the idea to a customer like I can apply the protector for you or you can do it and save 25 dollars etc and treat the downstairs first and then follow up on the upstairs at a later time. As long as they vacuum first and apply it within a week I don't see any harm in it.

I have a leftover 2 gallon jug that the hardball ready to use protector came in. If I could get some more bottles like that and print up some custom labels, I think people would purchase the protector from me. Again I can apply the protector myself as usual. When I do that I tell the customer to keep traffic light for at least half a day. The more I think about this the less I like the idea. As far as performance goes I always dry rugs before applying protector. It just works better.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Lee one gallon of teflon makes 5 gallons of ready to use at 1:4. I would just mix it like that wet or dry. If the carpet is dry, the directions say 1:8 or 9 gallons.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Dupont's aim is to disperse a given amount of teflon over a set area of carpet. Their instructions to use more WATER on dry carpet is due to their observation that the extra water helps insure more even coverage. Of course if they CLEANED carpet they would understand our dilemma of drying times.

I split the difference if I can on the extra moisture.

 

[Jamesh921]

Daniel,
I can see you put alot of thought into this, but I think you're right to abandon the idea. A few areas of concern:

Are you gonna teach the client to apply it properly? If so, how long are you willing to spend with them to MAKE SURE they get it right and apply the proper amount?

Instead of their carpet being wet ONCE, they will now have several different areas that will have to be treated and will be wet and unavailble to use whenever they apply the protector to each room.

Also, it doesn't make good business sense to me.

If you sell the protector for $40.00 per gallon, your cost is about $8 plus the time it takes to apply it (say approx. 10 minutes to spray and rake it in). You pocket $32 minus the ten minutes it took you to apply it.

If you sell it to your customer and supply them with a sprayer (about $10) PLUS the cost of the protector (about $8) then in my mind you're leaving money on the table that you could be putting into your bank account.
PLUS, I'm sure you're going to spend WAY more than 10 minutes explaining to the client how to properly apply and rake it in.


I appreciate your desire to give your clients the absolute best result from your service. Keep it up. But, I agree that you should pass on this idea.

Good luck,
James

 

[Scott Rogers]

When I spray protector and brush it in, I can smell it and just know it is getting in the air and in my LUNGS.

Sounds like you picked the wrong industry. Either man up or find another trade. Because if you think that protector is the worse thing you come in contact with on a daily basis you live in a dream land. Im surprised you arent complaining about the seepage through your pores that you get when you sweat. Do you run out of a house screaming when you are asked to clean up dog piss, sour milk, spilled medicine, or any other possible contaminate in the carpet.

It surprises me how weak and whiny these younger generations are. There is no way they could have survived the 50-60 or 70's. with Real solvents that worked, no seatbelts, lead based paints, asbestos, no helmets to ride your bike, no elbow/ knee pads to protect you when boarding. No pretending your a bad ass in a video game. we didnt wear gloves when working on our cars, we washed our hands in gasoline or solvent. Its no wonder so many kids today suffer allergies to every thing. they were never allowed to build up their immunity systems.

 

[Art Kelley]

When I spray protector and brush it in, I can smell it and just know it is getting in the air and in my LUNGS.

Sounds like you picked the wrong industry. Either man up or find another trade. Because if you think that protector is the worse thing you come in contact with on a daily basis you live in a dream land. Im surprised you arent complaining about the seepage through your pores that you get when you sweat. Do you run out of a house screaming when you are asked to clean up dog piss, sour milk, spilled medicine, or any other possible contaminate in the carpet.

It surprises me how weak and whiny these younger generations are. There is no way they could have survived the 50-60 or 70's. with Real solvents that worked, no seatbelts, lead based paints, asbestos, no helmets to ride your bike, no elbow/ knee pads to protect you when boarding. No pretending your a bad ass in a video game. we didnt wear gloves when working on our cars, we washed our hands in gasoline or solvent. Its no wonder so many kids today suffer allergies to every thing. they were never allowed to build up their immunity systems.

Danial is of course correct to be concerned about the vapors from spraying protectant. Many,( possibly most?) company's business models use the selling and application of protector in order to make a profit from the job so a lot of this stuff is ingested into our bloodstreams. This product is harmful to the applicator and the customer is told to not breath this in while it is in the air. Leave the house, open windows.
A lot of people did not survive the 50s,60s,70s,80s,90s,00s, because of this carefree attitude. A cancer death is not a pretty sight.
I spray Scotchgard occasionally if the custy requests it as well as quats in flooded basements and I don't like it. I suppose I should wear a respirator.

 

[Scott Rogers]

Yep, and people get hit and die by lightning, car crashes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drowning and a million other ways. If you are so worried about dieing. I got news for ya. you cant avoid it, it gets us all.

You guys took a job, that deals with chemicals on a daily basis. Ofcourse you want to use the safest possible ones for you and your customers. But if you are afraid of even them, your in the wrong business.

And Daniel has no issue with putting his customers into a situation he himself finds bad. If he truely believed it was dangerous why would he supply it to a uninformed untrained customer to use unsupervised. Hell, most customers cant properly use a spot cleaner.

Just think about all that bacteria you breath everytime you run your air conditioner.

 

[Art Kelley]

Yep, and people get hit and die by lightning, car crashes, tornadoes, hurricanes, drowning

Putting yourself into a deadly situation for prolonged periods every day for years at a time, as is the case of applying toxic chemicals, dramatically increases you chance of dying. You could up your chance of traffic death or lightning strike or tornado death or drowning etc if you were as careless about these such situations every day of your life.
Both my father and my brother died horrible cancer deaths as a result of workplace toxins that got into their bloodstreams over a long period of years.

 

[Scott Rogers]

Art, I will say it again. If you are concerned about chemicals you are in the wrong industry. We work with chemicals daily. Thats a fact.

What about the dangers of pre-spray, or vaporisation of chemicals from rising steam while rinsing carpets. Absorption of chemicals when working spots, cleaning uph, filling bottles etc.

If you or any cleaner is truly concerned about the dangers of protector, to the point of not being willing to apply it themselves, then they are irresponsible and immoral to supply the exact same chemicals to be used by a untrained uneducated customer. You know as well as I do most consumers can not even properly use a store bought spot cleaner without causing damage to their carpets.

A professional trained carpet cleaner, knows how to remove all non essential people out of the area being worked in. Knows what equipment to use and the proper way to use it to minimize airborne contamination. Knows the proper application rates, etc.

 

[Art Kelley]

Scott, I'm concerned about chemical safety, and I'm in the right industry. The Grease Eraser I most commonly apply is presumably safe to breathe in and the more toxic chemicals I use are applied with a dripper and tamped and steamed out. My point is we should all be cognizant of the toxicity of the chemicals we use and a foolish macho attitude will eventually end badly for you.
As to having the customer apply the two gallons of protector, I don't see that as a viable option. Take some precautions with it, ventilate, maybe wear a respirator. It's just common sense.

 

[JDS87]

Why not sell a green protector. Very safe!

http://procleanersnetwork.com/greenprotector.html

 

[Walt]

Why not sell a green protector. Very safe!

http://procleanersnetwork.com/greenprotector.html

Is there a MSDS sheet on this?

 

[Nate The Great]

It's bad enough encappers make the customer post vacuum. Now this talk about customers DIY protector. Why not save the hassle of even doing the job and tell them use a rug doctor?

When they apply took much protector to one place, I assume you'll tell them it's there fault there freshly cleaned carpet is now sticky and your not coming back unless you're paid to clean it again. The list of problems can go on and on.