how old were you when you started cleaning?

[Carpet Cavalier]

View attachment 1034

 

[dealtimeman]

I was 13

 

[FB7777]

Opened my doors when I was 23... Started cleaning by working for a JanSan company at 22

 

[Chris A]

12

 

[Steve Toburen]

Opened my first (very small) janitorial service at 16. (I also did hard surface floors.)

Then at 19 heard about something called "steam carpet cleaning". Bought a Castex 700. Hand laid fiberglass, single stage 110" vacuum and a 60 psi Oberdorfer pump. Weighed 95# and absolutely indestructible. (I dropped it out of the back of my van on a freeway and it fired right up.) Oh, and by the way, 48 hour dry time!

At 23 my new partner and I decided to build one of those new-fangled "truck mounts". After all, we reasoned "how hard can it be"? We found out.

Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS Oh, and BTW there was no internet provided "shoulder to cry on" back then. You young whipper-snappers don't know how good you have it!

 

[Jim Martin]

39

 

[Desk Jockey]

12, I vacuumed edges with a tank vacuum and vacuumed up the shampoo after my father scrubbed with a HILD scrubber. All for the low low price of $1.00 an hour.

 

[Mikey P]

20


Knocked up the little lady and had to move on from my glamorous career as a prep cook at a vegetarian restaurant so we could afford 100% cotton diapers. .

 

[GCCLee]

20's
Step Dad owned a Carpet Business growing up so I got carpet fiberitis alot younger, lol

 

[RugWorx]

19 (I am now 37) and when I bought the business from the guy I thought I was going to be rich. He keep telling us that you can make a $100 a hour. As a 19 year old kid I thought that I had hit the lottery.

 

[miksar]

55

 

[Steve Lawrence]

23

 

[Desk Jockey]

Wheew rough looking group, I guess it was the 70's but man. I wouldn't hire me now.

 

[Hoody]

15 doing jan san, started cleaning carpet at 16.

 

[KevinL]

Damn Richard! Your hair was longer than mine. I worked for Stanley when I was 32/33. Started biz when I was 41.

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

Don't be so hard on your self Richard , you guys look like a cool 70's boy band.

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL

 

[Desk Jockey]

Damn Richard! Your hair was longer than mine. I worked for Stanley when I was 32/33. Started biz when I was 41.

Yea it sure looks bad now. Thought it waz cool then!

No pictures Kevin?

 

[Studebaker]

Around 8 years old in the family janitorial, cleaning bathrooms and dumping garbage. In 1971 my dad started cleanmaster and the clear plastic portables started. Around 75 we were doing carpets and got our first TM, a judge unit out of Portland.

In 1980 I started my own window cleaning business and bought another judge, then a prochem.

So I guess I can say a long time.

 

[Shorty]

Wheew rough looking group, I guess it was the 70's but man. I wouldn't hire me now.

Is that Marty on your right??

I can't remember that far back to when I started.



PS:: I HAD hair like that back then also.

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL Marty is a tall mofo, that's my uncle and to the left is my father.

Can't remember or don't want to?

 

[rhyde]

Started in this business when i was 20

 

[Ron K]

I was old enough to know better but didn't wanted to try something new I was 33.

 

[Doug Cox]

19

 

[floorguy]

10....scrubbing the edges with a brush, while my dad ran the VS ...which he had started the biz just after i was born....

At age 15 he decided to get some portables...again because looking back....they werent the best out there just the cheapest...

which brings up the point.....it truly is the man on the machine, and not the machine...it just makes your life easier

 

[J Scott W]

Started cleaning windows at 14 or 15. First carpet job at 16. Started WWE (Warm water extraction) with a Steamex in 1976. Got one of those clear Cleanmaster units a couple years later.

 

[Zee]

Started cleaning as an employee when I was 23. I remember some of the jobs showing up with the von Schrader...

People look at me like "what are you doing with this thing here, we wanted carpet cleaning!"

And I'm there trying to explain how great is all this about dry foam...but didn't speak much English..so I had customers that kicked me out basically.
Oh well- I survived.
Started on my own when I was 31 but had a couple years break before that, where I didn't clean carpets.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Carried buckets of shampoo and related things starting at 9. That would be 1968. Didn't like his first HWE machine a few years later. Then I had to make TWO trips...dang waste water!

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL! Two trips!!!

 

[dealtimeman]

12

Show off!