I can not get this carpet clean.

[daniel@procarpet]

I have a restaurant that I have cleaned I believe 6 times once a month. To me restaurants are a walk in the park. Just use a high ph enzyme pre-spray, HOT water, and if it is real bad a good pre scrub. The cleaner before me was using a portable and the owner was unhappy because after cleaning the carpet the place smelled real bad afterwards for several days. I went out and did an estimate and thought to myself this is a light tan carpet with black traffic patterns from grease and the carpet should clean easy and the color should pop back to life. The first time I cleaned it I used my normal pre-spray (powerburst) and scrubbed it in real good and hit the carpet with the RX with acid rinse run heavy through the line. My concern was the hack before me was running purple power or similar through his machine so I wanted to neutralize the carpet somewhat. I noticed from the start that I was in trouble because the carpet just wasn’t cleaning at all. I ditched the RX and finished with the wand. The carpet looked marginally better.

The second time I cleaned it I used a glided wand. I even hooked into the hot water and was running steady 230 with an RX. For some reason water puddles real bad in certain areas I believe from low areas in the carpet. This makes cleaning more difficult.

I cleaned the carpet tonight and even post buffed the carpet and it just looked like crap imo. The carpet is an olefin glue down that isn’t greasy as much as it is oily. It’s like someone poured cooking oil all over the carpet and ground it in real good. I am tempted to just spray the carpet with an acid rinse and clear water rinse it, but there is a lot of grease it each time I clean it. Tonight I boosted my pre-spray with citrus and I think that just compounded the problem. I told the guy he may just need new carpet. He has tried several cleaners and is happy with me, but I told him tonight after cleaning that the carpet looked like crap and it should be much cleaner. I said I would do some investigating to see if there is anything I can do different. To be honest I am just sick of dealing with restaurants and have cut back on the amount I clean. The only reason I clean this place is because of all the gorgeous Asian women working in this place.

I also used a good encapsualting bonnet cleaner after steam cleaning the carpet and it really did not help that much.

 

[joey895]

I have one similar. I have tried lots of different pre-sprays, pre-scrub, post bonnet with an encap cleaner, emulsifier through machine, acid rinse,etc.

I've cleaned this place monthly for the last year or so. I told the custy from the beginning it should be replaced but they insist on cleaning and they insist it looks good each time. Anyway just in the last 2 cleanings I have figured what works best for this particular job regarding time on the job and results. The solution for me is simply to pre-spray and extract it twice(fairly quick extractions), skipping the pre and post scrub. I have gotten done a half hour faster the last 2 weeks and I believe it looks better to boot. I certainly don't think this is the answer to most jobs but some just need the crud removed in layers.

 

[John Alzubi]

I had a similar situation and I used Enzall and I added some degreaser to it and worked really good. However if you do that you need to rinse the carpet really good. I now use Power MAX powder and it works really good on rstyss

 

[sweendogg]

If you are sure it is an Olefin carpet, have you tried a true Olefin Prespray yet? You might give it a try.. also if it is Olefin and its is darker blacker areas, remember that Olefin can develop friction burns pretty easily and to add insult to injury if they brought out very hot dishes with hot grease, could melt/etch the grease into the fibers.

Another potential problem. It could be a completely blackened/grayed out Polyester instead of Olefin. We have one piece of Polyester in Our store that was given to us as a trial peace about 12 years ago. The fibers have scratched so pad that there is not anything that can make it look cleaner.

 

[Scott S.]

why dont you guys try a super high ph cleaner like flex? it cuts threw crap when my enzyme cleaner wont.. then rinse with white lightning.. and when i know i need flex i boost with citrus solve and boost all (lots of boost all).

 

[bensurdi]

Yeah I would have rinsed with heat wave. Try that

 

[Mark Saiger]

You indicated that the water was puddling and I bet the RX was throwing water everywhere in some areas. These are highly worn areas and most likely the carpet is in bad shape. Also rinsing with an acid rinse is not going to cut some of these areas too fast. You unfortunately have to hit it with the high ph, but it sounds to me like it is worn. There are sometimes you can only make it look as good as it's gonna be. I hate those ones that occasionaly do this. As long as the owner is happy and you keep trying, you might hit a good combination soon for this one. Maybe a powdered peroxide booster in the chems might also help such as Steampros powdered peroxide activated in your prespray, but I am just guessing without seeing it.

Mark Saiger

 

[orangeforce123]

I am going to send you a free sample pack of my chemicals how many square ft are you cleaning. Send mr your address.

 

[Dolly Llama]

Saiger" data-source="" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

There are sometimes you can only make it look as good as it's gonna be.

Mark Saiger

BINGO!!

Dan, it sounds to me you've done everything you possibly can, 'cept maybe a pile brush first
and I don't know whether that will improve the appearance of the gray rag and situation you've described.


I just don't know what the acid thing is about...it's pretty much useless .
You can give it try, but i think you're spitting in the wind

couple questions;

how strong are you mixing the Powerburst?
are you mixing it with hot water?
what application rate are you applying it at?
and if you're using an in-line sprayer, is it drawing effectively?
(cause personally, even when a HF is working right, I've never been able to get a HF to draw powders very well mixed at max++ dilution)
Which is what I'd recommend for that greasy gray rag...THREE "heaping" scoops of Powewrburst pr gal in an electric sprayer applied at 100-200sf pr gal ...That's "nuking" it


and have you tried Flex?
It's a wicked potion when mixed at MAX dilution ..strong butyl and sodium hydroxide (LYE) is a hell of a grease melter
(Sodium hydroxide is the active ingredient in over the counter DRAIN cleaners for melting "grease" clogs)

Have you tried adding oxidizers/peroxide to the mix?
It may brighten things up a bit, but I suspect the carpet is just so worn/abraded that no matter what you do....as the saying goes..
"it is what it is"...


..L.T.A.

 

[everfresh1]

I just don't know what the acid thing is about...it's pretty much useless .
You can give it try, but i think you're spitting in the wind

Exactly! I don't know why some of you guys insist on using an acid rinse espicially on a grease pit Restrant. On a well maintanied residential ok, but a grease pit :roll: Makes no sense Use a good high PH powder to rinse. I use Hydra-Dry on those grease pits :mrgreen:

 

[tmdry]

Daniel,

Maybe it's time to rent a cimex from one of your competitors instead of using a 175 if that's what you're prescrubbing with. I would go with Fiber Max(gray) pads from excellent supply on the cimex, prescrub with your prespray in the cimex, extract, than use the cimex or 175 to post pad(not bonnet) w/ an encap either from Release IT DS or Judson's new Tripple Strength, you gotta make sure you use the right tool and pads(again not bonnets), this will make a night/day difference on your outcome. I'd use Clark Lancaster's pads(not bonnets) if he still has some left. The only issue with this is that it will increase your overall time on this job unless you bring a helper or 2.

Also, are you prevaccing with a good commercial vac?

When i posted a similar thread, we did the above which was recommended by many here, but i decided that the account was just not worth it, as our times to do a quality was being cut by the GM, and they just were not paying our price.

 

[alazo1]

I think you've done your best. Try something different next time but I would'nt be going back for a free re-clean. Mix some floor stripper with the other stuff that was mentioned next time, can't hurt. It did wonders with an apartment I cleaned a few days ago, and the carpet didn't even melt Sounds like the cleaning of this place was ignored for a long time..not your fault.

Albert

 

[Joel D]

so to summarize the great responses

if its olefin

highest ph possible

very aggressive prescrub

also try running mb soapfree as the rinse or white lighting or whatever. Like was said forget acid on a monthly restaurant. Plus alkaline rinse will be faster and might help brighten

it might look better when completely dry the next day especially if your using an encap

one i did that i wasnt happy with looked good when i ate their later i was surprised

 

[joe harper]

OK Daniel.......... :roll:

I am going to CaTcH ..HELL..For this Post.... :shock:

This will put me ON the HoT-sEaT...with the GURU'S srceaming...."HACK"...


I see that you have a 175......"Do you have a shampoo tank...?"

Mix up a 5 gallon bucket of SHAMPOO....

The mixture "Per 5 gallon is".......1 cup of CASCADE (powered) Automatic Dishwashing detergent..+...1 cup of Household ammonia...1 oz of Dawn dishwashing deterengent..
An SCRUB OUT THE PATH AREAS... :!: :!: :!: :!:

Allow to DWELL 10 minutes... :!: :!:


The Cascade is FULL of heavy degreasers & Sodium Percarbanate...
The Dawn will act as a WETTING AGENT...
The Ammonia will BOOST the PH of ALL...

Meter a gallon of white VINEGAR at 3 on your meter....This is a LIGHT acid....
It will Controll any foaming...& prevent Browning...


You cannot HURT anything...Olephen or Poly... :wink:

Your are WELCOME... :!:

 

[Jimmy L]

.

 

[harryhides]

The biggest problem here is that some nit-wit specified an oil loving fiber for a restaurant.
Is there a large walk-off mat between the kitchen and the dining area ?
How often is it changed ?
How often is the kitchen floor cleaned ?
Wipe a white paper towel on the kitchen floor right atfer it has supposedly been cleaned.
Sell them a steamer with clips designed to hold a cotton towel over the steam head ?

Dry solvent-soluble soils include grease, and animal or vegetable oils that are produced when cooking food.
Oily soils also accumulate on carpet just inside entries from kitchens.

Compounding the problem - if oily soils are allowed to remain in
the carpet too long without being removed, they may dry out or "oxidize."
When this occurs, a hard, yellow, lacquer-like film is formed which requires additional time and aggressive chemicals for removal.

Some oleophilic (oil loving) fibers like polyester or olefin may actually absorb oily soils over time, leaving a yellowish cast to traffic areas that cannot be removed with cleaning.
With proper pre-treatment and maximum application of the principles of cleaning, oxidized oils may be removed but it will be very difficult.

Vacaway makes an encap product designed to encapsulate oil based soil - give Steve Smith a call.
I would be inclined to scrub some of this in after each cleaning.

Harpo is a hack but he's not crazy (on a good day), in fact even using Bleach which is a good grease cutter would not harm this carpet.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

OK Daniel.......... :roll:

I am going to CaTcH ..HELL..For this Post.... :shock:

This will put me ON the HoT-sEaT...with the GURU'S srceaming...."HACK"...


I see that you have a 175......"Do you have a shampoo tank...?"

Mix up a 5 gallon bucket of SHAMPOO....

The mixture "Per 5 gallon is".......1 cup of CASCADE (powered) Automatic Dishwashing detergent..+...1 cup of Household ammonia...1 oz of Dawn dishwashing deterengent..
An SCRUB OUT THE PATH AREAS... :!: :!: :!: :!:

Allow to DWELL 10 minutes... :!: :!:


The Cascade is FULL of heavy degreasers & Sodium Percarbanate...
The Dawn will act as a WETTING AGENT...
The Ammonia will BOOST the PH of ALL...

Meter a gallon of white VINEGAR at 3 on your meter....This is a LIGHT acid....
It will Controll any foaming...& prevent Browning...


You cannot HURT anything...Olephen or Poly... :wink:

Your are WELCOME... :!:

Yes I was thinking a dish detergent would be the best solution. Rinsing the carpet is a little challenging. I have a holed glided wand and for some reason the check valves make the spray pattern not consistent. The spray comes out different with each key of the wand. It does ok though. The rx rinses the best but in some areas it does sling water. Joe I am going to try your approach. The good news is it is not a lot of sq ft (just under a thousand) so I can be more aggressive.
Also last night I added Flex to my prespray. The front of the restaurant cleans up ok. Another thing is the lighting in this place. The light comes from so many different angles and it is not brightly lit and some areas look dark but it is shadows however still not clean. Here are a few photos. The quality is not good because of the lighting.

Before

After

Before

After

 

[The Asian Sensation]

Errrm....I dont see any photos of hott chics.

 

[Jim Martin]

you have to flush the hell out of that type carpet and make sure you dry it as much as possible.....and by looking at the picture it looks like it is worn out.......

 

[daniel@procarpet]

you have to flush the hell out of that type carpet and make sure you dry it as much as possible.....and by looking at the picture it looks like it is worn out.......

This may be a job for a glided rx. I use the RX exclusively for commercial and running two hoses off the truck with two filters really boosts the vacuum.

 

[Greenie]

wow...it actually looks a lot better than the image i had in my mind from your original post.

I just think you need to kick up the oxidizers, and even do a 40 vol. post spray of peroxide like you were spring protector...and obviously your are getting some olefin traffic gray....but i think the owner understands. You are just buying them time til they replace...hopefully with a decent nylon that you will help em' select.

As for your checkies, just remove the jet, use a 5/32" allen wrench and back off the brass internal keeper 3/4 of a turn, this is needed on some prochem Quad jet wands. hen every 6mo. check them...tighten all the way down, and back off 3/4 turn.

 

[Bjorn]

Ah soooooo Golden Dragon claims another victim

 

[joe harper]

Daniel..

The reason you got a better result from FLEX..is because it is one of the HOTTEST pre-sprays
on the market.."I believe it is a 12 + ph.." You HAVE to melt that grease...That means HIGH
PH..& LOTS of HEAT & AGGITATION...

Stick with ME kid...I am NOT going to let you Damage anything..! HaRRiEt only READS about
perfection.. I ACHEIVE it everyday.. :wink:

Here is the MSDS on the CASCADE..."Study the components"..Then you will understand the
chemstry...The Ammonia is your cataylist or BOOSTER...This is a VERY HOT MIXTURE...!

http://www.pg.com/content/pdf/01_about_ ... Powder.pdf


This BREW...Has it ALL...Degreasers,oxidizers,deodorizer,& Lots of high PH..... :!:

Ps..The carpet in the photo....is possible an 80/20 combo... :!: "80% olephen..20% NYLON.."
You will still be safe....The nylon is only in the multiple colored highlights...

Buy a CHEAP flood light...when cleanig this job...It will keep you from "making multiple passes
trying to clean shadows.."

Harriet..please only comment in areas of your...." x-PeRtEEz "... !dork!
This is a WORKING MANS thread.... :mrgreen:



Daniel if you do well on this JOB...I will trEaT you to the FINE ARTS..of..Trisodiumphosphate..
THE REAL GREASE REMOVER...this job is NOT that Bad... :wink:

 

[joe harper]

Ah soooooo Golden Dragon claims another victim

EXACTLY....T-Bird... :wink:

You should SHARE ...some of your "Dragon slaying secrets"...after you are the KING... :!:

Do you still require ...ONE AsIAn daughter for the bArTeR.... :wink: :wink:

 

[steve frasier]

The only thing I would do is use hot knife at 8oz per gallon(maybe a little spot n boost in with it), scrub it in with a bonnet
heat wave as a rinse won't help

you could try the olefin presprays but I think you are past that

I have 2 that I clean where hot knife is the only thing that would break it loose, they are quite like what Harry describes, greasy, poor cleaning, etc

I cleaned the tile and grout in one of them, looked great when done but 3 weeks later the tile and grout looked like I had never cleaned it

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Have any of you heard of Butchers Speedball? The apartment cleaners swear by it for getting out any tough black spot from ink, grease, and who knows what else. Some even boost their prespray with it. I have used it as a spotter and it worked great.

http://www.johnsondiversey.com/Cultures ... IN%20Power

http://www.johnsondiversey.com/Cultures ... IN%20Power

 

[RIP IT]

Errrm....I dont see any photos of hott chics.

I'm with you on this one...unfortunately they might consider that stalking. :wink:

 

[juniorc82]

I would try encapping with releasit and a cimex. Im sure with your tm it would have already looked the best it can get . I have been in simular situations and the cimex and releasit brightend the carpet up when hew could not. I know it doesnt make any sense but it has worked for me time and time again

 

[alazo1]

Harper knows some tricks eh?.

How about a recipe for a regular pre-spray?.

Albert