Is This The VLM Room?

Johnny

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Got a call today to clean about 4- 5,000 sq. ft. solution-dyed nylon CGD in a retail store. Cleaned it a few times over the past 12-14 years. It's about twenty-five years old, and very worn. The owner knows it should be replaced. The last couple times I cleaned it (HWE with hole-glided wand and Airpaths), I had to post-encap it all due to wickups. Some of it flooded a couple of months ago.

Would this carpet be a good candidate for dry compound? How many sq. ft. can be done per hour with a 10" CRB? Also have a 17" OP and a helper, so could use Adsorb and Releasit.

What y'all think?

Much obliged.
 
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Old Coastie

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Johnny, if you encap, make it half again as strong as the label calls for. Have your assistant spray lightly and evenly just ahead of your machine, so it doesn’t saturate. Use a presprayed pad (but you knew that) to avoid friction heat.

It goes very quickly and you won’t have wick back.
Insist that they post vac, or do it yourself the next day to be sure.
Good luck!
 
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encapman

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4-5K is large-ish for a 10" CRB (it would take a while). You'd probably do better with your 17" OP for a job that size.

Using good quality microfiber scrub bonnets on your OP, and not applying the encap solution too heavily should get 'er done. You could also follow Stephen's advice above...
Johnny, if you encap, make it half again as strong as the label calls for. Have your assistant spray lightly and evenly just ahead of your machine, so it doesn’t saturate.
 

Dolly Llama

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Would this carpet be a good candidate for dry compound?


I'll defer to Will on this...it may or may not be a good candidate, but the compound isn't cheap .
and if it's 25 year old " trashed, worn out" retail store carpet, that the owner knows " needs replaced" ...I kind of doubt they'll pay what it's worth to clean 4000+sf with Host

..L.T.A.
 

encapman

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And for the recurring spill stains "wick-ups" that you mentioned, you could apply the Spill Stain Remedy that I've shared before: Here's a copy & paste from EncapBlog.com...

Fixing Their Spill Stain Pain
spill_stain.jpg


Recurring Spill Stains Can Be A Thing of The Past
In this blog entry I will demonstrate a technique that's certain to make you a ton of money! How can I make such a bold statement? Because this tip will solve the most common problem related to commercial carpet. And when you can solve this problem, you will be highly valued to all your customers. I learned long ago that in sales we need to find what’s broken, find where their pain is coming from; and then demonstrate how we can fix it. With commercial carpet one of the most significant points of irritation for many commercial building owners is the problem of recurring spill stains.

So how do we identify their pain and fix it? This article will show you how to turn the number one complaint/problem with commercial glue down carpet into gold for your company.

Why Recurring Spills Are So Common With CGD “Commercial Glue Down” Carpet
Hot water extraction works so amazingly well on residential carpet it just stands to reason that it should work great on commercial carpet too… right? Wrong. Residential carpet normally has fairly long fiber, and it’s normally installed over a pad. This combination provides excellent airflow. When you put your wand on the carpet a venturi effect occurs and the water swooshes up the wand as fast as it’s being squirted into the carpet. By comparison, CGD carpets generally have terrible airflow. The carpet normally has densely packed fiber, and it’s normally glued directly to the floor. When you open the solution valve the water blasts down to the backing of the carpet, essentially making a puddle on the floor. Then the vac shoe attempts to suck the water from the floor. Problem is, with the restricted airflow of a CGD carpet, it makes it hard to capture the water. And if the carpet is olefin, the problem of wicking becomes all that much worse!

A Common Problem With A Simple Cure
We know that wicking and recurring spills are common with CGD carpet, and the paragraph above outlines why it occurs. But how can we address this common problem? When I was a much younger man I continually asked that question. Again and again I would ask – How can I successfully correct the problems that I am seeing with CGD carpets? My suppliers and my IICRC instructors had plenty of suggestions, and I tried ‘em all. Sadly though I still wasn’t finding a solution that worked 100% of the time. What I wanted was a turnkey solution that just worked. After beating my head against the wall for about 20 years trying everything under the sun, I discovered that a good encapsulation detergent could fix the problem entirely.

Quality encapsulation detergents that are formulated with a good crystalizing polymer can correct wicking and recurring spill stains. And if the product contains a built-in fluoro-chemical wicking can be slowed even further. It’s actually a 3-prong approach: (1) Crystalizing polymer, (2) Fluoro-chemical, and (3) Low moisture. When I began to employ this technique I was able to end wicking and recurring spill stains for the first time in my commercial carpet cleaning business.

Here’s How To Turn Spills Into Gold
Once I figured out the solution to the problem, the next thing to do was to use this new remedy to sell accounts. Here’s what I discovered, and it works! As I would interview a new prospective client I would ask them if there was any particular problem that they were presently experiencing with their carpet cleaning. If they didn’t respond right away, or if they gave me a blank stare I would next ask… Do you have any spill stains that are giving you trouble? Invariably that would get a response. “Oh yeah, there’s a big one where you walk into the break room. They’ve cleaned it a couple of times now, but it’s still there.” Great! Tell you what I’d like to do. I’d like to clean one side of that spot for you, then you guys can walk on it for a few days to see if it comes back again. I’ll check back with you next week to see how it turns out. And if the side I cleaned doesn’t come back, can we talk seriously about handling your carpet cleaning? When they see that you’ve successfully fixed what no other cleaner has fixed, when you solve the problem that’s been driving them nuts – you’ve just landed a new customer. Trust me this works. It’s become my favorite way to sell new commercial accounts.

Would you like to learn how to provide a bulletproof spill stain remedy? Simply follow the steps below. Clean half of the spot for your new prospect following these steps carefully. You’ll land just about every job you go after with this little trick.

Spill Stain Remedy - How To Eliminate a Recurring Spill Stain:
1. First: Scrub the spot for at least 60 seconds with MINIMAL moisture (scrub for 2-3 minutes if the spot is a tough one). I will normally scrub a damp circle around the spot with the Cimex first, leaving the spill stain spot bone dry. Then I’ll run the machine over a section of dry carpet for a couple of seconds to dry out the pads. Then without squeezing the solution valve, I’ll criss-cross back over the spot for a minute or more as outlined above. The only moisture that's being applied to the spill stain is what I'm picking up from the perimeter of the spill stain. So I'm scrubbing the spot with a minimal amount of moisture.

2. Next: Spray a few good mists of concentrated Releasit Encap-Clean DS2 onto the area using a trigger sprayer. The concentrate is mixed 1:3 if you’re using Encap-Clean DS2.

3. Final Step: Work the concentrated Releasit down into the fiber by running the machine back across the spot one last time, adding no additional solution.
 
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Johnny

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Don't use the 10 inch crb. Not only will it take much too long but you'll look like an unprepared idiot.Too small for large commercial work.

Vacuum well and use the 17 inch OP with Releasit.

I always look like some kind of idiot. Not worth the effort to try to fix that.

Probably half of the carpet is occupied by display cases and heavy furniture that I don't move. And there are some tight spaces where the little 10" would work well.
 

Desk Jockey

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I always look like some kind of idiot. Not worth the effort to try to fix that.

Probably half of the carpet is occupied by display cases and heavy furniture that I don't move. And there are some tight spaces where the little 10" would work well.
You're NOT an idiot. Idiots bull their way through and Don't ask advise.
 

WillS

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More encap than compound. I'd only put down compound in really high traffic areas heavy and agitate slowly. The slower the agitation in those areas the better results. If it is commercial I'd also add a little citrus solv in with the encap pre-spray. 5,000 sq ft with 2 guys would take us around 2 to 3 hours.

For heavy soiled areas
Step 1: pre spray encap w citrus solv also I would spray something like PC 45 over those areas with heavy soiling to.
Step 2: agitate
Step 3; apply compound
Step 4: re agitate
Step 5: vacuum

Areas not that soiled encap and apply compound at the same time. Saves a lot of time.
 

Jimmy L

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Encap with citrus solve...............mmmmm..........

RESIDUE

TURNS THE POLYMER INTO RUBBER
 

WillS

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Encap with citrus solve...............mmmmm..........

RESIDUE

TURNS THE POLYMER INTO RUBBER

the HOST absorbs that residue. The polymer crystallizes and dries. That's why we use a higher PH level spot cleaner.
 

randy

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Encap it with your op. Use a product with proxide and mix it at double the regular dilution rate. Before you start, hold hands with your helper and the customer and take turns praying over the carpet like you are at a woman's Bible study.
 

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