John Watson
Member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
- Messages
- 2,885
April 8, 2008 CCINW meeting Seattle
How to get faster dry times
Is it possible to achieve 5 minute dry times on residential and or commercial carpet? What do you think? You know with some of the low moisture systems out there today is it possible?
Now, let me rephrase it as it pertains to my talk. Is it possible to achieve 5 minute dry times on residential and or commercial carpet and have clean carpets? No, I personally do not think so, some may disagree, but, again I am not a physics major, more of a psycho I mean Cycle major. .
Is it possible to achieve these 1 to 2 hour dry times with a stock, non tweaked, out the door truck mount? Again I say no, but, I believe some manufacturers and franchisers will disagree. Are the new models coming?
Then what about all the one-two or even the three-four hour dry times we keep hearing about! Are they totally BS? No!
I believe some cleaners in our industry are obtaining these times, but, it also depends on their method or methods, their techniques and the types of tools being used.
From our CCT class, we all know about the 5 methods accepted by the IICRC:
Shampoo, Dry Foam, Absorbent Powder, Bonnet, and Hot Water Extraction.
Using these and/or a combination of them, we can help reduce our dry times.
My talk is about using HWE and using truck mounted units.
Ok, then what does it take. First what is dry?
I asked this question on a bulletin board and to a few others besides here are some of the answers I got:
Defining the industry is impossible, too many people out there. Dry, is dry. Free of moisture. Dry in relation to carpet cleaning, is dry enough that your socks don't get wet. Kevin B
Dry to me is, as dry as it was before we cleaned it. which is NOT the same as "dry to touch" that most use when they claim, "dry in X amount of time" and "dry to touch" is also so darn subjective depending on who's making the claim. Larry C
Truly dry is when the surface is the same as a non-cleaned area. a subjective way to say it is dry when you can wear cotton socks, walk on the carpet, and the socks don't absorb any moisture. Eric V
Dry to me means not wet at all, or the same as an untouched area. When I clean, my carpets feels like a rung out towel where every last drop has been squeezed out or cool to the touch. Within 20-30 min or less after extraction I get no transfer to my pants when kneeling. I would say my carpets are usually completely dry in 6 hours after I leave, Olefin about 2-3 hours with no blowers. Most customers are pretty pleased when they feel how dry I leave their floors. Tim P
It's when it doesn't feel wet. Marty S
Dry: practical definition- is when they can put furniture on the carpet and it won't rust or leave a wood stain. It can be humid enough that the ambient air moisture can cause the staining so then the carpet wouldn't be dry. Ron W
Better yet, clean your own carpets. Walk barefooted when it feels dry. If it feels cool come back in an hour and repeat.
Then again a moisture meter would be the best test but I'm not sure most of us want to know the truth. Albert L
A heavy knee impression on a blue paper towel will give an excellent determination of "dry" after wet cleaning. Not applicable at all on WD, though. Shawn F
Dry is; humidity in the carpet, at equilibrium with the surrounding interior environment.
We also define dry when cleaning as not enough moisture to track-off or cause a slip hazard walking from carpet to a hard surface floor. This is what our customers seem to be most interested in as well. Matt O
Dry is no noticeable transfer of moisture to another surface through direct contact with the cleaned surface. Bryan O
My personal definition: No moisture, it doesn’t feel wet when I run my hands across the face, no water droplets stick to the back of my hand, no moisture transfer when wearing socks, when I kneel, my pants stay dry.
As you can hear there really seems to be a lot of different opinions on the definition of Dry. Whose wrong, whose right, not my job man!!!
Now, I want to throw another Monkey wrench into the barrel, what is clean? I had a few pages of responses to these 2 questions. I am just going to share two with you on what is clean.
I am told this one is from the EPA. Clean is removal of as much soil as is possible while making the cleaned surface more sanitary. Bryan O
This is what they are working on for the revised S100 I am told:
Cleaning is the traditional process of removing pollutants contaminants and unwanted substances. Cleaning is the process of locating, identifying, containing, removing and properly disposing of unwanted matter. Cleaning is the process used to achieve the clean condition. Cleaning can be best viewed as a fundamental environmental management process of putting unwanted matter in its proper place. Bill Y
I know some here can talk on these two definitions for hours! Separately!
Ok, to start your transformation the first thing I am going to suggest is that you look at what you are using for your cleaning solutions. In the past few years they have developed some better juices that do a great job and take most of the scrubbing or work out of it.
I am a firm believer in letting my cleaning agents work for me. I apply them to the trafficked soiled and open areas only. The other untreated areas will get rinsed during the rinsing phase with my rinsing wand.
On heavily soiled traffic areas it is recommended to power brush or agitate in to redistribute your traffic lane cleaning agents.
Using rinse solutions that use drying agents to quicken drying times
Use a solvent or water based protector that also has drying agents.
That’s enough now on cleaning agents and protectors which could be another meeting in its self.
There is also the combination of tweaking and or pimping you can do to your suction, your pressure and flow, your heat, your wand and/or cleaning tool of choice, and your finishing techniques to help you achieve these “Sound to good to be true” dry times on your freshly cleaned carpet.
The Machine: Let’s start at the heart, the blower. Do we have to put in a #6 like a vortex has? No, but, with the proper tweaking you can have your #4 super sucking and pretend to be a low noise vortex. I have been told the secret is all in the balance and balancing out of your system.
Ok you say how do I do that? If your #4 blower is piped at 2 ½ or better out to the exhaust and into the waste tank, you are in great shape. If not this is a starting place. Ok, remember, larger is always better. If you’re relief valve is properly adjusted or you have a precision relief valve like a kunkle installed you are truly starting to suck.
Now let’s balance the rest of the system. Having the smooth flow ells instead of the sharp 90 degree bends will help in making a flow difference.
What I now am going to describe is an economical way. Remember this is not the only way. Run a 10-12 foot 2 ½ hose from the waste tank to your view filter which has a 2 ½ inch barb added to it on one end. The other side needs to be fitted so you have No less than a 2 inch ID from here to your wand. Keep your filter system as close to your machine as possible. Another tip, use a knee high nylon it sure makes clean out easy. Also it is important to use the new type cuff connectors that keep the internal hose ID at 2 inches.
A note about vacuum hoses they are not all the same. The all plastic are less costly but are really stiff. The more flexible ones contain more rubber in their manufacturing hence their higher cost. This is another one of those “you get what you pay for moments”. The shorter the run the better you suck. Most of our runs (about 90% of them) are 100 feet.
Speaking of suck, Ernie & I, in Feb, saw a new pimped truck mount with a #4 blower using 400, yes I said 400 feet of vacuum hose and this machine was sucking at a -17HG.
Ok, we are at the wand, for best results, 2 inch is best. If you only have a 1 ¾ or a 1 ½ wand, all is not lost, you can still use it, but at a cost of air flow. Get the proper sized cuff reducer from 2 inch hose to your wand size. You don’t want to use any length of 1 ½ whip hose.
Some are running what is called 4 to the door, (that’s 2, 2inch from the truck which Y to either a 2 ½ then to a 2 inch or directly to a 2 inch which goes to the wand.)Some are just going to the Van’s door.
Some are playing with 2 ½ for the first 50-100 then 2 inch after. Some are adding vac-boosters in line. Our own Ernie G and Pat K have been playing with these different types of set ups. Others, like me are just are just running 2 inch hose from the tank, all the way to the wand.
Pressure pumps, Most are designed to use 3-5 gallons per minute using 3/8 hoses. One thing you need to know and remember that pump stats refer to pressure washing standards not carpet cleaning. The most we use is about ½ or less than what it’s rated for and we mainly use ¼ inch hoses. First, before you do any thing. Measure your flow before you make adjustments. How many gallons you pass through your wand for one minute of valve on? Most get about a gallon or so. I got just over 1 gallon with my quad jet wand and 1.5’s. Most believe the more jets the more flow. Sorry, most are set up with a jet size total of 4 to 6 such as 4 1.5’s equal 6 in a quad jet wand. I now have 4 #2 jets and get just less than 1.5 gallons of flow, My ATM temp has lowered slightly, but my wand feels hotter now than it did before. By using more flow, with larger jets and drip stopper extenders you move the jet closer to the carpet and you are able to transfer more thermal energy which will allow you to clean and rinse better
You are actually getting the carpet hotter. By changing the angle of the jets you are directing it to the vacuum inlet very similar to a shearing action. You are in essence giving it a bath compared to just a shower. Not just spraying straight down to the backing that, yes, would give you greater impact on the fibers, but it also would increases your risk of over wetting. Angled they are working in conjunction with the vacuum at a 45 degree angle which actually gives you the quicker dry times at a higher PSI.
Heat, If you have 240 plus more good for you. for the most part, 190-210 is all that I believe is really needed in most residential cleaning situations. In some rental and commercial properties like restaurants more heat is needed and works better. You can add the Salsa pack, Pre and post heaters. Just remember heat comes at a big price. Seals, O rings and hoses, your Quick connect fittings. Black Death? you ever have it? I have, all over a clients white sofa and light colored carpets.
Wands, Now, we are at the area where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. There are many styles out there. There haven’t really been any significant changes till the past few years. Now we have the Harmonic, the Bentley, the Evolution, the Green Horn and others that are getting tweaked and pimped to get faster dry times.
Glides, or is it where the Teflon meets the carpet?? Glides, slides or lips, if you aren’t using any of these at this time you don’t know what you are missing. But, you say, they have only been out a few years. No, Service Master actually had something like them 30 years ago and didn’t follow through with it.
A brief history,
About 5 years ago at connections, Ken Harris was running around showing everybody he could this piece of Teflon from his pocket that fit over the wand lips. He actually got a vender with a paid booth to put it on their wand to let the attendees try it out. I did. Yes, it was nice and smooth and so much easier to move the wand. The next year he was there again showing everybody these glides for RX20’s and wands again that he carried in his pockets. He was removed from the show because he still had no booth. Others have since developed and fine tuned these glides and made them available to us.
There is 3 styles, Holes, which are the best for recovery and dry times but don’t pickup debris or hair, Slots, which pick up hair and debris, but at a loss of moisture recovery which relates to slower dry times or the Hybrid, which is a ½ assed happy medium for hair, debris, and moisture pick up, that is better than the slot, but not as good as the holed version.
Glides are also available for RX20’s, RotoVacs, RV 360’s, Power glide, Stair tools, and Upholstery tools.
Slides, they are for PC Quad jet wands only. They require what is called a link, and they have different types of slides for your different cleaning and agitation situations.
Lips are a great way to start with out a lot of money, to see if you like it or not. $30.00 a pair, some wands fit 1, some fit 2. I started out using a pair on my Wanda and on Helen’s stair tool.
You’re finishing techniques: Setting the nap with the correct rake, using airflow from Ceiling fans, opening windows for a cross flow ventilation system, air movers, Turbo driers, axial fans or just moving the Studebaker airpath, which has a special patented piece and was made specifically for faster dry times, from room to room as you finish will decrease your drying time immensely.
Here is a few of the things I have done, First, about 3 ½ years ago, I started using Teflon Lips on my Pro Chem Quad wand instead of packing in my RX20 or RotoVac, They were getting heavy to carry in all the time, Helen was starting to complain and besides I had switched over to some cleaning solutions that didn’t seem to need all the extra agitation. The lips were then about $49 a pair. Wow could I ever waltz with my Miss Wanda again, Just like when I started in this business almost 30 years ago with an 1 ½ Steamway wand doing 2000 sq ft an hour. Ed York then taught me it is better to clean carpet than sq ft. I then added these drip stoppers which moved the spray closer to the fiber, I hated those flippen drips. New SS jets and a feather touch valve. My wand now sounded so cool, like a steam engine or something like that.
Next thing I did was get rid if my 25 foot 1 ½ whip and went 2 inches all the way, I felt like I had lots more suck while cleaning. The exception was my in line filter which reduced it back down to 1 ½ again. Opps, we always clean with the in line filter, well, Ok, 98% of the times anyways. When switching the hose I just added another piece of real flexible 2 inch I had in the shop. I found out this piece although flexible weighed a ton. After a quick phone call, I found a lighter weight and flexible hose that made all the difference in the world. Helen liked it!
A year ago, March, I got a holed glide at Mikeyfest, once installed I realized something on my first job. Even though my lips were great, they were only doing me lip service, this glide was so smooth, and made waltzing with the glided wand a blast.
I had some heavily soiled traffic areas that needed more agitation than a wand or grandi groomer could do. I could have used my 17” 175 swing machine, or my cimex, but, in May, I bought a 12 “ machine with an adjusta glide brush which stores in a smaller foot print in my already stuffed van. Man o man, that little machine really works wonders. Remember, I just use it on the TA’s.
This past November, I got a new wand, a Greenhorn 12 inch, it’s a 2 incher, Just like the ol Bates wands we used to love. It has a feather touch valve, 4-#2 SS and drip protected jets and a holed glide. It is pure heaven to dance with my new Miss Wanda. I turned my PSI up to 500 from 400. I put the stair glide on Helen’s stair tool, An Boy o boy, did she get mad, “and why the heck didn’t you install it when you bought it last March?”
What a difference it made. I also have a glide for my Pro Chem uph tool, but, still haven’t tried it out yet.
I am in the process of modifying my view filter by replacing the end nipples with a 2 ½ inch hose barb that will connect to my waste tank with a 10’ 2.5 hose. The other end will be so I can hook up to my 2 inch hose so I don’t restrict the suction like the stock nipples do. By doing this configuration I also won’t be able to cheat now and then by hooking up with out a filter.
What have you done to improve your dry times? What do you plan to do?
The other evening this was asked on MikeysBoard – What is volumetric efficiency? I answered “pertaining to our industry, using your air flow and water flow to their maximum capabilities without going over the point of diminutive returns to achieve better than average results.”
Please think about this.
I know it is late; we have covered a lot in the last few minutes. Just by making one change in all that was mentioned will start to make a difference in your drying time. Changing a few will decrease it even more, change all and use what was said and you will really suck, have a better flushing flow at a higher psi and more temperature at the carpet face, not be as tired at the end of the day and be leaving a dryer, cleaner carpet than you were doing before.
I thank you for your coming, any questions I will gladly answer if I can
Any one wanting to contact the specialty suppliers give me a business card with copy of suppliers on the back of it and I will email them back to you..
How to get faster dry times
Is it possible to achieve 5 minute dry times on residential and or commercial carpet? What do you think? You know with some of the low moisture systems out there today is it possible?
Now, let me rephrase it as it pertains to my talk. Is it possible to achieve 5 minute dry times on residential and or commercial carpet and have clean carpets? No, I personally do not think so, some may disagree, but, again I am not a physics major, more of a psycho I mean Cycle major. .
Is it possible to achieve these 1 to 2 hour dry times with a stock, non tweaked, out the door truck mount? Again I say no, but, I believe some manufacturers and franchisers will disagree. Are the new models coming?
Then what about all the one-two or even the three-four hour dry times we keep hearing about! Are they totally BS? No!
I believe some cleaners in our industry are obtaining these times, but, it also depends on their method or methods, their techniques and the types of tools being used.
From our CCT class, we all know about the 5 methods accepted by the IICRC:
Shampoo, Dry Foam, Absorbent Powder, Bonnet, and Hot Water Extraction.
Using these and/or a combination of them, we can help reduce our dry times.
My talk is about using HWE and using truck mounted units.
Ok, then what does it take. First what is dry?
I asked this question on a bulletin board and to a few others besides here are some of the answers I got:
Defining the industry is impossible, too many people out there. Dry, is dry. Free of moisture. Dry in relation to carpet cleaning, is dry enough that your socks don't get wet. Kevin B
Dry to me is, as dry as it was before we cleaned it. which is NOT the same as "dry to touch" that most use when they claim, "dry in X amount of time" and "dry to touch" is also so darn subjective depending on who's making the claim. Larry C
Truly dry is when the surface is the same as a non-cleaned area. a subjective way to say it is dry when you can wear cotton socks, walk on the carpet, and the socks don't absorb any moisture. Eric V
Dry to me means not wet at all, or the same as an untouched area. When I clean, my carpets feels like a rung out towel where every last drop has been squeezed out or cool to the touch. Within 20-30 min or less after extraction I get no transfer to my pants when kneeling. I would say my carpets are usually completely dry in 6 hours after I leave, Olefin about 2-3 hours with no blowers. Most customers are pretty pleased when they feel how dry I leave their floors. Tim P
It's when it doesn't feel wet. Marty S
Dry: practical definition- is when they can put furniture on the carpet and it won't rust or leave a wood stain. It can be humid enough that the ambient air moisture can cause the staining so then the carpet wouldn't be dry. Ron W
Better yet, clean your own carpets. Walk barefooted when it feels dry. If it feels cool come back in an hour and repeat.
Then again a moisture meter would be the best test but I'm not sure most of us want to know the truth. Albert L
A heavy knee impression on a blue paper towel will give an excellent determination of "dry" after wet cleaning. Not applicable at all on WD, though. Shawn F
Dry is; humidity in the carpet, at equilibrium with the surrounding interior environment.
We also define dry when cleaning as not enough moisture to track-off or cause a slip hazard walking from carpet to a hard surface floor. This is what our customers seem to be most interested in as well. Matt O
Dry is no noticeable transfer of moisture to another surface through direct contact with the cleaned surface. Bryan O
My personal definition: No moisture, it doesn’t feel wet when I run my hands across the face, no water droplets stick to the back of my hand, no moisture transfer when wearing socks, when I kneel, my pants stay dry.
As you can hear there really seems to be a lot of different opinions on the definition of Dry. Whose wrong, whose right, not my job man!!!
Now, I want to throw another Monkey wrench into the barrel, what is clean? I had a few pages of responses to these 2 questions. I am just going to share two with you on what is clean.
I am told this one is from the EPA. Clean is removal of as much soil as is possible while making the cleaned surface more sanitary. Bryan O
This is what they are working on for the revised S100 I am told:
Cleaning is the traditional process of removing pollutants contaminants and unwanted substances. Cleaning is the process of locating, identifying, containing, removing and properly disposing of unwanted matter. Cleaning is the process used to achieve the clean condition. Cleaning can be best viewed as a fundamental environmental management process of putting unwanted matter in its proper place. Bill Y
I know some here can talk on these two definitions for hours! Separately!
Ok, to start your transformation the first thing I am going to suggest is that you look at what you are using for your cleaning solutions. In the past few years they have developed some better juices that do a great job and take most of the scrubbing or work out of it.
I am a firm believer in letting my cleaning agents work for me. I apply them to the trafficked soiled and open areas only. The other untreated areas will get rinsed during the rinsing phase with my rinsing wand.
On heavily soiled traffic areas it is recommended to power brush or agitate in to redistribute your traffic lane cleaning agents.
Using rinse solutions that use drying agents to quicken drying times
Use a solvent or water based protector that also has drying agents.
That’s enough now on cleaning agents and protectors which could be another meeting in its self.
There is also the combination of tweaking and or pimping you can do to your suction, your pressure and flow, your heat, your wand and/or cleaning tool of choice, and your finishing techniques to help you achieve these “Sound to good to be true” dry times on your freshly cleaned carpet.
The Machine: Let’s start at the heart, the blower. Do we have to put in a #6 like a vortex has? No, but, with the proper tweaking you can have your #4 super sucking and pretend to be a low noise vortex. I have been told the secret is all in the balance and balancing out of your system.
Ok you say how do I do that? If your #4 blower is piped at 2 ½ or better out to the exhaust and into the waste tank, you are in great shape. If not this is a starting place. Ok, remember, larger is always better. If you’re relief valve is properly adjusted or you have a precision relief valve like a kunkle installed you are truly starting to suck.
Now let’s balance the rest of the system. Having the smooth flow ells instead of the sharp 90 degree bends will help in making a flow difference.
What I now am going to describe is an economical way. Remember this is not the only way. Run a 10-12 foot 2 ½ hose from the waste tank to your view filter which has a 2 ½ inch barb added to it on one end. The other side needs to be fitted so you have No less than a 2 inch ID from here to your wand. Keep your filter system as close to your machine as possible. Another tip, use a knee high nylon it sure makes clean out easy. Also it is important to use the new type cuff connectors that keep the internal hose ID at 2 inches.
A note about vacuum hoses they are not all the same. The all plastic are less costly but are really stiff. The more flexible ones contain more rubber in their manufacturing hence their higher cost. This is another one of those “you get what you pay for moments”. The shorter the run the better you suck. Most of our runs (about 90% of them) are 100 feet.
Speaking of suck, Ernie & I, in Feb, saw a new pimped truck mount with a #4 blower using 400, yes I said 400 feet of vacuum hose and this machine was sucking at a -17HG.
Ok, we are at the wand, for best results, 2 inch is best. If you only have a 1 ¾ or a 1 ½ wand, all is not lost, you can still use it, but at a cost of air flow. Get the proper sized cuff reducer from 2 inch hose to your wand size. You don’t want to use any length of 1 ½ whip hose.
Some are running what is called 4 to the door, (that’s 2, 2inch from the truck which Y to either a 2 ½ then to a 2 inch or directly to a 2 inch which goes to the wand.)Some are just going to the Van’s door.
Some are playing with 2 ½ for the first 50-100 then 2 inch after. Some are adding vac-boosters in line. Our own Ernie G and Pat K have been playing with these different types of set ups. Others, like me are just are just running 2 inch hose from the tank, all the way to the wand.
Pressure pumps, Most are designed to use 3-5 gallons per minute using 3/8 hoses. One thing you need to know and remember that pump stats refer to pressure washing standards not carpet cleaning. The most we use is about ½ or less than what it’s rated for and we mainly use ¼ inch hoses. First, before you do any thing. Measure your flow before you make adjustments. How many gallons you pass through your wand for one minute of valve on? Most get about a gallon or so. I got just over 1 gallon with my quad jet wand and 1.5’s. Most believe the more jets the more flow. Sorry, most are set up with a jet size total of 4 to 6 such as 4 1.5’s equal 6 in a quad jet wand. I now have 4 #2 jets and get just less than 1.5 gallons of flow, My ATM temp has lowered slightly, but my wand feels hotter now than it did before. By using more flow, with larger jets and drip stopper extenders you move the jet closer to the carpet and you are able to transfer more thermal energy which will allow you to clean and rinse better
You are actually getting the carpet hotter. By changing the angle of the jets you are directing it to the vacuum inlet very similar to a shearing action. You are in essence giving it a bath compared to just a shower. Not just spraying straight down to the backing that, yes, would give you greater impact on the fibers, but it also would increases your risk of over wetting. Angled they are working in conjunction with the vacuum at a 45 degree angle which actually gives you the quicker dry times at a higher PSI.
Heat, If you have 240 plus more good for you. for the most part, 190-210 is all that I believe is really needed in most residential cleaning situations. In some rental and commercial properties like restaurants more heat is needed and works better. You can add the Salsa pack, Pre and post heaters. Just remember heat comes at a big price. Seals, O rings and hoses, your Quick connect fittings. Black Death? you ever have it? I have, all over a clients white sofa and light colored carpets.
Wands, Now, we are at the area where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. There are many styles out there. There haven’t really been any significant changes till the past few years. Now we have the Harmonic, the Bentley, the Evolution, the Green Horn and others that are getting tweaked and pimped to get faster dry times.
Glides, or is it where the Teflon meets the carpet?? Glides, slides or lips, if you aren’t using any of these at this time you don’t know what you are missing. But, you say, they have only been out a few years. No, Service Master actually had something like them 30 years ago and didn’t follow through with it.
A brief history,
About 5 years ago at connections, Ken Harris was running around showing everybody he could this piece of Teflon from his pocket that fit over the wand lips. He actually got a vender with a paid booth to put it on their wand to let the attendees try it out. I did. Yes, it was nice and smooth and so much easier to move the wand. The next year he was there again showing everybody these glides for RX20’s and wands again that he carried in his pockets. He was removed from the show because he still had no booth. Others have since developed and fine tuned these glides and made them available to us.
There is 3 styles, Holes, which are the best for recovery and dry times but don’t pickup debris or hair, Slots, which pick up hair and debris, but at a loss of moisture recovery which relates to slower dry times or the Hybrid, which is a ½ assed happy medium for hair, debris, and moisture pick up, that is better than the slot, but not as good as the holed version.
Glides are also available for RX20’s, RotoVacs, RV 360’s, Power glide, Stair tools, and Upholstery tools.
Slides, they are for PC Quad jet wands only. They require what is called a link, and they have different types of slides for your different cleaning and agitation situations.
Lips are a great way to start with out a lot of money, to see if you like it or not. $30.00 a pair, some wands fit 1, some fit 2. I started out using a pair on my Wanda and on Helen’s stair tool.
You’re finishing techniques: Setting the nap with the correct rake, using airflow from Ceiling fans, opening windows for a cross flow ventilation system, air movers, Turbo driers, axial fans or just moving the Studebaker airpath, which has a special patented piece and was made specifically for faster dry times, from room to room as you finish will decrease your drying time immensely.
Here is a few of the things I have done, First, about 3 ½ years ago, I started using Teflon Lips on my Pro Chem Quad wand instead of packing in my RX20 or RotoVac, They were getting heavy to carry in all the time, Helen was starting to complain and besides I had switched over to some cleaning solutions that didn’t seem to need all the extra agitation. The lips were then about $49 a pair. Wow could I ever waltz with my Miss Wanda again, Just like when I started in this business almost 30 years ago with an 1 ½ Steamway wand doing 2000 sq ft an hour. Ed York then taught me it is better to clean carpet than sq ft. I then added these drip stoppers which moved the spray closer to the fiber, I hated those flippen drips. New SS jets and a feather touch valve. My wand now sounded so cool, like a steam engine or something like that.
Next thing I did was get rid if my 25 foot 1 ½ whip and went 2 inches all the way, I felt like I had lots more suck while cleaning. The exception was my in line filter which reduced it back down to 1 ½ again. Opps, we always clean with the in line filter, well, Ok, 98% of the times anyways. When switching the hose I just added another piece of real flexible 2 inch I had in the shop. I found out this piece although flexible weighed a ton. After a quick phone call, I found a lighter weight and flexible hose that made all the difference in the world. Helen liked it!
A year ago, March, I got a holed glide at Mikeyfest, once installed I realized something on my first job. Even though my lips were great, they were only doing me lip service, this glide was so smooth, and made waltzing with the glided wand a blast.
I had some heavily soiled traffic areas that needed more agitation than a wand or grandi groomer could do. I could have used my 17” 175 swing machine, or my cimex, but, in May, I bought a 12 “ machine with an adjusta glide brush which stores in a smaller foot print in my already stuffed van. Man o man, that little machine really works wonders. Remember, I just use it on the TA’s.
This past November, I got a new wand, a Greenhorn 12 inch, it’s a 2 incher, Just like the ol Bates wands we used to love. It has a feather touch valve, 4-#2 SS and drip protected jets and a holed glide. It is pure heaven to dance with my new Miss Wanda. I turned my PSI up to 500 from 400. I put the stair glide on Helen’s stair tool, An Boy o boy, did she get mad, “and why the heck didn’t you install it when you bought it last March?”
What a difference it made. I also have a glide for my Pro Chem uph tool, but, still haven’t tried it out yet.
I am in the process of modifying my view filter by replacing the end nipples with a 2 ½ inch hose barb that will connect to my waste tank with a 10’ 2.5 hose. The other end will be so I can hook up to my 2 inch hose so I don’t restrict the suction like the stock nipples do. By doing this configuration I also won’t be able to cheat now and then by hooking up with out a filter.
What have you done to improve your dry times? What do you plan to do?
The other evening this was asked on MikeysBoard – What is volumetric efficiency? I answered “pertaining to our industry, using your air flow and water flow to their maximum capabilities without going over the point of diminutive returns to achieve better than average results.”
Please think about this.
I know it is late; we have covered a lot in the last few minutes. Just by making one change in all that was mentioned will start to make a difference in your drying time. Changing a few will decrease it even more, change all and use what was said and you will really suck, have a better flushing flow at a higher psi and more temperature at the carpet face, not be as tired at the end of the day and be leaving a dryer, cleaner carpet than you were doing before.
I thank you for your coming, any questions I will gladly answer if I can
Any one wanting to contact the specialty suppliers give me a business card with copy of suppliers on the back of it and I will email them back to you..
