Proper method for cleaning steps..

[Dolly Llama]

looking at Ron's vid got me thinking ...

we might need a manual on how to apply pre-spray too...

if ya'll aren't too mesmerized with watching dUrt go into a vac, just rip thru to the 1:30 mark

Ron, do you have Parkinson's as well as OCD??


..L.T.A.

 

[FredC]

looking at Ron's vid got me thinking ...

we might need a manual on how to apply pre-spray too...

if ya'll aren't too mesmerized with watching dUrt go into a vac, just rip thru to the 1:30 mark

Ron, do you have Parkinson's as well as OCD??


..L.T.A.

no shit....talk about chaotic....


stairs are one of the few things I do exactly like Ron though...with the exception of even application of PS and I vac off excess moisture from the entire stair with the cuff not just the nose.............and probably the only place I feel his OCD is justified.............and the sebo rocks for stairs.........

 

[sam miller]

well Yous guys are the shiz

We pre vac! not like Ron holding a baby rocking it gently to sleep! with a attachment on my Shark works great!

prespray always then use a 2 jet AW29 stair tool its about a 10 inch head on it clean the top like I do all carpet back and forth spray the nose and face of the step then pipe nose and face usually tops of three steps then the face.

I never like to walk on a clean carpet when I'm done.

You up and down guys have to charge alot more for your 2 trips to everyhouse and your exhaustive measures!

I bet Your all still broke! hey Marty, blow me

 

[FredC]

well ....stairs suck or at least that what I've been tol....never really hated them myself.....but given that most charge room prices or more for stairs.......i'd say all that can be done and you'd still be spending less time than the average room.


so its really a wash when compared to hacking them out.....and more profitable overall


that said....I am "broke".........just not sure its cause I took too much time on stairs

 

[sam miller]

LOL too funny Fred!

 

[KevinL]

You guys that clean the risers first and then the treads are way wrong. You probably drag your hoses through the mud on the way in too. You always clean anything from the top down. Start at the top and do all the treads down. Then all the risers up. Much faster than turning the stair tool over on each step. Now if your using an UPHOLSTERY tool on stairs you don't even have the right tool to begin with.

 

[sam miller]

A prochem tool is great for filtration lines and around toilets hard to reach spots and will work on steps its just to time consuming!

That is unless You average 1 job a day like some ocd video speacialist then take all day! its Your only stop!

I still believe with all that steam and those glasses He just cant tell if its clean or not its all fogged up! :shock:

 

[Chris A]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRxJ4sNoZJQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

ALL that work, and the bullnose still looks dark, like they always do when their more than a few years old...

 

[Royal Man]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRxJ4sNoZJQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

ALL that work, and the bullnose still looks dark, like they always do when their more than a few years old...

If you use a 12" Oreck scrubber with a brush after the prespray. It will pivot and do wonders on the bullnose and the flat.

They also rock for encapping steps with a pad.

 

[Todd Anthony]

I am writing a procedure book for anyone that comes to works with me and just want to have the best procedure in place to remove any potential issues. And because there is always something to learn, i put it to you to educate us on your procedure for cleaning stairs .

If you truly want the best...treat stairs like an upholstery job...the prochem upholstery tool rocks for detailing. Personally, use the green horn for the tread, then come back and detail the riser, edges, and nose with the upholstery tool.
namaste

That is the exact same way I do them! I use the Prochem upholstery tool in both directions, back to front and then side to side. That way no streaks. The upholstery tools can streak on heavy soiled stairs because of the small spray pattern. I did try the SS upholstery pro a few time but the tac strips chewed up the glide. If they are really trashed I will pre scrub them with CRB.

 

[Ron Lippold]

14 inch ti wand with 24 flow is the only way to get them clean..... shiteatinggrin shiteatinggrin shiteatinggrin

 

[ruff]

Unless of course you dab into 36 flow!

No wait......
How about 48?

Don't know about the rest of the country (except Texas) but here in California, unless scuffed, the riser does not get much dirt. Kind of funny, but gravitation seem not to allow the sand and dust to jump vertically and embed themselves deep into the riser's pile. But who knows, that may be a California thingie.

So super heavy flushing of the riser seem kind of......... well ...........silly.

The short PMF 6" stair tool seem to be the best. Yes, you'll be on your knees, however it is a much less awkward position than some of you do with the wand. It is flexible and allows you to reach everywhere. Particularly working horizontally and deep into the nose, which is the trouble area of all stairs. Just like PMF's jet in the vacuum line upholstery tool, it is simple, not very expensive and achieves superior cleaning results.

Unfortunately, it's not as sexy.

Just send the extra money you saved to Harper. He'll advise you what to do with it next :shock:

Harper, the ball is in your court.

 

[Desk Jockey]

geewiz...sump'um must be wrong with me..

we clean 'em one at a time ....cause it don't make sense to me climbing up and down steps TWICE.
...Once to do a riser and once to do the tread

I'll just the clean the wholedamnthing while I'm there and be done wid'it

That's how I always did it, that's how our guys are trained, but it wouldn't bother me if they wated to do treads and risers separate. The main thing for them is get the bull nose clean and dry.

 

[dgargan]

Wow $85 for 13 steps! Anyone else getting $6.50 a step like Mikey? I may need to relook at my stair pricing.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Nope, $3.50 for standard sized steps. It would have to be an extra wide step to charge Mike's rates.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

I use a sebo and also hand scrub stairs... and still not a fan of doing them.. Maybe i should charge more than a dollar a step and it will make it better..

I guess there is not official way of doing it.. just as long as its clean and DRY..

 

[Zee]

An average size staircase (14-16 steps) we ask for $45-55

The procedure is, dry vacuum all of it (especially the matted down nose area and corners)
Prespray (an extra lil line of prespray on the nose)
Scrub it by hand brush (a pretty agressive plastic brush)
Extract the step (top) and dry stroke backwards on each step.
Do 3 or 4 steps and go back and do the riser (face)
Special attention to the nose and finally run the cuff on the nose part a couple times.
Move on to the next 3-4 steps.
Finally if needed drop a blower on the bottom aimed upwards.

We use the 2" extended stairtool greenie was selling. It has a smallish head with two jets but works great and use it around toilets or small closets and very tight places where my giant extended greenhorn won't fit.

 

[glenboy]

I bought a prochem 24 inch stairtool back in the spring to do a boat load of boat cleaning, and never thought i would stop using my PMF detail tool for stairs.now i only use the PC stair tool and it leaves the stairs almost dry

 

[KevinL]

You guys that claim to have carpet dry in minutes crack me up. What kind of pressure are you using? 100 psi. I've got plenty of suck and I do a couple of slow dry strokes and the carpet still takes hours to completely dry.

 

[sam miller]

I tilt a airmover for about 20 min facing up the stairs lots of dry strokes! helps dry it faster!

 

[Ron Werner]

Yes, I do clean stairs like that. Cleaned a LOT of berber stairs that way this summer.
That was a "well used" rental so the nose is well worn and still looked dark. Sorry I wasn't "smooth" enough for you lads on the prespray but I was hitting a few spots on the way down the stairs.

Clean the risers first, then the treads down. If your hose has soiling you won't leave any. If you overspray the treads you'll catch it on the way down. Final vac off the nose and its good to go. I've had stairs feeling almost dry within 20 min using 400-500psi.

$5.50/stair

 

[GreenTechAgain]

This is a great tool for stairs:

cyclo orbital polisher:
http://www.cyclotoolmakers.com/polishers.php

You can get brushes for both carpet and upholstery.

 

[NobleCarpetCleaners]

The pattern of cleaning you use is 2nd in importance IMHO to effective/ergonomic tools. Good vacuum cleaner that get it done fast. I use my own customized shortened 2 jet wand with glide and a swivel PMF. My 2 jet is a money making beast. Edge detailing with terry towel and encap juice. Single set no landing $40+depending on edge soil, 1 landing $45+, 2 landings $50+, split 2 directions $55+. I agree people remember the lower number and I typically tell them the higher ball park figure.

 

[curt johnson]

You guys do (or at least) claim to do way to much work.....

Waldo is only one who actually knows my top secret-top notch method of cleaning steps....just one more reason I continually surface on his top 25 list.....

 

[ascrubabove]

We clean all carpet upstairs first, pre-spray stairs down, 22'' prochem stair tool clean riser and nose up, turn tool over one time and clean steps down, clean remaining carpet down stairs working way out of house!