Question on CGD and the best hot water extraction tool

Rookie

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
8
Location
Salem, OR
Name
Mike Ritchey
Hey Encapman (Rick) I bought my Cimex from you so take it easy on me. I said I use a RX20 99% on HWE. I do use my Cimex on commercial jobs alot. it is a major part of my service plan. It has been awesome and I use your Release It product, so again take it easy on .
My question about how to best HWE large areas of commercial office carpet. I do HWE as part of a maintenance strategy. I do 2, maybe 3, maybe 4 encap rounds and then HWE in this CGD office environment. That's what we are taught. We are taught / instructed to have some type of encap / HWE rotation on jobs like this, where you are the exclusive vendor providing carpet maintenance. You know the old "one two punch".
But again my HWE results have been mixed on old tired CGD only on swirl marks, not on cleaning performance of the RX20.

The problem with carpet cleaning is the we operate in a vacuum world. No pun intended. As a owner operator, I don't have co-workers to compare notes with. I don't work along side other carpet cleaning providers to compare notes / techniques / results. It can be frustrating. So I rely on my local distributors, classroom training, on-line forums, You Tube for information. So again my RX20 does great, yeah maybe it is slightly wetter than some wands, especially on long hose runs, but that's not the issue. The issue is swirl marks. Not on carpet tiles, more on old tired CGD. That's what I am looking for guidance on. And again I hope people look at this and answer with the "heart of a teacher", witty banter only goes so far when searching for answers. So thanks for the reply's, but still looking for guidance, so thanks in advance.
 

Andy

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2016
Messages
950
Location
No Where
Name
Doesn't Matter
Have the same issues using any rotary extractor on CGD, so bought the Zipper SS. You get the rotary action with the water but not the vacuum. The swirl marks that you are getting is from the vacuum shoes pushing the nap down on one side of the machine and raising it up on the other side. Raking IMMEDIATELY after doing a section helps when using a rotary, depends on the temperature of the water.
Something to consider (it goes against the ego of a truckmount operator), try cleaning with lower temperature water. Remember the cleaning pie, if one goes down the others have to compensate. If you are already using an inline sprayer and agitating with any kind of machine you really are not giving up anything to try it. The Zipper SS does really well but if you are not ready to buy one try doing the above.
 

encapman

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
2,258
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Name
Rick Gelinas
Hey Encapman (Rick) I bought my Cimex from you so take it easy on me. I said I use a RX20 99% on HWE. I do use my Cimex on commercial jobs alot. it is a major part of my service plan. It has been awesome and I use your Release It product, so again take it easy on .
My question about how to best HWE large areas of commercial office carpet. I do HWE as part of a maintenance strategy. I do 2, maybe 3, maybe 4 encap rounds and then HWE in this CGD office environment. That's what we are taught. We are taught / instructed to have some type of encap / HWE rotation on jobs like this, where you are the exclusive vendor providing carpet maintenance. You know the old "one two punch".
But again my HWE results have been mixed on old tired CGD only on swirl marks, not on cleaning performance of the RX20.

The problem with carpet cleaning is the we operate in a vacuum world. No pun intended. As a owner operator, I don't have co-workers to compare notes with. I don't work along side other carpet cleaning providers to compare notes / techniques / results. It can be frustrating. So I rely on my local distributors, classroom training, on-line forums, You Tube for information. So again my RX20 does great, yeah maybe it is slightly wetter than some wands, especially on long hose runs, but that's not the issue. The issue is swirl marks. Not on carpet tiles, more on old tired CGD. That's what I am looking for guidance on. And again I hope people look at this and answer with the "heart of a teacher", witty banter only goes so far when searching for answers. So thanks for the reply's, but still looking for guidance, so thanks in advance.


Hi Mike,

I'm sorry you felt like I was being little rough on you. That wasn't my intent. With these forums - it's impossible to type in facial expression, tone of voice, inflection, etc. Sure I was razzing you a little. But with the hope of pointing you toward a simpler alternative than using an RX20 on CGD.

My former experience with the the RX20 on CGD was awful. In fact it was one of the final tools I tried before I moved on to the Chemstractors in my commercial carpet cleaning business. And from the Chemstractor I progressed to the Cimex. My original thought was that I was gonna build a Cimex into a 3-headed Chemstractor style machine. But once I discovered what could be accomplished pairing the Cimex with good encap chemistry I realized I was onto something, and abandoned the idea of converting a Cimex into a Chemstractor. Once I saw what could be accomplished with the Cimex/Encap system I shared what I found on the carpet cleaning forums. The rest as they say is history.

What I was trying to point you toward in my earlier post was to look squarely at implementing more encap. Just trying to spare you some of the pain I experienced, and the pain others have too on CGD. HWE can be inconsistent on CGD. So if you can factor a bigger piece of the pie to encap, and a much smaller piece to HWE, I'm confident you'll like what you see on your CGD. That's what I was hoping to convey in my earlier post.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Old Coastie

Cleanworks

Moderator
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
26,930
Location
New Westminster,BC
Name
Ron Marriott
The idea of having to hwe periodically after encapping a few times doesn't really make sense. As long as there is a good vacuuming program being applied. I have a couple of high rise buildings that I have had to encap because of a failing installation. I have done them 3 times now and the carpets are looking better each time I do it. These carpets are at the end of their life but the strata doesn't have it in their budget to replace them. Can't hwe them because they buckle the moment we prespray them. I am really surprised at how well they come up and have been experimenting with other cgd carpets. So far, so good. I have been a steam cleaner all my life but am slowly changing my mind about the value of encap. I did a small college yesterday where I encapped half and did hwe on the other half, using the cimex as a scrubber followed by hwe on some of the worst areas. Main reason for the encap was that their was a class going on and I had to have them change classrooms as I cleaned. The first classroom that I encapped was dry by the time I got to the one that had to move. There was no difference between the appearance of the carpet that was encapped and what was hwe'd. There are some buildings I do where a truck mount isn't useable because of distance. I am having no problem using just encap only on these jobs. Rx 20's are tools that you either love or hate. I know some guys who just swear by them and others that just swear at them. I have never had any success with them but I do love my Rotovac 360's. Both the I and the xl.
 

Rookie

Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
8
Location
Salem, OR
Name
Mike Ritchey
Rick, I appreciate the reply and again no harm done, because I think you do some great things that I get "value" from, i.e. some of your You Tube videos. So you are good in my book. As a matter of fact , you did this one You Tube video entitled something like"where does the dirt go" and I still don't know how often to encap vs HWE on commercial carpets. Is it 3 to 1, or 6 to 1, 20 to 1, I don't know. I do agree that the carpets look great with my Cimex and Release It, but you can't vacuum it all out I don't think. And does the janitorial staff give a great effort in follow up days and weeks, heck no would be my guess. I would love to encap them more, but it is scary.
I know it is a hard question to answer because of all the variables involved, but I would love to know the right encap to HWE ratio for 99% of the commercial carpet out there. Afraid of the carpet getting "gunked" up crystallized polymers that it just becomes a gooey, dirt attracting mess one day. When or if that happens is my fear. Any board guide lines?
 

encapman

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
2,258
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Name
Rick Gelinas
Mike, there’s no baseline on that. Too many variables. Soil conditions are different across the board. For example, the carpet in a Chucky Cheese is gonna be altogether different than an executive board room. So the key is to evaluate the carpet. That’s part of the program.

Here are a couple of things to look for:
  1. Go in and inspect the carpet, particularly the high traffic areas. Look down the fiber - pry the tufts of pile apart and look to see if the backing is discolored. If you see discoloration deeper down the pile, provide HWE.
  2. How does the carpet respond to Encap. As I explained in that video, we are displacing soil from the visible surface of the carpet with Encap. But if the carpet is “full” there’s no place for the dirt to go. Again, it’s time for some HWE.
Bottom line: As the professional, provide ALL methods of cleaning - Encap and HWE. And as the professional, choose the right tool to tackle the job at hand. By monitoring the condition of the carpet you can decide when to implement occasional HWE to supplement your Encap program. Like I said in that video, HWE is the best way to flush the carpet. Together, a good Encap program along with occasional HWE is a force to be reckoned with on CGD.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Lee Stockwell

encapman

Member
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
2,258
Location
St Petersburg, FL
Name
Rick Gelinas
PS And as I also mentioned in that video, you don’t need to worry about the carpet getting “gunked up” with crystallized polymer with Releasit. Our polymer re-solublizes. In other words, when it gets wet again the Crystal will dissolve and turn back into a liquid. Then when it dries it crystallizes all over again. So there’s really no way to create a build up.
 

Kenny Hayes

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Messages
7,883
Location
Yukon, Oklahoma
Name
Kenny Hayes
That’s the great thing about being the janitor, floor care guy and carpet cleaner with the green light. Keep it clean at my discretion, and we don’t care how it’s done.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom