Questions about VLM

Lc17smp

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Larry Cole
I have a chance to get a few large VLM jobs. Having done HWE on medium sized commercial jobs has worked so far but will not work for this property. Walked one of them today and its not possible to use my truck mount. Ive read pretty good reviews here about the Orbot Vibe and I may be able to pick up a used one locally for decent price. A few questions. Still a good enough machine? How many sq ft per hour should I expect to be able to clean? No offices or stuff to move. Mainly hallways and open rooms. Light to medium soil level. How many pads should I expect to use per 8 hr day? What pad should I be looking at getting? I never expected to go to the dark side, yet here I am. The money would be very hard to pass up on this.
 

Cleanworks

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I have a chance to get a few large VLM jobs. Having done HWE on medium sized commercial jobs has worked so far but will not work for this property. Walked one of them today and its not possible to use my truck mount. Ive read pretty good reviews here about the Orbot Vibe and I may be able to pick up a used one locally for decent price. A few questions. Still a good enough machine? How many sq ft per hour should I expect to be able to clean? No offices or stuff to move. Mainly hallways and open rooms. Light to medium soil level. How many pads should I expect to use per 8 hr day? What pad should I be looking at getting? I never expected to go to the dark side, yet here I am. The money would be very hard to pass up on this.
You should easily be able to do 2000 sqft per hour. I would use microfiber pads. I prefer an oxy encap for most of my work but bring a solvent based spotter for greasy spots. Conversely, you could use a high pH encap and bring an oxy spotter for coffee or beverage stains.
 
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Kenny Hayes

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Buy the Orbot for sure, and look for a Cimex. They are the King on those type of jobs. I spray spots a little ahead of me with Top Spot and use an oxy encap. It’s an awesome method on large commercial.
 
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SteamwayPro

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Nope. Previous posts are misinformation :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Call or email Tanoah at Excellent Supply
tanoah@excellent-supply.com
1-800-330-1888

Buy a new TOPS Phoenix, get a case of Releasit DS2 and Microfiber Bonnets. That is the best combo for cleaning CGD

You're Welcome !!!


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SteamwayPro

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Opinions are like assholes and elbows and everyone has one! Excellent Supply is excellent and they are my go to. I’m pretty sure they will agree with my method.
Cimex is a great scrubber but that's it. It doesn't remove any soil unless you post vacuum

I bought a new Cimex about 12-13 years ago used it once and sold it. All the coffee stains came back because it put down too much solution. It wet the carpet too much. I don't consider a Cimex low moisture cleaning. It uses too much solution. Of course I would have gotten better and learned how to use it better if I used it more but I didn't like it. Plus it's TOO big and TOO heavy
 
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Kenny Hayes

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That’s too bad for you. Too bad someone didn’t show you how to use it. You can control the solution output like a foot pedal on a car. Who said anything about not pre vacuuming. The Vibe can be used for post padding if you have both. It’s certainly not misinformation.
 

SteamwayPro

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That’s too bad for you. Too bad someone didn’t show you how to use it. You can control the solution output like a foot pedal on a car. Who said anything about not pre vacuuming. The Vibe can be used for post padding if you have both. It’s certainly not misinformation.
Excellent Work !!!

I didn't know you followed Cimex with a Vibe and bonnets

Instead of a Cimex I now have a 20'' Whittaker Trio that I use to scrub first and follow with Phoenix and bonnet. I don't do it that way on every job. Sometimes I will use a fiber pad on Phoenix instead of Trio.

Trio is definitely VERY LOW MOISTURE cleaning. It puts down a fine mist in front of 3 brushes with 75 pounds sitting on top of the 3 brushes. 15-30 minute dry times. It's a excellent scrubber


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Kenny Hayes

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Churches are notorious for coffee as you know I’m sure. I use various methods to get the results needed. I use Brush Pros with renovators a lot to prescrub. A lot of times I’ll
start with spraying the coffee spots and use a 15” crb. Sometimes, we don’t have to use the Vibe. I use porty’s or truckmount. Whatever I feel like and is convenient.
 
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Cleanworks

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SteamwayPro

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If he can't afford a new Phoenix, the Vibe is still a decent machine. A little slower but will work. I've never tried DS2 but Saiger's Code Red of Encaps works great for me.
DS2 takes out coffee stains with no problem and brightens carpet but doesn't have peroxide. Plus it cuts through grease. DS2 is made for cleaning the types of soil and stains found in CGD.
 

SteamwayPro

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If he can't afford a new Phoenix, the Vibe is still a decent machine. A little slower but will work. I've never tried DS2 but Saiger's Code Red of Encaps works great for me.
My first OP was a SprayBorg. I bought it when I first started experimenting with VLM 15 years ago and still have it

And I have a Tankless Vibe that I use on big residential so I know Orbot makes a nice OP

I bought that malish driver in 2015 for the SparyBorg. It makes SprayBorg/Vibe much more aggressive and digs deeper on residential carpet. Hated the velcro driver



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Cleanworks

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My first OP was a SprayBorg. I bought it when I first started experimenting with VLM 15 years ago and still have it

And I have a Tankless Vibe that I use on big residential so I know Orbot makes a nice OP

I bought that malish driver in 2015 for the SparyBorg. It makes SprayBorg/Vibe much more aggressive and digs deeper on residential carpet. Hated the velcro driver



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I have both the Sprayborg and the Phoenix. I should get the updated driver for the Sprayborg. I agree with you on the velcro driver. Although both are well built machines, I find the Phoenix much faster and a little more aggressive.
 

SteamwayPro

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I have both the Sprayborg and the Phoenix. I should get the updated driver for the Sprayborg. I agree with you on the velcro driver. Although both are well built machines, I find the Phoenix much faster and a little more aggressive.
I agree Phoenix is faster and more aggressive. I only use it for commercial carpet cleaning

I add weights to Tankless Vibe to make it more aggressive on trashed residential
 
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