results of the sg and wool cleaning job..w/pics

[davegillfishing]

well it was a 6 hr venture..
cleaned 60 steps
1300 sq ft of area rugs ( i know when you see pics it will make the rug gurus cringe that i cleaned them in home)
500 sq ft of wool runners
2 sofas
3 chairs
and 12 dr chairs seats only...
man it cleaned up great..huge improvement, even got out a few spots that have been there for years.
thanks for all the advise on the sg for this one..
oh and i suggested taking the rugs to get them done and it was a deal breaker nothing to leave the house
so i had no choice to do them in home..
dave

what would you have charged??

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Cha-ching. :mrgreen:

 

[davegillfishing]

several thousand times over!!!

 

[The Great Oz]

From the look of the place, the disruption of having the rugs gone was probably more of an issue than any extra cost of sending them out to be cleaned properly. No less than $1.75 per foot for taking on the risk of working on these in place. Some are relatively risk free, with only potential damage to the floors to worry about. The red in the one under the baby grand is prone to bleeding and color loss in the presence of an acid like a tannin stain remover, and if the runners were piece fabricated woven carpet (like a Stark) you'd have a very expensive repair on your hands.

Glad it worked out.

PS: Did you check the floors for prior damage due to on-site cleaning? We've had customers (yes, wealthy ones) that insisted on cleaning their area rugs on-site just to try and get us to pay for refinishing the floors ruined by the last on-site cleaner.

PPS: Remember to get permission to publish photos of any customer's house. Some people are pretty sensitive about this, and would definitely spread the word to their friends to avoid working with someone that isn't discreet.

 

[davegillfishing]

yea we checked the floors and they were fine..
did a bleed test on everything we touched and nothing reacted badly
we got the ok for taking pics but i did not think to ask about posting them on here..but as there is no info
on where the home is i dont think it would be possible for anyone to figure it out..
you cant really see the home from the street and we have many spread out areas with mansion on the ocean and
the icw that are similar to this style..
thanks
dave

got a question for ya..
is it getting the rug wet, too wet or the pre spray that will make it bleed ?

 

[dgardner]

I have never cleaned anything over a wood floor, so I'm curious as to how you protect it? Do you actually lay plastic sheeting under to clean, or just adjust your pressure so as not to wet the backing, or what?

 

[joeynbgky]

Nice, Are you going to polish and clean the wood and marble floors next trip?

 

[The Great Oz]

is it getting the rug wet, too wet or the pre spray that will make it bleed ?

Can be a combination of things:

- Poorly set dye will bleed in the presence of any moisture. Some colors will crock (move when dry) as well. Usually the poorly set dye will move on the first cleaning, but sometimes the type of dye will be affected by environmental factors and age. Dyes bleed in the last stages of drying, so if you left before the rugs were dry, you just have to hope they turned out well.

- The pH of your solution can change the color of dyes that are sensitive to pH. Both acids and alkalines.

- Alkalines are more likely to damage the dye bond and cause otherwise stable dyes to move.

- Alkalines that are buffered to maintain their pH are more likely to cause problems, and the damage can be cumulative. The dyes might move on the third or fourth cleaning due to the damage done over multiple improper cleanings.

- Slow drying gives the dyes more time to move. Ask the guys that used to hang rugs soaking wet if they got to be experts at removing dyebleeding.

Additionally, damage to the floor finish due to high humidity under the rug (and wool holds moisture for awhile) will show up over the course of drying, so it might not be noticed until someone moves a rug. I've seen damage caused by a rug cleaned in the driveway that felt dry when put back in place.

I did laugh when I read your cringe comment. Without rug knowledge you're running on luck to keep from buying things, and all of the above are what can make on-location rug cleaning somewhat cringe-worthy.

 

[-JB-]

6 hrs, alone or 2 men? Either way that's good time.

$1510.00

 

[Mikey P]

Nice!


Good for you Dave


Now you afford that Vac tattoo.

 

[Ron Werner]

bleeding has to do with the dye and the prespray, excuse the pun, but basically about the pH.
with some dyes even just a mist will cause bleeding. Needs enough moisture to travel however

 

[davegillfishing]

the way i tested them was to take a q-tip and stick it in my mixed pre spray then
stick the q-tip on the colored areas of the rugs..let it sit for a while then checked the tips for color..
smart or wrong??

and 1510.00 was less than half of the cost oh and it was me and my helper

 

[sweendogg]

Ron not necessarily tru.. you can have some excess dyes that settle into the rug over its life and even a little moisture can bring that to thes surface.. Or if they are next to lighter areas, you can have them spread just a little bit and cause a problem.

 

[-JB-]

man I gottsta jack my prices on those jobs. :x

 

[Ron Werner]

so the dyes can move just with some excess moisture? regardless of pH?
I know a lot of times there is excess dye, that can cause problems

 

[-JB-]

seen that myowndamnself, a ori w/MAJOR purple in it, obviously excessive dye, it was coning off on their socks, and carrying around the house too, used a plain white terry towel w/water, one fast wipe you'da thought I dipped the towel in purple dye, it was ridiculous!

 

[davegillfishing]

so am i doing the best bleed test i can or is there a better way?
dave

 

[sweendogg]

Commonly what we do for a bleed test it is to take a terry towel and wet it out with our planned cleaner (detergent prespray or shampoo) one with water, and one with an acid side product. We let it sit till dry.. for us we set them up overnight. Judging by transfer is how we attack the particular rug in this case. If you are cleaning in place alot, this is were having good knowledge of rugs is really going to be to your benefit. It may be just worth it to take the RCT class with Aaron or any rug class that may be near your area. At very least it help you make more informed decisions.

 

[The Great Oz]

Dave,
For the limited time you have doing on-site cleaning, the Q-Tip in the nap should show you the worst of the bleeders.

Also, remember to test all colors! I once tested ruby red and burgundy in suspect rug. I spent a good chunk of the following week removing the only dye that moved-a dark red that I missed.

Once you've gained some experience there will be fewer rugs you feel the need to test. Better to get the experience from courses and good observation rather than paying for things though.

 

[davegillfishing]

yep that is the first thing on the list..rug class and more than one..
thanks for the help
dave