So how fast can you go with a zipper?

[Papa John]

I'm thinking of going after large 10,000k plus commercial accts. this year.. but to do so I will have to lower my prices ALOT..
I had one such acct. where we did about 19,000 sq ft in about 6 hours total. Set up and brake down was about 1.5 hours of that. We had 3 Evolution wands (more like 2.5- one person was really slow) and we used the vortex. I did not keep good records on the actual sq. footage nor the time it took, these numbers are guesstaments.

So what have been your reasonable production level using a Zipper with a truck mount and a portable? I'm interested in production levels that will still leave me Happy with the results-- maybe not proud but happy. And by happy I'm referring to the quality of the cleaning and not the money earned as the main criteria.

 

[Mark Saiger]

I'm thinking of going after large 10,000k plus commercial accts. this year.. but to do so I will have to lower my prices ALOT..
I had one such acct. where we did about 19,000 sq ft in about 6 hours total. Set up and brake down was about 1.5 hours of that. We had 3 Evolution wands (more like 2.5- one person was really slow) and we used the vortex. I did not keep good records on the actual sq. footage nor the time it took, these numbers are guesstaments.

So what have been your reasonable production level using a Zipper with a truck mount and a portable? I'm interested in production levels that will still leave me Happy with the results-- maybe not proud but happy. And by happy I'm referring to the quality of the cleaning and not the money earned as the main criteria.

You will need a pretty powerful portable first of all to run a Zipper and you would probably then only run the smaller one (13 inch)

For production rate you will see around 1000-2000 Sq ft per hour... And incredible dry times too to go with that flushing power!

You might be able to do more Sq feet per hour, but don't want to over promise as can be a number of variables.

That kind of square footage... I wouldn't want to wand it....

And we do love our Zipper Wands here in Northern MN (in case you hadn't heard)

 

[Cleanworks]

Need a little more info. Sounds like you are dual wanding with the vortex and have another with a portable, is that right? How many guys? That's a long time for set up/break down. How long of a hose run and why the portable?

 

[Mark Saiger]

Reveal of speed compared to a wand at the 5:26 mark

 

[Desk Jockey]

My guys believe 1200sq/ft an hour consistently with very little effort. So while they don't believe it's a lot faster than a wand, you don't wear out so you can maintain those numbers without the normal drop off you'd have with a scrub wand.

 

[Pioneer Floorcare]

If there is no furniture to move and its wide open you can hit 4K sqft/hr with the 17-1/2" zipper consistently. A helper pre spraying with a separate line, no dry strokes

 

[Papa John]

Need a little more info. Sounds like you are dual wanding with the vortex and have another with a portable, is that right? How many guys? That's a long time for set up/break down. How long of a hose run and why the portable?

We triple wanded with the vortex, had 700ft total hose run- suction at first was about what a portable would have.-- 2 guys and 1 inexperienced girl. The set up and breakdown was mostly done by just me. It was a 5 story office building where we cleaned the 5th n 4th floor only-- dropped from a window.- we had to set up "scaffolding" to protect pedestrians should the hose accidently drop-- required by city law.
I loved that job because we could use the Vortex.. we lost the acct when they moved away.

In most cases we will have to use a porty due to parking n other issues-- maybe an ETM?-- Please don't slam the Mytee ETM-- I've heard it before and don't care.

I have a Mytee M5 and the Mytee booster and might just use that. But oddly the booster didn't seem to help that much; maybe because I connected the booster only 5 ft hose from the M5? It didn't seem like it was worth the extra effort-- maybe it would be different if I placed the booster 50ft-100ft from M5?

 

[Papa John]

I'm thinking of asking Erik to make me a double-wide zipper-- 26inch or 30inch? I wonder how that would work?

Or making a solution manifold for my DryEze Rover-- which is about 30inches wide... maybe add a chair?

 

[Cleanworks]

Now I see why it took so long, that is a pita. Some times, rather than triple wanding(didn't know that was possible with a vortex) it might be better to just dual wand wand an have extra person do more prep work, prespray move furniture ets. Rather than the etm for that type of bldg, why not take a look at mytee's autofill/dump portables. You can use a combination of long fill dump hoses and long sol/vac hoses to cover large areas I see th myte portables come with 2inch plumbing, get the most powerful suitable for your power consumption and Voila, your parking troubles are over. I used t work for a company that regularly did 30,000 sqft jobs. We did it with 1 truck, single wand, 4 guys and the owner who would bring us lunch. We all help with setup then one guy prespraying, one guy with the 175 scrubber, one guy on the wand and one guy hauling hose. We stopped at lunch one guy at a time, the wand never stops. 30,000sqft in 8 hours. The owner of that company was very organized and had a specific role for all of us

 

[Desk Jockey]

Back in "the day", we used to use a 24-Steam Genie drag wand for corporate work. It kicked as as long as the floor was level, if there was any unevenness it broke the seal and we switched back to 16 inch drag wands.

 

[Pioneer Floorcare]

I'm thinking of asking Erik to make me a double-wide zipper-- 26inch or 30inch? I wonder how that would work?

Or making a solution manifold for my DryEze Rover-- which is about 30inches wide... maybe add a chair?

Those would have to be some very flat floors!

 

[Cleanworks]

I wouldn't slam the mytee etm but I think for commercial, the biggest problem is finding power for it. It is using 2-220 volt power cords, the kind that you plug into a stove or dryer outlet. I don't know if you can easily find those on most commercial premises. For the same price, you can buy 2 mytee ltd 3's with the auto fill/dump. I think these will work with the zipper as long as you don't go to long on the vac hoses.

 

[Papa John]

Now I see why it took so long, that is a pita. Some times, rather than triple wanding(didn't know that was possible with a vortex) it might be better to just dual wand wand an have extra person do more prep work, prespray move furniture ets. Rather than the etm for that type of bldg, why not take a look at mytee's autofill/dump portables. You can use a combination of long fill dump hoses and long sol/vac hoses to cover large areas I see th myte portables come with 2inch plumbing, get the most powerful suitable for your power consumption and Voila, your parking troubles are over. I used t work for a company that regularly did 30,000 sqft jobs. We did it with 1 truck, single wand, 4 guys and the owner who would bring us lunch. We all help with setup then one guy prespraying, one guy with the 175 scrubber, one guy on the wand and one guy hauling hose. We stopped at lunch one guy at a time, the wand never stops. 30,000sqft in 8 hours. The owner of that company was very organized and had a specific role for all of us

Thanks Ron. Our vortex waste tank had a 3rd vac port which didn't have a lint trap and the usual hose connections-- for the solution we used a Y- connector -- but you may be right-- 2 wands and a helper might have been better.. That's amazing production levels you got..

We have the Mytee portables with auto dump and auto fill----Some warnings though-- The internal hoses for the auto dump/auto fill cannot handle the hot water temps that might be available at say a restaurant.. I re-plumbed those vinyl hoses with Goodyear-Parker hose fittings to prevent the accidently disconnecting of those hoses-- Also an Ultra-fine vac pre-filter is a must to keep the pump-out working properly..

I'm thinking of offering to clean-say 5,000 sq ft for free for the purpose of shooting a video and doing some testing.

One test would be that I'll tape off say 100-200 sq ft--( maybe 500would be better?) and doing the encap method-- in this test I would pre-vacuum the test area--weigh the amount of soil removed-- clean (hide the dirt) with the Cimex-- let dry-- and then post vacuum the test area again- and weigh the amount of soil removed again..

The remaining sq. footage I would test the production/quality levels using Zipper and the Hoss or riding Rover...but I like the fact that the Zipper doesn't require an electric cord.

Many of the accounts I will be going after have become accustom to paying the encap/bonnet prices that its a challenge to get them to pay more for actually cleaning they carpet... maybe the encap test/video will help?

 

[Papa John]

Those would have to be some very flat floors!

TRUE that--- funny how you don't notice all the little bumps under commercial carpet until you try to use a wider wand or rotary without floating heads.

as for the electrical power for the ETM-- some of the places will have an engineering dept where that can drop 30amp "dryer" connections or use hunter boxes.

 

[Cleanworks]

I think those tests have been done before, check with some others on the board. It goes against the grain for all of us hwe guys to think of encapping as being as good as what we do but I think for commercial carpet, as long as you do a good pre vac (especially with a pile lifter or a brush pro with the renovators) the encap with something like a cimex is very efficient time wise and the appearance is even better. I just had a brief experience with a cimex and I have to say it was the fastest machine I ever used. I am just getting my feet wet in encapping but I can see the attraction.

 

[Captain America]

Agree with the 1000-2000 sq ft per hour with the zipper.....
It will dry much faster and could cut out one worker ....
I just cleaned about 14000 sq ft church in 6 hour on truckmount, but didn't have a worker
So I was exhausted.....if I had a helper I would've cut it by 2 hours as I had to move chairs...
I did some high rises to 7 th floor and used my truckmount for solution line heat with portable to extract...
Your probably gonna have to charge what the encapers are charging and tell
Them steam is much better...

 

[Papa John]

Thanks for all your input guys.
I think 2 separate M5s with 2 separate zippers with long auto-dump/auto fill hoses and no more then 50ft of vac hose each will probably work the best-- when we can't use a TM.

another problem with the M5 is the auto dump--- Is That It Isnt auto dump-- there is no auto float switch-- you have to physically hit the switch-- and the pump cannot remain on or it will over heat and stop working..

One problem IS-- my taller guy complains that the Zipper hurts his lower back.. could be his "Chicken" legs? or zipper should make a telescoping handle?

 

[Pioneer Floorcare]

Thanks for all your input guys.
I think 2 separate M5s with 2 separate zippers with long auto-dump/auto fill hoses and no more then 50ft of vac hose each will probably work the best-- when we can't use a TM.

another problem with the M5 is the auto dump--- Is That It Isnt auto dump-- there is no auto float switch-- you have to physically hit the switch-- and the pump cannot remain on or it will over heat and stop working..

One problem IS-- my taller guy complains that the Zipper hurts his lower back.. could be his "Chicken" legs? or zipper should make a telescoping handle?

Zipper does make a telescoping handle.

 

[Papa John]

Zipper does make a telescoping handle.

Really!??? Ok Ill order one-- but 1st I'll have to see IF the zipper really hurts his back OR-- If he feels the zipper slows him down because of the site tube---which I think is more likely-- and he is just making stuff up?

 

[Old Coastie]

...I am just getting my feet wet in encapping but I can see the attraction.

They won't get very wet, hahahaha!

Encapping is one tool and when appropriate, very efficient.

 

[Papa John]

Your probably gonna have to charge what the encapers are charging and tell
Them steam is much better...

That's what I'm afraid of..
My guy is giving me the--"double head shake with severe eye roll" on this--- He retorted back--- "they better jump at these prices before I pull your head out of your ass!"
He is reminding me-- "be careful what you wish for-- because you might get it"

 

[Captain America]

I always say you work by the hour not the foot.
One job one setup.....drive time break down setup.......
That's why apts. are dirt cheap because they give you work everyday.
If you have a crew and can keep those guys busy portable with scrubber pumpout.....would work

 

[Pioneer Floorcare]

Really!??? Ok Ill order one-- but 1st I'll have to see IF the zipper really hurts his back OR-- If he feels the zipper slows him down because of the site tube---which I think is more likely-- and he is just making stuff up?

There is the handle that can switch from wand handle to T handle, and you can set at different heights

 

[Cleanworks]

That's what I'm afraid of..
My guy is giving me the--"double head shake with severe eye roll" on this--- He retorted back--- "they better jump at these prices before I pull your head out of your ass!"
He is reminding me-- "be careful what you wish for-- because you might get it"

I charge the same price no matter what method I'm using. They hire me to clean the carpets. I choose how I'm going to do it.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Thanks for all your input guys.
I think 2 separate M5s with 2 separate zippers with long auto-dump/auto fill hoses and no more then 50ft of vac hose each will probably work the best-- when we can't use a TM.

another problem with the M5 is the auto dump--- Is That It Isnt auto dump-- there is no auto float switch-- you have to physically hit the switch-- and the pump cannot remain on or it will over heat and stop working..

One problem IS-- my taller guy complains that the Zipper hurts his lower back.. could be his "Chicken" legs? or zipper should make a telescoping handle?

Sounds like he needs a tall boy handle for the Zipper.

 

[Cleanworks]

Sounds like he needs a tall boy handle for the Zipper.

I didn't know they came with beer holders, gotta get me one those things.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

That would be awesome! Right now I use a beer cozy with a carabiner.. Lol!

 

[Chet]

We are thinking about ordering a few zippers for commercial too. We use rotary extractors but you can only go so fast and sometimes you can leave it too wet form rushing. And when carpet needs it we follow up with encap and a Cymex for appearance. And like someone else said a Cymex is the fastest machine out there.

 

[Desk Jockey]

You'll love them. Fast yet amazingly dry.

Great for CGD or residential.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

I seriously can't live without my Zipper and my Rotovac. My wand has become a thing that takes up space in the truck.