Who DOESN'T Sell Protectors?

[Willy P]

Easy money - but I've tried the products available , and simply put - they don't work worth shit. And with the checkered past from the chemical soups we're presented with, why would you introduce that in a customer's home or business?
Anybody got a product that works AND won't poison my customers?

 

[Shane T]

My thoughts exactly. I know many here will argue that it works but I don't see that big of a difference. I sell it if the customer wants it but I don't feel good about it.

 

[Bee Busy]

I'm with ya on that one. I've never sold it and if the custy asks for it, I let 'em know it's not going to last long. Always reminds me of "5 min abs", "lose "40 lbs. in a week!", "earn 500K working at home!" etc......

 

[truckmount girl]

I was always of that mindset as well, especially on older, worn carpet, it just didn't last and if you used the coverage ratios you were supposed to you really wet the carpet with it. I would spray it only if the owner insisted. Few did.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Jimbo]

I would rather show up to clean more often...plus if you are doing a multi-step...extra low-residue cleaning...it seems like the carpets stay clean a real long time on their own.

I am concerned about the long-term health effects of applying protectors without proper PPE...you have a substance that is designed to stick to a wet surface and COAT it...think aveoli...Plus I really dislike spraying solvent based protectors...too much of a health risk for me and the occupants.

But if someone would like 6 gallons of hardball solvent protector...and are willing to pick it up in Reno, NV, you'all can HAVE it!

 

[Mike Draper]

I would rather show up to clean more often...plus if you are doing a multi-step...extra low-residue cleaning...it seems like the carpets stay clean a real long time on their own.

I am concerned about the long-term health effects of applying protectors without proper PPE...you have a substance that is designed to stick to a wet surface and COAT it...think aveoli...Plus I really dislike spraying solvent based protectors...too much of a health risk for me and the occupants.

But if someone would like 6 gallons of hardball solvent protector...and are willing to pick it up in Reno, NV, you'all can HAVE it!

I'm with Jimbo on this one. Ive been back 2-3 years after I've been there to re-clean and the carpets still didnt look dirty. Then again, I've been back 6 months later and the carpets looked like 40 people have been living there. As well, I've done enough testing on my own carpet with 3 different brands over a 2 year period that I personally think its a complete waste of money, so I wont sell it to my custy's.

 

[Scott Rogers]

Does it work? Depends, what do you expect out of it?

It will not make the carpet bullet proof, stain proof , dirt proof or wear proof. But with proper maintenance ( proper vacuuming and cleaning schedules) It certainly prolongs the life of the carpet while preserving appearances. In the 20 plus years I have been cleaning many carpets multiple times I can easy see the difference of those that maintain the protector versus those that dont.

Does that mean I sell protector to every customer, No. there becomes a point where the age and current condition of the carpet (age,wear,planned future replacement, etc.) do not warrant the additional investment of the protector.

I will sell it where I see it as a benefit and value for the customer.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Why do they apply the protector when the carpet is made. Acid dye and dry soil protector.

 

[lance]

Jim, is there any way to work out a deal for the protector for shipping it to me?

I would like to use it for upholstery and stairs.

Thank you.

 

[steve g]

Why do they apply the protector when the carpet is made. Acid dye and dry soil protector.

when the carpet is actually made I think they can apply it hot or possibly immerse the carpet into it. when the carpet is new that is when the factory protector really works.

I don't think protector does a thing for polyester or olefin carpets. I consider it somewhat dishonest to even offer it on those. I only use cobbs protector its the only one that doesn't wash off :roll:

 

[renegade_cowboy]

I think protector is great for people who know how to take care of their carpets, vacuum and clean when their suppose to. But if you have someone who has carpet they havent cleaned in five years with their kids and pets and probably wont clean it again in another 5 years, probably wont do a thing for them and is a waste of money.

Agreed with that poly crap.

 

[Brian R]

Just be honest with your customers and let them know that it's not a miracle worker but it WILL help their carpet stay "cleanable".
At the very least it has to be doing some good. When applied correctly to most carpets it does make it easier the next time I clean the carpet.

Would the carpet have been easier the second time I cleaned it anyway? (because I cleaned it correctly).
Yes...unless they turned into real nasty people etc.

But with my experience, I've noticed a difference in cleanability which I think is due to the protectant.

 

[Able 1]

I think protector is great for people who know how to take care of their carpets, vacuum and clean when their suppose to. But if you have someone who has carpet they havent cleaned in five years with their kids and pets and probably wont clean it again in another 5 years, probably wont do a thing for them and is a waste of money.

Agreed with that poly crap.

I think it's crap!!! The reason you might think it works better for people that take care of their carpet is because they are maintaining what the manufacturer put on it(not wearing shoes in the house,vacing, ect. ect.). There is no way that a little sprits of protector is going to help in any way, if you really protected their investment it would be wet for days(and if a solvent might leave their dog dead). :shock:

Come on you guys really think your protecting the whole fiber??? Think about it...

 

[ruff]

It works real well.

For the manufacturers!

The less chemicals that go into the clients' homes, the healthier it is for them, their kids and pets. And for us as well, due to multiple exposure. That goes for other chemicals as well and anything applied via sprayers or that is volatile.

I'm sure Larry will be shortly on line telling us how healthful his solvent based protector is.

 

[Jim Martin]

I think it's crap!!! The reason you might think it works better for people that take care of their carpet is because they are maintaining what the manufacturer put on it(not wearing shoes in the house,vacing, ect. ect.). There is no way that a little sprits of protector is going to help in any way, if you really protected their investment it would be wet for days(and if a solvent might leave their dog dead).

Come on you guys really think your protecting the whole fiber??? Think about it...

 

[Willy P]

Wow - a lot of great posts here. The good Dr. Eckman nailed it- increase the cleaning frequency. Adding gallons of liquid on an already damp carpet doesn't make sense,Mr. Kolton's post about more chems in us and the customer's home deserves honourable mention. Brian , you'd suck a pigeon's ass if you thought a dime was in it.

Thank you - I thought I was not selling what isn't needed. I know my customers really appreciate my honesty on this.

 

[Brian R]

If it works, I use it. If it doesn't I don't.

How far up a pigeon's ass are we talkin?

 

[Askal]

I have a sage green nylon carpet in my master bedroom. 3 big hairy Border Collies sleep there and we live in a muddy rural area. The carpet is cleaned every 3 or 4 months. It is 11 years old and looks like new after it is cleaned. I have skipped the protector a few times and it resoils twice as fast. That is good enough for me, but we do put down the correct amount.
Al

 

[randy]

Amazing I really can't believe all you guys pass on being part of the "billion dollar protection business". I can hear Steve Poulos now: " so what percentage of your jobs do you sell protector to. I couldn't afford to have you work for me."

Tons of money in protector sales, for the manufacturers that is. It cost about $1.25 to manufacture a gallon of protector concentrate.
Bridgepoint /Hydroforce were build on protector sales. Personally most of my encap jobs get it thrown in for free as release it & another product I use have it in the product. For furniture I prefer CompleteSeal, it also works well on carpet but is really expensive.

As far as actually attempting to sell protector, for like for $25-$35 a room. I would feel horrible for doing such a thing to my customers. If you let the manufacturers & a few assorted salesmen be your moral compass you will burn in hell, the majority of carpet protectors are worthless and everyone knows it. SCAM with a capital S.

 

[The Great Oz]

If you choose not to apply a protectant, that's fine. Just make sure your reasoning is based in the real world.

Of course protectors work. How well depends on the product, how it's used and what it will be applied to... there are variable like everything in life.

I've cleaned a horrible commercial wool that required pre-shampoo treatment before every extraction cleaning - until I treated it with a fluorochemical protectant. From then on all it needed was wand cleaning. I've done a dozen tests of protectant application in various commercial accounts and found the protectant always makes a difference. Treat the worst ones even if they won't pay for it, simply because it reduces the difficulty of cleaning so much that it pays for itself in reduced cleaning time.

Health effects? Possibly, but your chip bag and burger wrapper don't leak grease because they're coated with a fluorochemical. If you're worried about your health, wear PPE. If you're worried about your customer, don't be; they, and you, are ingesting far more Teflon from the cereal box liner than they'd ever get from the carpet.



PS: Randy, Silicones are far cheaper to produce than fluorochemicals, so who's getting ripped off by the really expensive product manufacturer?

 

[Royal Man]

I doesn't matter what I think about protectors or any other carpet cleaners.

I tell the clients the benefits and I then, let THEM decide.

They know their home much better than I do.

BTW: The clients tell Me to re-apply protector on most jobs.

 

[Ken Snow]

70% of the jobs for us.

 

[MicahR]

For those of you guys that don't think it works.

How are you applying it?

Are you putting down the correct amount?

Back when I was cleaning carpets for a living my Dad and I marked out the correct square feet and mixed up a gallon of protector (Prochem's Fourguard) and had ourselves and our techs apply it.

It's amazing how much you think your applying and how much you actually apply when doing it according to label directions.

I'm going to guess that 80% of the time it's not being applied correctly.

I pushed it with my customers because I knew it worked by using it at home and by jobs that I applied it to and cleaned on a regular basis. I even had a couple of smaller commercial accounts that were trashed every time I cleaned. Even though they didn't want to pay for it I would apply it just because I saw the difference it made when I went back to clean. Made my job easier.

 

[lance]

Ken, how much does your company charge for protector?

 

[Ron Werner]

I lived in a place for 12 yrs. Cheap carpet, cleaned and protected it once a year.
Using Dupont Teflon and Maxim
My daughter spilled some milk. Stayed beaded up for at least 5 minutes
Had a spill in a very high traffic area about a year after application. I was surprised to see it bead up yet.
I mix it at 2:1 waterrotectant and apply with an 01 jet and a steady sweep, get great results.
Stuff works!

 

[randy]

If you choose not to apply a protectant, that's fine. Just make sure your reasoning is based in the real world.

Of course protectors work. How well depends on the product, how it's used and what it will be applied to... there are variable like everything in life.

I've cleaned a horrible commercial wool that required pre-shampoo treatment before every extraction cleaning - until I treated it with a fluorochemical protectant. From then on all it needed was wand cleaning. I've done a dozen tests of protectant application in various commercial accounts and found the protectant always makes a difference. Treat the worst ones even if they won't pay for it, simply because it reduces the difficulty of cleaning so much that it pays for itself in reduced cleaning time.

Health effects? Possibly, but your chip bag and burger wrapper don't leak grease because they're coated with a fluorochemical. If you're worried about your health, wear PPE. If you're worried about your customer, don't be; they, and you, are ingesting far more Teflon from the cereal box liner than they'd ever get from the carpet.



PS: Randy, Silicones are far cheaper to produce than fluorochemicals, so who's getting ripped off by the really expensive product manufacturer?

I definitely agree that Completeseal is overpriced (big time) but it is the only non-solvent protector that I have found that really works well. We use it on upholstery and occasionally on carpet. Ultraseal from Cobb works well too, but it of course is a solvent. With respect to the safety of protectors, the actual warning on the original formulation of Scotchgard issued by the EPA was much more detailed and critical of fluorochemicals than the statement 3m released. There is an enormous amount of research to back up the risks of fluorochemicals whether we want to believe it or not. Sure it's a profit center but are we doing the right thing ?
I guess if a guy is comfortable spraying a butyl based product (known carcinogen) in a customer's home, why stop there. Might as well just poison the whole family and pray that you are out of business before they get cancer.
P.S. Completeseal still claims that there product is Not a silicone.

 

[jcooper]

The worst is the guys applying it to commercial carpets. What do you think happens to the protector after an office chair rolls on it... It's gone!

Want to look good when giving a commercial estimate? Explain to them why protector don't work on commercial carpets.

All the other estimates/cleaners trying to sell them protectors look like crooks after I explain why it don't work for commercial carpets.

 

[Ken Snow]

50% of the cleaning cost on carpet and upholstery.

Cooper- I disagree 100%, where do you get your info? Why do you think a chair rolling on treated carpet will make it disappear? That is absurd.

 

[ruff]

If you choose not to apply a protectant, that's fine. Just make sure your reasoning is based in the real world.

Of course protectors work. How well depends on the product, how it's used and what it will be applied to... there are variable like everything in life.

I've cleaned a horrible commercial wool that required pre-shampoo treatment before every extraction cleaning - until I treated it with a fluorochemical protectant. From then on all it needed was wand cleaning. I've done a dozen tests of protectant application in various commercial accounts and found the protectant always makes a difference. Treat the worst ones even if they won't pay for it, simply because it reduces the difficulty of cleaning so much that it pays for itself in reduced cleaning time.

Health effects? Possibly, but your chip bag and burger wrapper don't leak grease because they're coated with a fluorochemical. If you're worried about your health, wear PPE. If you're worried about your customer, don't be; they, and you, are ingesting far more Teflon from the cereal box liner than they'd ever get from the carpet.

Bryan, from previous posts of yours, it seems like mentioning 'green,' 'eco-friendly' etc; is like waving a red cloth in front of a bull. (Not productive for a peaceful living )
It is clear that you don't believe in it and that you don't trust the claims. I understand that.

Because I don't trust 3M or DuPont or for that matter some other large conglomerates. It happened many many times in the past that products were pushed by manufacturers even though they were not healthy for the public.

I assume you still believe that nicotine is not addictive.

As for the chips and burger, it has been a long time since I cleaned my client's carpet with a burger. Personally I prefer to clean it with a good (no doubt CRI approved :shock: ) mild alkaline rinse.

I don't care what is in their cereal boxes, as I have no control over it, I do care about what I introduce into their living environment.

 

[Brian R]

Ofer...that claim can be used with every chem you or anyone else uses.

Sometimes you have to trust regulations and consider them for what they are. Chems.