How many wicking and brown outs..

Mikey P

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Are happening on dark or multi hued carpets that never get noticed?


I'll speculate at least 10% of your jobs have urine, soda and dys residue wick ups to some degree that Mrs Piftleton never sees..


We/you go ( too) quicker and see less subtle discoloration compare to off whites and we all know how problematic deep spills can be on them..

The HWE curse, get ten times the soil out but face backing residues..
 

BIG WOOD

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That reminds me...I haven't bought that box of cotton bonnets from the encap place yet.
 

Mark Saiger

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I see nothing! :)

2017-03-17 10.39.56.png
 
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Are happening on dark or multi hued carpets that never get noticed?


I'll speculate at least 10% of your jobs have urine, soda and dys residue wick ups to some degree that Mrs Piftleton never sees..


We/you go ( too) quicker and see less subtle discoloration compare to off whites and we all know how problematic deep spills can be on them..

The HWE curse, get ten times the soil out but face backing residues..
Is it not a PH problem, combined with lack of flushing, AND issues with hard water?
 
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Zee

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Oh yeah....and how many times wicking would be eliminated if the big timer professional carpet cleaners would just freaking vacuum properly??

How many times you could solve the dog smell by wernerizing a carpet..

How many time do you have to explain the wicking with: "sorry Mrs Piff, you suck at vacuuming and it ain't my worry to vacuum your $H!t, so now that it got wet, it is wicking... too bad next time you'll vacuum better before we show up.. sucker!!".. and hang up the phone.
 
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EDS

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My ignorance may shine through here but would using a acid rinse on each and every job eliminate mitigate against this????
 

Zee

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This is why we leave a wicking pamphlet behind that explains wicking and how they can handle it on their own. We also put a disclaimer on our invoices explaining that it could happen, that it may require another cleaning...at a charge, to fully remove.


You gotta be kidding us.. they hired you to professionally clean their carpet. And your solution was to have a smile and a sweet endearing attitude and hand over a cute pamphlet explaining that you need to be paid twice to do your job. (in case you didn't luck out the first time)

Especially with your proudly proclaimed prices here....I don't get it.


Sorry Meg, again it's not you and John - it's the procedure and the whole concept that I'm trying to understand.
 

Zee

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@PrimaDonna just want to clear up my comment with a plot twist.

I'm questioning the procedure...

because if I hired a duct cleaning company to clean my dusty dirty moldy old ducts.... and they came and did it... and left me with a pamphlet explaining that in a day or two I may or may not be seeing dirty moldy stuff oozing out of my vents or flying out if I turned the system on (wicking after it was loosened up but wasn't removed)
Now if I see the stuff oozing out I should deal with it on my own (pamphlet explaining how to)
But if I want to call back to come and take care of it I will have to pay again...


Now how's that sound? Didn't I call them to come and clean my ducts in a first place?
 
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Mikey P

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Oh yeah....and how many times wicking would be eliminated if the big timer professional carpet cleaners would just freaking vacuum properly??

How many times you could solve the dog smell by wernerizing a carpet..

How many time do you have to explain the wicking with: "sorry Mrs Piff, you suck at vacuuming and it ain't my worry to vacuum your $H!t, so now that it got wet, it is wicking... too bad next time you'll vacuum better before we show up.. sucker!!".. and hang up the phone.


Well...

I think most wick backs are from 4 ounces of Mr Friskers and 24 ounces of Fabuloso..
 

Papa John

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If a tree falls in the forest and I fail to hear it-- do I care??
Not really

I'm not going to install a recorder so I can hear it fall.. And I'm not going to VLM a carpet and claim it cleans better. :stir:
 
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Cleanworks

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I have virtually no browning problems caused by my cleaning efforts mainly because I am conscious of how much water I am using and removing. I take the time to do adequate dry strokes. Wicking is another matter. Normally you can see the problem areas before you start. Such as blood stains. I recently cleaned up after another carpet cleaner who failed to completely remove blood stains from a carpet. I did all the proper procedures, cold water, ammonia type blood protein remover, water claw and spent considerable time flushing and extracting. Although everything came out and the carpet looked great, I cautioned the customer that some may reappear when it dries. I explain that the underlay holds a lot of the diluted liquids and although I can't extract any more moisture, it doesn't mean that there isn't more that may wick up. I let them know that if it does, they just have to call me and I will retreat it at no extra charge. I charge enough the first time to make worthwhile to treat it a second time. In this case, it all came out and I didn't have to go back. I called to make sure. This will happen in urine and drink spills and will be compounded by their pce's. Recognize it as you are cleaning, bring it to the customers attention and explain why a second treatment may be necessary. Do your best the first time and have the right equipment. A water claw and 2 quart jug should always be on your truck
 

GeeeAus

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My ignorance may shine through here but would using a acid rinse on each and every job eliminate mitigate against this????
Help but not eliminate. I use an acid rinse.
 

steve_64

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I've had issues with the wand leaving a wet spot when I set it down to do something else and then Browning. Again not a big deal but it happens. After a couple times I learned to clean the spot where it sits better or do extra dry passes when I pick it up.
 
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Cleanworks

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I've had issues with the wand leaving a wet spot when I set it down to do something else and then Browning. Again not a big deal but it happens. After a couple times I learned to clean the spot where it sits better or do extra dry passes when I pick it up.
Most wands leak after a while. Get into the habit of turning your shut off valve to off when you put the wand down
 

hogjowl

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I don't see it.
And I talk to my customers.
I'd like to think it's because I'm a better cleaner than you.
But it's probably a combination of things I'm lucky to have.
 
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hogjowl

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Well,I take that back. I did have one occurrence years ago that wicked urine. I anticipated it and went back the next day and bonneted it using Carbonated Solutions stuff and got it removed.
 

Cleanworks

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so you think...


most customers either wont notice or wont bother to call you on it.
Most of my residential customers are repeat customers or referrals so I have an opportunity to see the carpets again. When I do my initial inspection we are looking for potential problems so we can bring them to the customers attention before we start. For example today I am doing an estimate on a large house with wool Berber carpets. No kids, no pets but in the dining room there is a large water stain. Not very visible but I can see it so I question the lady about it. Turns out that there was a large spill there and not only did they have it cleaned by Coit but afterward tried to clean it themselves. The lady is not very concerned about it but I know that's a trap just waiting for me to step in it. It's full of multiple kinds of soap as well as the original product that was spilled in the first place. I have explained to the customer what may happen, why I am going to have to do more than the usual on that area and have thought out a plan of attack. I can almost guarantee you that when I am done, I will have removed the original contamination and all the soap residue. If by some chance I have to perform a second service, it will most likely be applying a light spray of 2 part eliminate to touch up the original browning from the original cleaning and over wetting.
 
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Most wands leak after a while. Get into the habit of turning your shut off valve to off when you put the wand down
It's the 'made in China'.... Garbage.... I've learned not to drop my solution hose down from the 3rd floor.... Goes without saying.....
 
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The water where I live is VERY hard.... 185-190 PPM..... I'm taking that down to 0........... Got a call back on 2 wing back chairs...... Canvas, cotton, linen things..... The water was the issue.... I followed protocol......
 

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