Please advise

[Shorty]

Please advise me on the best way to clean the carpets in this building.

Building is sixteen stories high.

It is a completely sealed building.

Unable to run hoses down the exterior of the building.

Access is only from the front street.

You cannot run hoses through the self closing doors across the foyer to the fire escapes.

The fire escapes are alarmed and cannot be used for any maintenance work.

There are no other stairwells in the building.

If the vehicle is under 6.6" high, you can drive up to the second level.

This is where you can also enter the lifts/elevators.

Most carpet is direct stick polyprop carpet tiles.

The air conditioning is turned off after hours.

To have the air con running after hours, there is a $300.00 per hour surcharge.

I have two levels to clean, 11 & 13.

There is also no hot water available and the heat/fire sensors are VERY sensitive.

What equipment would you use and how would you do it ??

Thanks,

Shorty.

 

[Chads]

portable :?

 

[Scott S.]

yeah, use a porty with a heater. maybe one with autofill auto dump.

where is that, and what do they do? is it some kinda lab?

 

[Shorty]

It is an exclusive office block.

Only faucet on each level that you can screw a hose onto, is in the wc.

You come out from the wc, along a passage and enter the lift lobby, then go through a door on the other side to go to the furthest point, nearly 400 feet away from the faucet and toilets/lavatories.

A long way to pump water and pull waste water.

No air con, would not the porty generate heat that could set off the alarms ??

I have had this happen once before.

This is a good paying job IF it can be done to their satisfaction, ie; no wet carpet nor doggy smell when they come in next morning.

Thanks,

Shorty.



PS ::: Also, I forgot, not allowed to use an open flame appliance in the building such as lpg heater.

 

[Chads]

five gallon buckets and carry them so you dont have to keep going back and forth or get you a helper to run buckets for you.

 

[Bob Foster]

OP Cimex Portable Combo. There is hot water on each floor from the washrooms at the least. If so good portable with APO and inline heater and Cimex.

I think the building manager is playing games with you. If they want their carpets clean they can leave the AC on. That building will no doubt be controlled by a DDC (computer) environmental control system. The maintenance staff are arbitrarily throwing that number out at you because they will probably have to have their HVAC company do some temporary programming of their building climate control system to accommodate you. This is normally done remotely from the HVAC company's own office and likely has a service charge of a few hundred dollars in total attached to it. If it was the Telco or an electrician they wouldn't play that bullshit.

 

[CleanEvo]

Drive to job.

Vacuum carpets.

Cimex with Releasit DS.

Collect $$$.

Simple.

 

[Bob Foster]

I agree with Aris.

 

[Jim Nelson]

Thats an old school job you Shampoo it with a 175.

 

[Shorty]

Hey Bob, unfortunately the building manager sets the terms for the entire building.

Each tenant is responsible for their own carpet & office cleaning.

It is different down under, if I want to work on say levels 3, 5, 7, & 11, each tenant has to pay the excess to have the air con; turned on, on each level respectively.

Just like an insurance claim I guess, you pay the excess for each claim.

I choose not to use the air con; My choice.

I have tried a porty equipped with two x 1100 watt vac; along with a booster box with 2 x 1100 watt vacs; and using 230psi pressure.

I also had an inline sump pump which discharged the waste water before it even got back to my porty.

This was auto fill and auto empty.

I was unable to get enough hot water from an electric inline heater to make it worthwhile.

After using this method for several years, I was never really happy with the end result, neither were the tenants of the offices, especially with the damp carpets and the odor.


Four years ago I tried the Cimex with Releasit, also with another Australian brand encap;

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised as were the tenants.

Each and every one of them agreed that I was only to use the "new system" that I had trialled.

Now whether or not the carpets are as clean as with hwe, I don't know.

I am not as scientifically minded as some on the forums.

What I do know is, that I get no phone calls the next day about marks still on the carpet.

I also know that I am out of the job a lot quicker than if I was to hwe it, & that the solutions I use cost more than what I would use if I was to hwe the job.

I also realise that labor is the biggest factor in the end profit, and this is where I am better off with this system.

Although I may use $50 more chemicals, I save myself a grand in labor.

You are welcome to compare the costings.

I do know that the polyprops; certainly appear to shine instead of having a dull, dead look to them, compared to hwe.

The tenants are happy and I have no complaints.

Now please, bear in mind that I have been an hwe aficionado for many years, and I did find this hard to comprehend.

But if my clients are happy, and they keep getting me back, what am I supposed to say, sorry, this system is no good because other people tell me so. ??

So, I guess that until MY clients tell me that they are unhappy, I will continue to use the method in this building for as long as possible.

I have also been cleaning a store inside a very large shopping centre every month for the last four years.

This store is located right next door to the food area so it cops a fair bashing.

It is a red wool carpet, and again, the tenants have expressed their desire for me to only use the above method.

I realise that a lot of people do not like the encap system, that's okay by me.

It's not for everyone, nor is it for every job.

But there are some jobs where it does make sense to use it instead of other systems.

Encap is merely a tool to be used in the appropriate area, either on it's own or in conjunction with other systems.

It is up to the experienced operator to distinguish the difference as required.

If I have trod on any toes, or hurt anyone's feelings, so be it, I would rather speak the truth than lie to you just to keep someone happy in their ivory tower.

I also still have my tm and use it regularly, even if not as often as before.

It still as a place in my toy box, (as does my porty).

And my CMX-20.

And my little handy spotter.

And my, crikey, I think I got too many toys.

Thanks ,

Shorty.

 

[harryhides]

I can't wait to what Jimmy will suggest........

 

[Desk Jockey]

Obot or OP the funnel traffic areas, Cimex all other areas.

The OP method will pick up the heavy soil on the pads and then Encap (Shampow for Jimmy) will have an easy time of the rest.

All low moisture, so not drying issues also no TM hoses, no porty's to slow you down.

 

[TimP]

If the place isn't heavily soiled the encap with Cimex is the most efficient way to do that job.

If the dirt is heavy and ground in then I would suggest an extraction but at a high cost. I would suggest also using forced drying as you clean using a portable in this method.

 

[Royal Man]

Encap with a fiber pad or with a pad/encap in the extra soiled areas and smile all the way to the bank.

 

[Jimmy L]

If you knew you were going to Scrub N' Run why did you ask?

 

[Shorty]

Because I like to keep an open mind and see how others would tackle this job.

There are many, many much smarter carpet cleaners out there than I, and as such, I am always looking for better ways of doing things.

If I don't ask, I shall never find out.

For me, most every commercial job is different and the more knowledgeable brains that can comment on how they would handle the job and with what equipment, the better off I am to do the work required.

I do thank the ones that posted extremely useful information which I have taken on board and will definitely be implementing on future jobs.

I will also be asking more stupid (to me), questions in future, in order to secure and clean such buildings to the best of my ability.

I can see a OP on my shopping list in the near future.

Again, ( I sold my last one last year ).

I have most everything else.

Thanks again for the great information, I can see where I can make some improvements.

Ooroo,

:roll:

 

[Chris A]

probably little to no visable soiling after the 3rd or 4th floor. Scrub, Run, and enjoy!

 

[Guest]

You need a Cross American Recoil XPS Super CHarged Industrial Machine with Auto Fill and Auto Dump.

 

[Ron Werner]

As soon as I saw the building and you described what a PITA it is to get in there, plus with the AC off, my first thought was Cimex, or one of the other LM methods.
Vacuum it first then use your method. Each time you come back you'll leave it looking pretty good.

 

[Chris A]

You need a Cross American Recoil XPS Super CHarged Industrial Machine with Auto Fill and Auto Dump.

Only faucet on each level that you can screw a hose onto, is in the wc.

You come out from the wc, along a passage and enter the lift lobby, then go through a door on the other side to go to the furthest point, nearly 400 feet away from the faucet and toilets/lavatories.

A long way to pump water and pull waste water.

(