Carpet Cleaning Issues - Carpet construction, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, equipment, events, etc.
Protector- price & other questionsPosted by mike_halliday (mike_halliday), 6 November 2003
What % of your cleaning price do you charge for protector?
I use Craftex concentrate, can I mix up 12lts and just keep it in the sprayer or will it 'go off'
if it says use at 8-1 can I mix it at 12-1 and give it free to customers, will it still give some protection?
if i mix it at 12-1 but put down 50% more will it give the same protection eg on deep pile carpets so it penetrates the full carpet.
thanks
MikePosted by Jim_Lynch (Jim_Lynch), 6 November 2003
Mike, I generally charge 50-75% of my cleaning rate, depending on my mood 
If I'm applying it to the entire area cleaned, 75% is the rate, if only to traffic areas, then 50%, based however on the total area, not just traffic areas.
I'm sure by diluting the mixture as suggested there will be still some benefit, but I'd rather stick to the mfr's mixing ratios.
I wouldn't leave ready-to-use protector in the sprayer for an extended period - perhaps a week or so at most.
JimPosted by woodman (woodman), 6 November 2003
Hi Mike,
In answer to your first question I charge 75% of cleaning rate, on average clean £140.00 = £105.00 + VAT
I wouldn't risk leaving a made up solution with a customer. If it goes by it's sell by date and they use it could be problems, what about H&S data sheets etc,
Dilution rates keep cropping up as a problem, this is mainly due to products from the U.S.
As a U.S. gallon is smaller than ours you have to dilute at the U.S. rate also the conversion from U.S. gallon into metric litres is confusing at times.
Far easier to make up a RTU solution into U.K. gallon then convert to litres for use.
I think 
Posted by Nigel_W (Nigel_W), 6 November 2003
Hi Woodman,
When you get your new Spraymaster all your dilution problems will disappear. Fill the sprayer with concentrate and set the dial to 1:4 or 1:8 and spray.
Mike - If you use an inline sprayer you don't have any waste. The concentrate goes in the sprayer and can be left in there until the next protection job. Plus you have a constant pressure delivered by your cleaning machine.
In this instance I would recommend following the manufacturers instructions to the letter for application rates and dilution ratios. If over applied it can change the feel of the carpet and if under applied it is not doing its job properly.
On new carpet I charge the same as my cleaning price per square metre. On cleaned carpet I charge @66%.
I am using chemspec stainshield on carpet which is particularly econmical and works as well as any other protector I have used. I think it is @ £45.00 for 5 litres of concentrate. It dilutes at 8:1 for new carpet and 4:1 for wet carpet.
NigelPosted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 6 November 2003
Hi Guys and gals
The key thing here is read the manufacturers dilution rates.
If you spray at 12 - 1 when you should be spraying at 8-1 over a specified given area then you are underspraying, technically not giving value for money or performance.
If you over-apply then this, in turn, can lead to stickiness and resoiling or in some instances white powdery deposits when the protector has cured.
Of course there are different densities of pile and fibre construction to consider...hopefully the manufacturers will give some guidance on this in their instructions.
As a rule of thumb....e.g. the instructions may say apply one litre of concentrate to say 30 square yards of carpet diluted to the required level
Depending on the density of the fibres and type of fibres the water 'carrier' can be reduced BUT NOT the amount of product.
I hope that this makes sense
Derek
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