[the red carpet]

Brought a new toy today and thought i would share the idea with you all, as it so cheap simple and easy and will make your working life so much easier that after reading this if you have the money and the space in the van to keep it, you would be a fool not to buy one.

Its a ironing board from Tesco's

We all moan about how we hate doing suites coz its hard work and it gives us a bad back, well not with one of these it dosent.
I brought this today to clean cushions on whilst standing up, instead of all that bending over.

At full height it is exactly the right size for me and im around six foot, and you can lower it if your any shorter, it is a extra wide one and is exactly the right size its very strong and very stable i even cleaned the footstall up on it.

Cleaning the suite was a piece of pi$$ and i went on to do three more jobs afterwards, usually that suite would have finished me but i still felt right as rain.

There for sale in the larger Tescos, "Tescos Extra" and there £39.99 the are silver and look very smart, if you do buy one its the stripy one with bright pink stripes on, once you buy it take the cover of and clean on the silver mesh base.

You need to take the cover off for two reasons, one so you dont look like a pratt, and two becuase i checked the fabric and the pink dye in the cover is loose when wet and will transfer into the cushions so do make sure you take it off.

[*paul_moss]

Neat Idea 

Why didnt I think of that.
Gotta save some backache

[calmore]

You can get ironing boards as cheap as £15 if u shop around.

However, they probably aren't as trendy as your silver-with-pink-stripes model!

On a serious note, I'm surprised that the equipment manufacturers don't sell a collapsible stand at an inflated price.

[the red carpet]

It will, it just takes all the work out of it, i even had my sandwich and drink up there to, standing upright taking it easy, eating, drinking, having a chat and getting paid is something we rarely do in this game. But thats what i done today, bring on the suites now i say im actually looking forward to the next one.

And once all the cushions are done you just fly over all the backs and sides, but these are hardly ever soiled, so its just spray and suck in most cases.

[Nick Johnston]

Nice idea.

I use a slatted aluminium collapsible picnic table which I bought from Argos for about £25. I'm vertically challenged at 5' 8", so the lower height of the table works well for me. The collapsed table is stores in a bag whch fits nicely in the van next to my air mover - another essential piece of kit for suites!

Nick

[the red carpet]

Yeah i heard about the picnic table idea and looked in argos for one myself, but to short for me im afraid id still be bent over all the time.

[*paul_moss]

Yeah i heard about the picnic table idea and looked in argos for one myself, but to short for me im afraid id still be bent over all the time.

Red
You will only be bent over it when you do the upholstery for those nice boys 

[Damian]

Paul it is  collapsible remember! now where is the soap

[Cloverleaf]

I bought a fold up picnic table from Focus this summer for 8 quid, makes cleaning cushions a breeze.

It took me 2 years to think about it, but I,m not always impulsive 

John

[Mark Stanley]

Nice idea Red - I will certainly look into that ironing board idea.

Mark

[Teddycare]

I use the back of one chair tipped ford on another like a table,

[cleaning co]

hi ted, saw u other day cleaning lady pace gym down lakes rd,vans bit small aint it ?  lol 
gary

[Cleaning Resource]

HI, good idea to use an ironing board I currently use one of those stands you get in hotels to put your case on whille you unpack but i still have to be bent over to use it, I`m of to tesco

[murky]

Red, (and everyone else)

Be careful when you get the back of a cushion wet the dye in those zips is probably the loosest you will find. So if you stand them at the end of the job to dry off they can leave a black line on the sofa base

It used to run very easily, so much so that I dont do the backs anymore, they dont get dirty anyway.

[carpetguy]

Murky                                                                                                                                       Surprised at this comment, it's a problem I've ever encountered in 16 years cleaning suites, probably hundreds of them and we have always stood seat cushions on the base, forming triangles to assist drying.

Without assisted drying, we have always achieved drying times of 1-4 hours, depending on the fabric.

IF YOU MISS OUT THE BACKS THERE IS A GREATER DANGER watermarks especially, if you're overwetting.

robbie

[PaulKing]

I use the back of one chair tipped ford on another like a table,

A really good idea

but for some reason that I  cannot explian would hate you to do it in my house think that i would consider it disrepectfull of my possions, might pay you but never ask you back.

And thats from the man who tells everyone that "Shrouds don't have pockets"

[Mike Halliday]

I used to bend over a chair and use the back but learnt my lesson when I bent a valence at the bottom.  It had a cardboard insert to keep it stiff, this got creased and wouldn't lay flat when I righted the chair

had too tack it back

Mike

[Kev Loomes]

Never could see the point of tipping chairs/sofas myself. Some legs are dodgy and I wouldn't want one breaking on me that's for sure! Yeh it might save your knees a bit, but.....

Have always used a folding table.

[Neil Grainger]

Red

Top idea, made such a difference to my cleaning of Upholstery, saves my back.

Cheers

Neil