[dreamweaver]

Hi guys/girls, cant believe my luck in finding a website like this.
I am new to carpet cleaning and have rented the rug doctor from the usual homebase and used it on friends and famileies carpet for experience and found it just OK.
I am In Dublin and looking to do this fulltime now as I have been working for myself for years in the consrtuction area and to say the least were having a big downturn at the moment.
I am on a budget and I know I can buy the rug doctor for 480 sterling delivered to my door.
The problem I would have though is as people can rent these out why would they want someone to use the same machine and charge them for it.
If for example I was on the same budget lets say  £500 what could I buy for this money taht would be better than the rug doctor and that would look professional , manybe I am asking to much for the money but i have to start somewhere.
Would the Puzzi 200 be a better option for me on start up.
Lastly can I get reccomondations for chemicals that are used
I was also thinking along the lines of bissel, but are these for more domestic jobs, I dont wanna turn up with a smaller machine than the customers hoover, any advise for a newbie here, cheers inadvance of any help

[Steve Barnett (Carpet Care Plus)]

Hi

If you are considering going into this business then you should certainly steer clear of the rug doctor market. These are not considered professional machines and will not do the job to the standard that a client would expect.

A £500 budget wont stretch that far unless you have some luck on e-bay.

As you have gathered this forum is a mine of information and your questions have been asked a hundred times before, including by myself, so my best advice at this stage is to look through some of the previous pages and posts and even use the search facility for advice on the best equipment.

What is of paramount importance, in my opinion, is to get yourself on a training course before you attempt to charge people for cleaning their carpets and get yourself insured.

Steve

[spencer davies]

I bought our kit, Mercedes Sprinter and Hydramaster Truck mount from a guy in Dublin, he struggled to make it work for him, the gear I bought was hardly used, almost new.

I hope this isn't too much of a downer, perhaps the Dublin area is already well serviced. 


Regards



S

[gwrightson]

Dream weaver,

In a nutshell you answered one of your questions yourself.

"The problem I would have though is as people can rent these out why would they want someone to use the same machine and charge them for it.
If for example"

Your budget of around £500 to be fair is not really going to get you a great deal!!, sure you will find a used machine for around £500 and their are a few advertised on here from time to time , I would suggest taking a look in buy and sell section, and the majority you can be assured will be described honestly with their integraty on here been on veiw ,  but their really is alot more expense to be considered. Chemicals of different types, tools of all descriptions ,insurance and a large part of the budget ADVERTISING  to name just a few.  
Not trying to put you off, because it can be rewarding with the effort , time and hard work you have to put into it, especially in the first few months ,even years.
A good suggestion would be to find a c/c near you who is willing to show you the ropes that way you will see what is involved.
Like you a number of years ago I was in the same situation, fortunatly a well respected member on here mentored me, taught me lots helped me with countless problems even the loan of equipment, and in the end it payed off.
Some may say , why help a possible competitor ?   others will say plenty of work for any decent c/c if you try hard enough........... and in this game you will find most c/c tend to help each other whether they be 50 0r 5 miles from each other .
so good luck, but I guess a little more financial input may be needed.


geoff

ps. Take a look at the Truckmount challenge thread

[dreamweaver]

many  thanks for your reply lads, I will take it all on board.
I have changed my mind  about the rug doctor for sure 28 psi, stoneage in comparison to some of the machines on this forum.
I was also looking at the Numatic model bellow
numatic ct 470-2
do you know what psi is for this particular model.
any reviews would be great , many thanks for your help so far its invaluable

[from edge2edge]

Dont buy a numatic it looks like a big Henry(same dilemma as rug doctor).As the other guys have already stated you may well pick up a very good proper hwe for £500 so dont rush to spend your cash on the wrong machine.Regards Alan (swindon)

[dreamweaver]

fair enough the one I mentioned  , I meant to say was the    
Numatic CT570-2 duplex version 2400 wat, would anyone know the psi for this particular one , thanks

[Joe H]

So now you have 2vac motors which will help, but htese are still little more then a domestic c/cleaner, although a good domestic c/cleaner.
I have one which I use as a "spotting" machine, for those jobs which are too small to get my truck mount or even my portable machiine set up.
PSI is 3 bar, 45psi, I think.
Still not up to the job you should be wanting to do.

[mark_roberts]

Dreamweaver

You will need to add another zero to your budget to setup in this business professionally.  You need more than a machine to run a carpet cleaning business.

Perhaps going out with a professional for a day will open your eyes.

Look up Mick Doherty from Aquadry.  Great bloke who will be honest with you.

Mark

PS. You'll still make more money in construction.

[Fintan_Coll]

Dreamweaver, what Mark Robert says is perfectly true. You will need to at least invest  three thousand euros and even then you will have a very basic set up.
I am not very familiar with the Dublin market but Mick Doherty would be an expert  having operated a very succesful business there for year, and as Mark says he is as straight and honest as they come