[Shaun_Ashmore]

If you go on a Branson jet or buy his products I wouldn't say they are cheap, cheaper than the most expensive but he tends to go for frills and mid to high range, he doesn't like to be compared on price more on quality to price.

Stellios is a Freddie Laker and is doing everything on price but he does take great pride in his work.

But... the 2 of them are owner/managers not the work force and deligate their work as carpet cleaners we are mostly owner workers.

Robert Meldrum and Ideal Rob do have some excellent points based on offering a quicker clean at the 'right money' the way it falls down is that when you HWE all of the time anything less is classed as not good enough as HWE if done properly to the letter will yield better results regarding amount of soil  and stains removed imo. The other thing is that when you quote over the phone you don't know what you are going into and if you go into a minger then will dry foam do?

Shaun

[Carpet Dawg]

Course it works .........it's how Branson, Stelios ( easyjet ) the Dragons and many others became VERY WEALTHY. but they ran FULL TIME businesses and were not afraid of hard work.

You cant compare the two....

Stack em high and sell em cheap doesn't apply in the service industry, and especialy when there's only one person doing the servicing!

There's only so many hours in the day that you can work, even if you charge £500 an hour! There's always a limit.

On the other hand, There's NO limit to the amount of products you can push out the door!

[garyhumphreys]

Im always amazed that what isnt good enough for me is loved by customers and accepted as a fantastic job.

I think that my expectations of a realistic job isnt matched by customers whose perception of an acceptable job is ''as long as it looks better than before its great!!

So I am interested in investing in a LM (dry foam)upholstery system but find the cost of £1800+vat a bit of a risk if people aren't impressed with the results.

Would love to do a suite in 1 hour but dont want to compromise a good reputation for quality cleaning service for a higher turnover.

Do you dry foamers do a survey first? do you also offer HWE as a (premium priced) deeper cleaning option??

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I was thinking of a 2 tier service also, I just remember that when I used one before and ended up ditching it but I think the door is still open.

Shaun

[robert meldrum]

When I started c/c I did my best to find the best products and tools and after many years along came the ultimate ............ CFR machine 400psi and fantastic tooling used with microsplitters with other products if the m/s failed to deliver.
I loved that combination but the machines are big and much of my work was in flatted properties so I had to use substitutes ( smaller machines ) for many jobs, but I had a Holloway machine which could supply solution directly to the spinning brush and I used it with dry foam.
The machine is HEAVY in use ......the brushes sprayed anything within a couple of feet so I got a Von Schrader which worked reasonably well but was SLOW and when running over the backs and sides of suites with sponges / brushes I discovered the little bonnet mitt was getting a better result than the machines and was MUCH faster.
A particular suite which I'd cleaned for a couple of years was much " fresher " after I'd used the dry foam with bonnet mitt on my next visit and that promted me to experiment further.
There are plenty dry foams available. I've used Chemspec, Prochem, Von Schrader, and others, but find I get excellent results from Chemblends product and it's British and only costs about £7 for 5 ltrs.
I always have a portable HWE machine with me as some jobs require that method.
I do NOT and would never agree with the thinking that ..........taking longer to do a job results in a better finish. I've worked with / observed many CRAFTSMEN in many trades / professions and in spite of their superior knowledge and ability they are never slow...........if anything they are faster than the less qualified or less capable.
Incidentally ....in the case of Branson.....I was referring to how he built his initial wealth which allowed him to get where he is today...........There are many more Bransons around I'll just name a few more from up here....Tom Farmer ( Kwik Fit ).....Tom Hunter....( J B or is it JJB Sports )....Ann Gloag ( Stagecoach )
Tony says ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,doesn't work in this industry...................of course it does and you don't have to be bottom end price, but you do have to be prepared to work. If you get more than you can handle, you make a business decision.................by getting someone to work with you or for you.

[idealrob]

Some people think dry foam is the poor option, I dont use it just because its quicker, I honestly beleive its better, safer and is excellent on corners, and soft suites and cushions, so dont knock it till you have tried it, and done hundreds of mingers, and cleaned fantastic, like I said the brown suite that turned out to be gold.
Maybe have to put some youtube video on showing the system on some mingers, and not just how quick it is, but how good it is. When I first started cleaning suites in late 70`s, most were dralon 10 cusion traditional 3 piece suites, and still think it was the best method for these types, and still beleive it today, for us I admit it was not as good as HWE on cotton prints in the 80`s, but with the micro spliiter and chems today, its a lot easier.

idealrob

[garyhumphreys]

Rob
are you using a machine or hand mitt?.

How are you cleaning and what chems do you use.?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Robert which mitts do you use and how do you apply the solution?

Shaun

[garyfindlay]

Shaun, we use the bonnet type hand pad with the green stripe through it,  with chemblend dryfoam very similar to prochem fibre shampoo.but smells cleaner. Wring out the mitt and it foams, ready to use.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Just a round hand mitt and a bucket? or do you have a ringer? (no puns please)

Shaun

[clinton]

Maybe wring it out by hand

[garyfindlay]

up north we don`t need a wringer for hand mitts

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I used to use this method solely for years but found that on very dirty suites it was lacking also when the water in the bucket went from hot to warm the solution was inactive, is this the method that was used to clean a suite in 45 mins?

Thinking about it 45 mins is a long time but the bases could be done in 10 mins each easily the cushions could be a challenge dependant on soiling, pity that something like Prochem fabric restorer doesn't encapsulate.

Shaun

[Carpet Dawg]

Would like to see a video of this method in action. Anyone know of any videos on youtube??

[garyfindlay]

Shaun,
Let me recap, since you can`t be ars!d reading the full thread.  :

THE SUITE WAS IN A ROW. I UNLOADED PORTY, 5 YARDS , INTO SHOP. I then vacuumed 2 chairs, SINCE THEY WERE BADLY SOILED.I then presprayed, and aggitated with minitex, then set up PORTY, and extracted. Being in a shop window it was sunny, and the heating was on. The CUSTOMER ONLY WANTED THE SUITES, FRESHENED UP TO SELL, AND WAS NOT PREPARED TO PAY MY USUAL RATE, HENCE THE RATHER QUICK CLEAN. Pack stuff away, and collect dosh = 45 minutes.

Did I mention that included a tea, and also a toilet break?  

I mostly use drifoam for backs, sides of chairs, running over them with the pad, and sometimes where your back comes in contact with the sofa.(I`m sure theres a name for it, but can`t remember) if it`s not too dirty. I would like to trial the dryfoam machine but it is rather expensive.

[idealrob]

i vac suite, the pre spray with m-power, the clean suite with dry fusion cristal machine, then at the end usually 30 mins, use the dry fusion machine to vacuum off any residue or foam. The chemical used in machine is cristal foam upholstery detergent, but use any good dry foam detergent. Can use a mitt on when suite is clean at back or sides. The machine is very much like von schrader esperit machine, its not a bucket and sponge type system.
Wonder if dry fusion have any videos

idealrob

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Gary the thread is a week old and I forget the ins and outs and can't be bothered to keep re reading it and also get confused with the posts from other forums I visit so don't take offence.

I think it's a great method one I keep wanting to revisit, I used to have a foaming sprayer which used to spray an aired cloud of shampoo, the idea of a foaming machine is that it whips up the foam with air which in turn keeps the shampoo suspended and less wet.

I would be interested in seeing a video of this method manual and with a machine.

Shaun

[robert meldrum]

Morning Shaun

I use the Yorkshire product, not because it's a lot cheaper to buy but because it's as good if not better than others. Chemspec's latest products may be as good and I'd love to try some of the stuff I rad about on the US forums, but I like the Chemblend product.

I find the bonnet mitts ....saturated then wrung out by hand ....to be capable of as good as or better than HWE on most suites, not flat weaves, although I often find areas on flat weaves that respond well to the method of cleaning.

I DON'T use machines as I find the mitts are quicker to use and easier to use. The method IS physical and NOT for wimps. Also, it dies out your hands and can be pretty hard on the skin as the mitts tend to rub quite a bit on the palms.

Purists will say it does'nt extract the soil like HWE which is true, it doesn't suck it out but bonnets DO collect a lot dirt and having used it for several years I can assure you it does NOT attract resoiling in fact seems to inhibit resoiling for longer than HWE products.

I played around with small o/p machines but the action of taking the bonnet off, rinsing, soaking, wringing out, re attaching to be too time consuming compared with just doing it by hand.

[garyfindlay]

No worries shaun, just thought you were at a delicate age when more stuffs falls out your brain than stays in.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I have a feeling it never went in !

I have a small Op hand buffer but it doesn't work as well as I hoped on upholstery as it shakes around too much where a more rotary system spins on the spot better I came to the conclusion that it was the circular motion isn't big enough for Ops of this size 6" and it just vibrates more than spins.

Shaun