[kelly acs]

Hi every one i'm new here 

I run a cleaning company with my partner, until recently we have specialised in regular commercial cleans and have done reasonably well. However the work is due to die off soon as a lot of it is seasonal ie caravan parks and the rest is in the building trade and we all know that is gonna die altogether very soon!

So any way I thought it would be wise to invest out money in a good quality walk along carpet cleaner. We have two numatic cold extraction units but they are too slow and want something with faster results.

I've looked on the net and found the rug doctor, are these as good as they say they are? Is there anything better for under a thousand pounds?

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Kelly

The traditional view within our industry is that a "wand and a box" will give you more opportunities than a walk behind. 

As long as you have a mid to upper range specification, you would be able to leave the machine outside the door at most jobs which would exhaust the moist, sometimes smelly, air to the outside world. This in turn will reduce the premises humidity a little which is beneficial for drying.

You should be able to just take in the wand and the hose for your work.  A walk behind could be a nightmare to take up and down stairs, especially if you need to empty it first.

Walk behinds are best, IMO, as a machine which is not transported to various sites and where the operator has a lower knowledge and skill base.

If you haven't had any formal training in specialist carpet cleaning, I would strongly recommend that you do so. Even with your existing equipment, knowledge will permit higher standards and speed.

A good place to start your search for equipment will be at the website of this site's sponsors followed by a search through the site, or ask specific questions here about various machines (for this, you'll receive a thousand different answers

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[kelly acs]

Thank you. We do get great results with our cold extraction units I am just looking for something which gives the same good results but faster.

I see what you mean though the walk alongs are bulky and taking them to several domestic jobs a day would be hard work.

In an ideal world i would buty a truck mounted system but at present this not possible!

Thank you for the advice a very good point!

[Jim_77]

Hi Kelly

Rug doctor...vax...puzzi... all swear words within professional circles!

You certainly won't be working at any speed or to a very high standard with small, cheap machinery.

Uncle Ken speaks much sense, his advice should be heeded

What sort of carpet cleaning are you looking to get into?  Only domestic?  Only commercial?  Mixture of the two?

What sized van do you have at the moment?  Installing a van-mounted unit might not be as financially impossible as you think.  As well as the bigger truckmounts you see a lot of, there are other options such as the petrol-powered Prowler, which you can wheel on and off the van if needed.

There's also the Scorpion which can be left in the van and hooked up to external fresh/waste tanks.  It's electric though, so would need two long heavy duty extensions to hook it up to the power.  Still looks a pretty neat set-up.

Just to back up Ken's advice, whatever you do you need to be trained in first.  Confidence and knowledge help to make you quicker and avoid re-visits/insurance claims

[kelly acs]

Yeah I was a bit dubious about the rug doctor as i've seen it for hire in supermarkets etc! We have two vans a vw transporter and just purchased a citroen relay so there would be ample room for a truck mounted machine if i could afford one!

[kelly acs]

so what sort of price is a prowler do you know? I just looked on their site and it doesn't say how much they are!

[davep]

Here it is

ht tp://www.restormate.co.uk/epages/15094.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/15094/Products/TM01

[kelly acs]

looks like a great bit of kit but unfortunately way above my price range at present.  lol!

I did notice another piece of equipment on the site though that agitates the carpet with brushes, the flexi 5 carpet restorer. Surely with this and the numatic ct900 I could achieve pretty good results?

We used to be car valets and found we got much better results on the upholstery when it was agitated before extracting the cleaning solution.

[kelly acs]

Yeah i've been on ebay and i'm currently bidding on a ninja. Havn't seen the scorpian van mounted one though i wil look now thanx

[kelly acs]

sorry to be a pain but i can't find it do u know the ad number?

[kelly acs]

yeah