I've had a lot of carpet cleaning companies I know ring me for advice in the past on how to remove paint from carpet.
The best product I can recommend that we always use with success is Solvex made by Prochem.
It's very greasy so remember to rinse it off with the extraction machine.
I'll probably post some more recommendations on cleaning products in the future but for now if anyone needs any advice on removing anything from carpets just contact us
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
dusmite facts
Here are some scary facts about dustmites. They live for three to four months and will produce 20 droppings a day. each female will lay 20 to 50 eggs every three weeks. They are the main reason why your indoor air is probably more responsible for allergies than outdoor air. Thankfully there are ways to kill dustmites and make our homes healthy again and the effects are reversible. To find out more look at our healthy home page
Monday, 24 September 2007
How to choose carpet
Any one out there looking for a new carpet can get some good info at this site How To Choose Carpet
How NOT to clean carpets
A quick message to carpet cleaners out there who insist on quoting their customers for the 'basic carpet cleaning service'; Basic does not mean you miss out pre-vacuuming prior to extraction, nor does it mean you forget to pre-spray! I would call this the 'crap carpet cleaning service'.
Ofcourse all reputable carpet cleaning companies who are IICRC trained know better
Correct carpet cleaning methods are alot more involved than just setting a machine up and moving a wand!
Ofcourse all reputable carpet cleaning companies who are IICRC trained know better
Correct carpet cleaning methods are alot more involved than just setting a machine up and moving a wand!
Using Vinegar For Cleaning Windows
I was intruiged today when one of our clients rang me up after our cleaners had done an end of tenancy cleaning job for him.
He was stunned at how clean and sparkling the windows in the conservatory were and wanted to know how we'd achieved this result. I told him we simply used newspaper and vinegar. I'm actually amazed at how many people don't know about this simple method and also at people who dismiss it as secondary to 'proper' cleaning chemicals.
Next time you need to clean some windows try it for yourself. Just remember to wear gloves!!
He was stunned at how clean and sparkling the windows in the conservatory were and wanted to know how we'd achieved this result. I told him we simply used newspaper and vinegar. I'm actually amazed at how many people don't know about this simple method and also at people who dismiss it as secondary to 'proper' cleaning chemicals.
Next time you need to clean some windows try it for yourself. Just remember to wear gloves!!
Sunday, 23 September 2007
hot-water extraction vs dry compound cleaning
I bumped into another carpet cleaner in hampstead the other day who wanted to have a debate about which cleaning method is beter, dry compound cleaning (the host system as it's best known), or steam-extraction. Now I took the route of 'well it depends on what carpet you are cleaning and what the client's requirements are'. I would always prefer to use hot-water extraction if possible but sometimes this just isn't feasible.
A few months back we cleaned the communal carpets including the stairs in a huge block of flats in North London. Now this was a monster of a job taking 5 of us over 2 days to complete and this was using the dry compound system. If we had extracted we would have spent a week there and with no improvement in results. Now i'm the first to admit that extarction probably leaves the carpets in a more neutral state and less likely to become soiled as quickly again however with this particular carpet I knew this didn't apply. Also, it will be cleaned on a regular basis. The most important factor was for it to dry quickly and for there to be minimum disruption to residents. Basically it was treated as a commercial carpet cleaning job.
So next time you are arguing about which cleaning system is best remember to discuss more than just results. There are other factors that usually have to be addressed too.
A few months back we cleaned the communal carpets including the stairs in a huge block of flats in North London. Now this was a monster of a job taking 5 of us over 2 days to complete and this was using the dry compound system. If we had extracted we would have spent a week there and with no improvement in results. Now i'm the first to admit that extarction probably leaves the carpets in a more neutral state and less likely to become soiled as quickly again however with this particular carpet I knew this didn't apply. Also, it will be cleaned on a regular basis. The most important factor was for it to dry quickly and for there to be minimum disruption to residents. Basically it was treated as a commercial carpet cleaning job.
So next time you are arguing about which cleaning system is best remember to discuss more than just results. There are other factors that usually have to be addressed too.
Bait and switch cleaners
I had a funny conversation this morning with a new client. She told me about the last company that came round to clean her carpets and frankly I just couldn't believe what I was hearing..
The story goes that these guys rang her out of the blue to offer her carpet cleaning at £9 a room!! Now she decided to do some research and found that this was a very good price (it certainly was a low price but how good it turned out is another thing!)
So she called them back and booked them in to clean all the bedrooms. When they turned up they started to discuss 'extras' like deodorising, moving of furniture, sanitising, neutralising etc.
Well the 3 bedrooms ended up costing her £150. Now if they'd actually done a good job this would be fine (also if they hadn't decieved her about the price in the first place), however they didn't even carry out the most basic of procedures: pre-vacuuming, brushing in of the pre-spray, spot cleaning etc.
What they did was quickly set up their smelly steam-extraction machine and run over the carpet for 2 hours. After they'd gone she found they actually hadn't moved the beds atall which they had charged extra for!
Now i'm sure there are alot of you carpet cleaners out there that have heard horror stories similar to this from your own clients. Sadly, I can type 'carpet cleaning london' into a search engine now and see a few of these cowboys on the first page. Gladly, I know they also struggle to keep their businesses alive because of the lack of repeat work they recieve. Remember, you are always going to be better of running a business properly and being upfront with your clients. If you work like the company I've just described, please just leave this industry.. You're now wanted!!
The story goes that these guys rang her out of the blue to offer her carpet cleaning at £9 a room!! Now she decided to do some research and found that this was a very good price (it certainly was a low price but how good it turned out is another thing!)
So she called them back and booked them in to clean all the bedrooms. When they turned up they started to discuss 'extras' like deodorising, moving of furniture, sanitising, neutralising etc.
Well the 3 bedrooms ended up costing her £150. Now if they'd actually done a good job this would be fine (also if they hadn't decieved her about the price in the first place), however they didn't even carry out the most basic of procedures: pre-vacuuming, brushing in of the pre-spray, spot cleaning etc.
What they did was quickly set up their smelly steam-extraction machine and run over the carpet for 2 hours. After they'd gone she found they actually hadn't moved the beds atall which they had charged extra for!
Now i'm sure there are alot of you carpet cleaners out there that have heard horror stories similar to this from your own clients. Sadly, I can type 'carpet cleaning london' into a search engine now and see a few of these cowboys on the first page. Gladly, I know they also struggle to keep their businesses alive because of the lack of repeat work they recieve. Remember, you are always going to be better of running a business properly and being upfront with your clients. If you work like the company I've just described, please just leave this industry.. You're now wanted!!
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