VACUUM BEFORE CLEANING

FreshAire wrote: Wrong Mr Steamer, your super-sucker won't get everything up, especially not in a heavily soiled carpet. Don't believe me? Go back next day with a Dyson and vacuum it and see just how much crap is left behind! When that soil load is wet out, it gets sticky and only partially gets flushed... try getting dust on your clothes and then dust it off with a dry hand- most comes out. Try it with a wet hand and see what happens; same thing applies to carpets!!!Personally my customers don't get the choice, and once they've seen the result of what comes out of their carpet in spite of their having "vacuumed" already with their 40 year old wheezer of a vac, they are always happy that you do do a proper pre-vac, have not had a single customer complain about it to date! And let's face it, even the ones with the best vac tend to be fairly lazy with their vacuuming and you end up only get a half-arsed attempt done! Why bother letting them do it for you, unless of course you really don't give too much of a sh*t about quality outcomesAnd as for your comment about "your customers would never pay for it" Mr Steamer, I used to say the same thing- until I started doing it and guess what? I might have dropped 10% of my customers, but the extra charge per job meant I still made more money at the end of the day with less travel (Read: expense) at the end of the day!

Got to agree with Freshaire on this one. If you don't prevac, you are doing a 2nd rate job. If you can't make enough on a job by doing this, turn the job down. Doing the job right should always take priorty over prifitability on the job. Doing the job right is WHY you were hired to do it in the first place.

FreshAire wrote: Wrong Mr Steamer, your super-sucker won't get everything up, especially not in a heavily soiled carpet. Don't believe me? Go back next day with a Dyson and vacuum it and see just how much crap is left behind! When that soil load is wet out, it gets sticky and only partially gets flushed... try getting dust on your clothes and then dust it off with a dry hand- most comes out. Try it with a wet hand and see what happens; same thing applies to carpets!!! Personally my customers don't get the choice, and once they've seen the result of what comes out of their carpet in spite of their having "vacuumed" already with their 40 year old wheezer of a vac, they are always happy that you do do a proper pre-vac, have not had a single customer complain about it to date! And let's face it, even the ones with the best vac tend to be fairly lazy with their vacuuming and you end up only get a half-arsed attempt done! Why bother letting them do it for you, unless of course you really don't give too much of a sh*t about quality outcomes And as for your comment about "your customers would never pay for it" Mr Steamer, I used to say the same thing- until I started doing it and guess what? I might have dropped 10% of my customers, but the extra charge per job meant I still made more money at the end of the day with less travel (Read: expense) at the end of the day!

I'm flushing with 500-700 psi...more than enough...talk to me when you've cleaned a few more carpets...  I'm not using a porty I'm using a truckmount... bring on your dyson

I charge for vacuuming as part of the service based on ISSA rates.  I also give no options on protection.  I am the doctor treating the patient.  If the patient wants my help it will be by my ground rules.  I turn away more jobs than I get but what I get is cream of the crop.

Don't get all defensive and steamed, Steamer!


By some standards I am part time.  But the profit standard is not one of them.  I pick and choose the jobs I want, not take every scrap thrown at me.  Sorry if vacuuming ruffles your feathers.  I could say it is part of the certification for IICRC Technician to know this is step 2 (first being inspection) but I sense you think those standards are for losers, right?  Maybe we should just thrown out the other steps as well and simply send out statements for carpet cleaning and see who pays?

I am sure everyone appreciates your valued input that we are below you in our understanding of the business and that you alone possess the wisdom we seek.    

We humbly bow in your presence and say kiss our ever lovin a$$e$.  Have a nice day and remember it is a big world and you are relevant to but a few people.  Don't feel guilty about declaring the IICRC is just so much bull.  We consider the source of the bitching and know it means nothing.

Thank you for sharing.  Next!



Edited by duckcountry - 22/June/2008 at 12:35am

For the record

20 years in business

I use Prochem Performer truckmount (LPG converted for both environmental and running costs scenarios) as well as a portable twin-vac extractor, rotary shampoo machine as well as dedicated encapsulation equipment.

Industry troubleshooter here in WA when people have problems with carpets/other operators

Doing my certification now to also become an instructor in the industry

Co-Founder of the Advantage Group Carpet Cleaners www.agccwa.com.au

Committee member of the BSCAA(WA)  paving the way for reigistration in the industry

Part of the select committee that set up the National Carpet Cleaning Competencies criteria

part of the "Green Stamp" approval system being set up locally for environmentally sound  business practices.

So no, I am not a fly-by-night operation and have been involved with enough research (including a short stint with the Department of Environmental Reasearch at Murdoch University) to know the difference between a "visual" clean (i.e. just making a carpet look better temporarily) and an actual clean.

To each their own, but please don't insult my intelligence and that of others on here who have had their collective eyes opened by professional training based on a sound scientific grounding as against an opinion that can't be quantified by anything other than anecdotal "evidence".

You may choose to prevac or not, that ultimately is a business decision you have to make for yourself, but saying you are providing the same level of service by either not pre-vaccing or having your client do it for you I find somewhat ignorant (not necessarily a fault, simply uneducated) or at worst dishonest, knowing what I know now compared to before I underwent any training or did some research of my own (Yay for the Internet!!).

PS for the 6 years I worked in the industry as a so-called "professional" before my educational awakening, I also assumed my machine got it all/most of it out and would have argued against pre-vaccing; education and experience soon changed that notion!

Edited by Ken_Is_OK - 22/June/2008 at 8:40am