Moldy smell after steam cleaning
Printed From: Carpet Cleaning Forum
Category: Carpet Cleaners Discussion
Forum Name: Truck Mount Carpet Steam Cleaning Machines & Equipment
Forum Description: Discuss anything relating to truckmounts
URL: https://www.kleenkuip.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4175
Printed Date: 26/April/2024 at 3:22pm
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Topic: Moldy smell after steam cleaning
Posted By: Atlantis
Subject: Moldy smell after steam cleaning
Date Posted: 09/September/2007 at 7:49pm
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Hi. I just had a customer call me back saying there is a moldy smell and the carpets are still wet. It is Sunday and I did the job Friday night. 99.9% of my customers are satisfied and these type of complaints are very rare but I'd like to try to eliminate them. I was hoping maybe some of the vets can give some advice. On this particular job the customer complained about a musty odor to begin with. So I microbanned everything, let it sit for ten minutes then extracted it out. I use a heavy duty degreaser and d-limonene mixture I created for spot cleaning and prespray and pH5000 in as the emulsifier through my unit. After the 10 minutes I presprayed the areas with a hydroforce and cleaned as normal rinsing out everything in the carpet with the pH5000. I used the want wet one time and then took a glider and ran the glide about 3 times dry over the areas. I then sprayed down some carpet freshener in a quart bottle that dries to a 7 pH and groomed the carpets. Normally I would just use the glide, wet stroke and 2 dry strokes but because of the amount of chemicals I put in the carpet I gave it an extra dry stroke. But the customer is still complaining about the carpets being wet and a musty odor. What could I do differently to do a better job? Thanks in advance. PS. I am running a panther 25 with a 100 gallon waste tank. I filled/emptied the waste tank once during the job and at the end of the job I was left with about 40 gallons in my waste tank after the initial dump. I was cleaning about 2000 sq. ft. Am I using too much water? I am extracting out a great deal of what I put it. And she is only complaining about 2 rooms, not all of the house. |
Replies:
Posted By: splash_$$$_dash
Date Posted: 09/September/2007 at 9:34pm
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you sure did soak them rugs mate.
next time just bring a fire truck. ------------- 
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Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 09/September/2007 at 11:00pm
| When you say that the customer complained about a musty oder to begin with, this should have been a red flag to dig deeper. Did she have subsurface water damage recently? has there been a lot of rain in the area lately? I had a customer say the same thing on a job last week before I cleaned and I also smelled it. We discussed that I thought she had moisture issues that went beyond just a damp basement and referred her on to a friend that specializes in mold remediating. I've been cleaning for 25 years , but I have chosen to never work water damage or mold. I refer this work on by choice. I have less liability, less problems and less headaches. IMO |
Posted By: splash_$$$_dash
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 3:30pm
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and less money!
get in, suck the water out, get the money and run baby! splash = cash = dash. KnowWhatImSayin. |
Posted By: doug
Date Posted: 10/September/2007 at 3:56pm
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Way toooo many wet steps??? ------------- Just My opinion |
Posted By: SRI Cleaning
Date Posted: 14/September/2007 at 2:15am
| Yeah you definietly overwet the carpet. I am lucky if i fill 20 gallons of my waste tank on 2000 square feet. |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 14/September/2007 at 2:26am
| It's the difference between what you put on the carpet and what is in the waste tank after the job that really counts. |
Posted By: Mr. Slide
Date Posted: 14/September/2007 at 2:26am
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WOW!
On 2000 sq.ft. I put in about 80gal. & pull (suck) out about 60+ gal.
 Cheers! ------------- http://qcsliders.com - http://qcsliders.com !!!Check this out!!! Put a Slide Not a Glide on your Wand, and do a better job! |
Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 15/September/2007 at 4:31pm
| What is your normal dry time ? |
Posted By: John L
Date Posted: 15/September/2007 at 9:36pm
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Chris you should do 2 clean strokes and slow down on the dry strokes.. You can always do more dry strokes.. You have to feel how much moisture is on the carpet after each dry stroke..
With a 25hp TM the carpet should of been dry at least within 4hrs.. Was your lint basket clogged?
Sounds like you used a portable!..
 but thats where the porty guys say "The TM guy left it wetter than me". Your moving the wand too fast..  This guy is not speed cleaning.. And that's what drys carpets faster...
http://blip.tv/file/305947 - http://blip.tv/file/305947 http://blip.tv/file/get/Pocc-PacificOceanCarpetCleaningDemonstration797.flv -
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Posted By: danmarck82
Date Posted: 16/September/2007 at 1:10am
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Thanks for the clips!
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Posted By: Atlantis
Date Posted: 10/October/2007 at 10:44am
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thanks everyone for your responses. I've determined that it is the glider giving me problems. I stopped using it and I haven't had a complaint since!! But I also found some good information here so everything you guys said I will keep in mind for sure! THanks! |