Had a job for a high end customer, rather his wife who owns a strip mall or small office complex in which she has a few small biz in. Anyways the carpet, kind of a dense cut pile,beteen a com. grade & short plush 6 mon. old figured it would be a good bet for encap. SV at 6 oz. Well it ended up taking 24 hrs to dry, and she said it dryed blotchy & would not like me to use it again. OK I guess I over wetted it.Wish I had a better story to tell! I told her this type of cleaning would make the carpet last longer, with less resoiling . She wants HWE next time! This kind of took me down a level.
Gary

Hi Gary,

First of all I'd like to say that I'm glad to hear that your 20 year old Cimex is still running. It's a good testimonial to their durability. These babies are tuff.

Are you using shampoo brushes with your 15" machine? The Fiberplus pads will produce better results. It's easier to control the solution. You'll actually use less product. Plus the carpet will clean up better with pads too, since they make more surface contact than the brushes. There is a noticeable difference. That being said; we only carry pads for the 19" machine at this time. But if you decide to go with pads for your 15” machine contact me and I can find a solution for you.

You also said that you mixed the Spin Vac at 6 ounces per gallon. What was the reason for this? The directions on the container say to mix it at 8 ounces per gallon. This would certainly make a difference. Suggestion: if you mix it with hot water it will produce better foam.

You’ll need to get the feel for the rate of detergent usage. You only need to dispense enough solution to lightly whiten the surface of the fiber. The carpet normally dries in less than 2 hours. There are always variables when it comes to dry times – but 24 hours is way out of line! You used way too much water. It’s no wonder that it looked blotchy. Keep in mind, you only need to use enough solution to wet out the fibers.

It’s also possible that your old machine might have some blockages in the plumbing. Check to see that all 3 brushes are receiving a good flow of solution when you squeeze the trigger. You may need to clean out one, two, or all three of the lines if there is blockage. Plugged up flow can affect the way the carpet is wetted.

Avoid the misconception that “more is better”. If the carpet is dirty scrub longer – don’t add more solution to the fiber. It’s the agitation that gets the job done – not necessarily more detergent. Bottom line is that you will need to get comfortable using much less liquid to clean with.

Hope these suggestions help.


Rick Gelinas

Hello Rick,
Might have got confused on the amount of SV mixed Per/gal. But I did take the instructions off side of gal. container so it may have been mixed at 8oz. Was using Hog Hair pads. I will check the lines to see if their open & free. We were using the hottest water from a comm. water heater. But I know we used a lot.I guess I'll have to pratice on not over doing the chem. Solution. Thanks for your help.
Gary

Hi, Gary -

Our first ecap. job went similarly. It took a long time to dry and looked blotchy. I went out the next day to fix it and all it needed was a good pile vacuuming. We WAY overused the product and that will definitely give you problems.

Rick's the man with the plan. The Fiberplus pads rule. We use just enough solution to SLIGHTLY see a white foam. If you're getting lots of foam, it's too much. Just use a small amount and let the machine do what it does best!

scooter

Thanks for the advice Scott! Thought I went thru too much water, after the job, thinking back. Hindsight very easy to do & see.
Gary