It’s amazing to me to see how many wannabes there are when it comes to manufacturing “encapsulation” chemicals. Looks like everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon. I just finished testing 3 new products. I won’t name them here. But I will say that one of them comes from one of the larger companies. I guess I’m just baffled about why they promote these products in the manner that they do. These products claim that they form a crystal right on the jug. Hmmm?

Testing proves otherwise: It doesn’t take an Underwriters Laboratory to pour a few drops of these products into a dish and dry it overnight. And any of us can see from the results that these products simply do not crystallize. What I saw in all 3 cases with the new products I just tested was sticky gooh in each dish – NO CRYSTAL. So why lie and say the product forms a crystal? Why bring out a product that clearly is not what is claimed? It seems like these companies should spend more time evaluating their products before they rush them to market.

For everyone who is attempting to clean with encapsulation products please perform this simple test with your product. See whether or not your product is a true encapsulator. Pour a few drops of the detergent into a glass dish. Let it dry overnight. Check the contents the following day. A good crystal formation is an indication of a true encapsulation detergent. It should look like an ice crystal. And the residue should break up in shards and release readily from the dish.

However... If the product dries like shellac hardened to the surface. If it dries without forming a crystal. If it dries sticky. Then it’s simply not going to work – regardless of what marketing claims are made on the jug.

Okay I'll get off my soapbox now.


Rick Gelinas

What is EVEN MORE IMPORTANT than a product breaking into ice-like crystals IN A DISH, is how easily the product will release from a carpet fiber when ONLY a small amount is left behind from performing the encapsulation process.

Some of the products that produce Crystals in a dish are VERY DIFFICULT to remove when only a small amount is left such as an amount one would leave behind when performing the encapsulation process.

How a product performs in a dish can be VERY misleading! Some products claiming to be encapsulation chems that WILL RELEASE from a carpet fiber easily MAY NOT crystallize well when placed in larger amounts in a dish. That certainly does not negate their ability to perform well when left in amounts they were intended.

When testing, be sure to wipe a much smaller amount of the product on the side of a glass and allow drying. Next try to remove the product with a brush or even with your fingers.

You might be surprised to discover that some of the ones that crystallize when dried in larger amounts are more difficult to remove when dried in a thin amount such as you would leave behind when performing the encapsulation process.

We do not leave behind large amounts of product when we perform the encapsulation process; we leave behind a very thin layer of product. So which is a better real world test, testing with a larger or with a small amount of product?

To me the answer is easy.

BTW, CTI's "Brush and Bonnet" both forms a crystal in a dish AND REMOVES EASILY when left in a small amount from the encapsulation process.

Steve,

Well said as usual.

I agree that CTI's Brush and Bonnet does form a GREAT crystal, and it does release very easily. However by comparison with the other encap products, the crystal is very frail and it crumbles like ash. I feel that it may be too frail to hold the soil. I am also concerned that such a lightweight residue could even become airborne. Additionaly Brush & Bonnet has absoultely no foaming charecteristic, which makes it difficult to work with it in a scrubbing application. We rely on a degree of foaming to provide a visible cue to determine how much product is being applied to the carpet. So I hesitate to recommend Brush & Bonnet for a scrubbing application. However B&B would be a fine choice for a bonnet application, since foaming is not necessary with bonnet cleaning and since the primary cleaning is being accomplished via absorption.

Rick Gelinas

Hi Rick, Can you name the products you have tested.
Thanks

Don,
It would probably be quicker to name the products that I haven't tested. I think I've tested just about all of them so far.



Rick Gelinas

How did the Bridgepoint product test? That is one that I haven't tried yet.

It turned white after it dried. It would not form a crystal. And it remained soft even after several days.



Rick Gelinas

Rick I did try and do a test using the Encap from Bridge Point comparing it to Spin Vac and Mist and Brush, Bridge Point was'nt even close..
Jim

The valve on my pump sprayer clogs up with crystels and leaks if I do not clean it out after applying spinvac or mist & brush. I love both products and have no plans on switching to anything else.

I am currently doing my own tests on Cobbs and bridgepoint products . I will post results later. i suggest people do there own tests.IMHO

Rick,
<<no foaming charecteristic>> while scrubbing with a Cimex is a concern for the reasons you noted.

The foaming quality of Spin Vac does serve as a dandy little <<cue>> for customers as well as cleaners, I've found. They associate the bits of foam on their carpet with cleaning.

I suspect that we will see a return to the 70's shampoo paradigm soon, with greater amounts of bubbles and "encapsulating shampoo" before we are out of the next decade.

You might recall from the ics.org board that I was one of the more conservative skeptics on the issue of encapsulation's safety.

I still look skeptically at the various products as they come along; each must prove its worth and each exposes us to liabilities we have yet to realize.

Last, Organic Compounds ( http://www.organiccompounds.com / http://www.foxtruckmounts.com ) has a solution that "encapsulates," although I have not tried it. It has been around for several decades.
Ed
Biosafe.us