Why do you remove the vac motor and ring when encapping? Would it not be an asset by picking up excess foam and soil? Or does it remove too much moisture therefore defeating the encap process? Thanks for your input.

I keep in the truck all the attachments for the Chemstractor and put them on as wanted or needed. The bare machine weighs 95 pounds. That's heavy enough to lift in and out of the truck, up and down stairs etc.

Anyway, as I understand the idea of encapping is to apply in a shampooing manner, and leave it alone. My understanding if it is extracted as you go- or afterward- that is defeating the crystalization. That, of course is with Releasit and other similar types, Larry Cobb's HWE encap product as I understand it is designed to be extracted. I have not tried Larry's product, or similar ones, so have no idea of it's merit.

Gary

If you are following with a dirt getter bonnet are you not also removing moisture? Seems like the chemstractor used with the vac and a good encap product would be a super combo. you would be leaving the carpet damp so there should be enough product to form a crystal plus you would have some removal of soil. They refer to one hour dry time with the cimex and that would be about the same with the chemstractor I think. Or am I totally off base with my thinking. Rick G. chime in anytime on this subject. Thanks Barry

If I may chime in. I was thinking of a good way to do residential with encap - I don't have a chemstractor but thought a GLS style machine would be good as it really gets down to the base of the fibers. Anybody try this? The Cimex is just to damn big to cart around into houses, apts etc.

Bob, i have a cimex yes some homes it's to big to get around. But i have been using my RX-20 with a pad driver and fiber plus pads from Rick. I done 3 homes today mainly traffic areas. Works real good for me.




Ades Gros

Carpet Magic

Isn't that what the GLS was designed for? The manufacturer sells it along with Crystal Dry, which is also an encap type product. I have read good things about the Gls. I have also read where the Cimex is more aggressive and covers a larger area faster. There is also a smaller 15" cimex that seems to be the answer for tight offices and homes. I'm trying to use the tools that I have on hand for now and will add a Cimex or Gls later this year. If the price of the Cimexes keep jumping several hundred dollars every six months they will price me out of their program.

Barry,

The Cimex prices really haven't jumped several hundred dollars every few months, LOL

There has been one price increase (which I have absorbed most of). Why the increase? The dollar is weak in the global market. It has been taking a beating against the British pound. You can check the business news to confirm what I'm saying.

Now let's take a look at the pricing...

Last year the Cimex had a list price of 2195. We sold it for $1999 at that time. Today we have the same machine on sale for $2177. That's $18 under last years list price.

Another way I'm trying to absorb the cost increase is to offer good deals on packages. Like the $2300 package special we now are offering that includes a 19" Cimex, Pad Drivers, a case of FiberPlus Pads, a case of Releasit, plus FREE freight.

I am aggressively keeping the price at a point that's attractive. So the prices are not going up several hundred dollars every few months.

Regarding the GLS machine. It would be a fine choice for residential encap work. It's probably even better suited for the residential environment than the it is for commercial. Now if you're looking for a SERIOUS scrubber for commercial cleaning the choice is obvious.

And when you do get to the point where you're in the market for a Cimex I will still be doing my best to hold the price down so that I can offer you one at a good price.




Rick Gelinas

Thanks Rick,
I was referring to a post on another board that claimed they were going up again this month. What I would like to know is your opinion on whether to use the vacuum with the chemstractor or not. Does this hinder the encap process? I will contact you when the time comes to get a more aggressive machine. Thanks Barry

I don't think using the vacuum on the Chemstractor would hinder the chemical's performance, since you'd still be leaving the carpet moist with Releasit. But I think that Gary probably just sees that it isn't really all that necessary. Gary's a sharp guy and he's in tune with what makes up good cleaning. So I guess he's just taking a practical approach to his encap cleaning jobs. That makes sense.




Rick Gelinas

The 12 or 15 homes I have encapped and the 8 or 10 commercial jobs I encapped I did with the idea of leaving as much Releasit in the carpet as possible, consistant with good cleaning.

I have not even tried to extract, so cannot comment at this point whether it would be a good thing or not.

Sooner or later, I will do it, and see what, if any results that are different.

Now, when doing loose rugs with Releasit, I have done 3 or 4 wool orientals that were in good condition, a couple of nylons, a polyester rug and an olefin rug, plus the store walk off mat, which are nylon.

Each of these was rinsed when hanging for a couple reasons. Still a little bit concerned about leaving the Releasit in the wool, and I did want to see what, if any dirt came off in the rinsing- VERY little, and VERY little foam too, I gotta say, and in the case of the walk off mat whether rinsing would remove the soil retardant properties in the Releasit or not. It appears- without any scientific tests, just my bare eyeball, rinsing the walk off mat did hinder the soil retardant properties. The walk off mat I just encapped and left alone seems to remain cleaner than the rinsed one. (I do 3 of these a month)

Since I see these mats every month, the next one will get Releasit and extracted with the Chemstractor extraction ring and vac, and I will see what, if any is in the tank, then keep an eye on it whether it re soils as usual, or not.

Gary

Thanks Gary, I look forward to hearing from you on your results. I have only encapped 2 jobs. One with success and one with failure. I used another product that gets good reviews on the boards. I used the vac ring in both cases. So I am looking for direction on which is better. I will be trying releasit in the next week or so and will see how it compares. Thanks to all for their input. Barry