The time to fight back is upon us.
Just saw post on another board comparing encap cleaning to washing your hair and not rinsing it.

I replied by asking for scientific proof on any cleaning system that proves which system is the best.

I was on the IICRC Board when this project was to take place, money was raised everything in place for the testing, until the politics got in the way, and the testing never got done, so my recommendation is everytime someone questions encap cleaning, we simply ask them for the proof that their system has been proven to be the BEST.

This sort of reminds me when steam cleaning was first introduced, all the shampoo people laughed and knocked it, said it would just make mud and it would cause all kinds of problems once dry, if it did dry. Oh the good old days are here again, you got to love it.

Every system will remove the majority of soils present- and leave some soils. No system will remove 100% of all soils present.

So... if the tufts appear clean- they ARE clean. Especially when looking through a microscope at what remains after a cleaning. Virtually nothing- BUT!! it is never going to be 100%.

So, if anybody sez- "My system is better than your system"- they don't know what they are talking about.

Some people talk about "Deep Cleaning." Each system cleans as deep as any other system. From the base of the tufts to the top. Can't get "deeper" than that. At least if you go deeper then the base of the tufts- you are gonna have other problems.

Gary

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I need to chime in here as I am the "Deep Cleaning" and "Interm Cleaning" person on most posts concerning Encap. cleaning. As you know we have Encap cleaned for 7 to 10 years as an "Interm" cleaning method.

We do commercial only and have been slamed for years because we charge so little compared to the rest of carpet cleaning land. Encap and Bonnet cleaning have allowed us to beat labor rates and lower our cost. All that to say this, we are very straight with our customers and more importantly to ourselfs.

Our definition of "Deep Cleaning" is "dirt removal while improving appearance".
Interm Cleaning is "appearance improvement only".

Now I think I am on your side of the Encap. equation but if we do not see dirt come out of the carpet it is Interm Cleaning. When asked where does the dirt go? We say some comes out with Vac and more with regular clear water rinse extraction.

What else can we say? We have no proof that the dirt that is Encaped Vacs out. I also have been down the road of claims made by many cleaning methods. Take Dry Powder for example hindsight makes anyone who believed that it simply vacuumed out look like a dope. We did plenty of Dry Powder Cleaning and believed in it.

Our company loves Encap cleaning but we will not make claims that we cannot see with our own eyes. When we Encap we see clean carpet but no dirt removed in any sort of a percentage. To us it is an Interm Method.

Fred I agree, encapsulation was meant to be an interium maintenance procedure when introduced. I most add it is one heck of a interium maintenance system, because we can now extend the time between HWE cleanings and that makes me very happy. Some of our large commercial accounts are not that easy to use HWE in.
My point in this original post was that when people knock this system to no end, I think that until they prove that their system is the best at removing soil from carpets than don,t knock the hell out of some other system.
Let's take HWE for example [and we do a ton of it] if you are using a system that recovers 80% of the water you put into the carpet than you have left behind a lot of water, that is the same colour as that you have dumped into the sanitary system.
The whole issue comes down to this, almost everybody you meet has a different definition of CLEAN. Even the dictionary is a little vague.
My biggest fear is when I hear this on the phone it's not to dirty I just want it freshened up [ PIG PEN ] or the other side I need it done right away can't stand the filth any longer. [ WE WILL NEED TO SEARCH FOR THE SOIL ] the opposite end of people's definition of CLEAN.
So if we can never define clean than we will be faced with many different ways to CLEAN carpets, with no scientific proof of which one is best.

In response to your comments Fred:


As Don Eldred posted above in this thread...

"I was on the IICRC Board when this project was to take place, money was raised everything in place for the testing, until the politics got in the way, and the testing never got done, so my recommendation is every time someone questions encap cleaning, we simply ask them for the proof that their system has been proven to be the BEST."

And as Don Eldred also posted in another thread above…

“Got a call from a good friend to-day who has just started encap cleaning, he has a big College job to do this week. Monday he steam cleaned half a very long hall and encap cleaned the other half. The call came in yesterday complaining the one half and he had to go back and re-clean THE HALF HE STEAM CLEANED.”

And as Gary Heacock posted above…

“Every system will remove the majority of soils present- and leave some soils. No system will remove 100% of all soils present.

So... if the tufts appear clean- they ARE clean. Especially when looking through a microscope at what remains after a cleaning. Virtually nothing- BUT!! it is never going to be 100%.

So, if anybody sez- "My system is better than your system"- they don't know what they are talking about.

Some people talk about "Deep Cleaning." Each system cleans as deep as any other system. From the base of the tufts to the top. Can't get "deeper" than that. At least if you go deeper then the base of the tufts- you are gonna have other problems.”


Gary Heacock and Don Eldred are a couple of the sharpest old timers in our industry. These grandfatherly men are both leaders and I respect their opinions.



Here are excerpts from the message that Don originally referred to from the other bulletin board. I included my replies to his comments...

_______________________________________________________
“Is hair cleaner with rinsing or encap vac?
Posted By scott hall on 3/17/2004 at 8:20 PM

I listen to alot of people talk about
encapsulation. but logicially speaking

If hair was like carpet I think a wash. rinse and vac would make it come cleaner that applying an encapsulant
scrubbing and than vac it when it is dry.

I know that the top of the carpet looks good-even great after encap-but have any studies been done other than visual inspection.

_______________________________________________________
Re: Is hair cleaner with rinsing or encap vac?
Posted By Rick Gelinas on 3/17/2004 at 8:32 PM
Yep. That's a pretty good analogy.

Only thing is, we're not talking about shampooing hair. We're talking about maintaining synthetic carpet fibers.

Several inches of human hair will be an altogether different animal to clean than a 1/4" length of olefin or nylon commercial carpet fiber.

Here’s an explanation that may help you understand the process better…
Encapsulation

encapman

_______________________________________________________
Re: Is hair cleaner with rinsing or encap vac?
Posted By Rick Gelinas on 3/17/2004 at 9:00 PM
Scott,

I wuz jus thinkin...

Why not stop by sometime and we can test this out. BTW Bring someone with you that you don't like.

Phase 1:
We'll lay the person on the floor. Then we'll pre-vacuum the left side of their head with my powerful Hoover Conquest commercial vacuum. After that we'll run my 105 pound Cimex machine back and forth over their head. And then after the detergent has crystallized we'll post-vacuum their head once again with the Conquest.

Phase 2:
After we're done with the encap experiment we can do a HWE experiment. We'll pre-spray the right side of their head with your favorite pre-spray. And then we'll slowly move across their head with your carpet wand.

Afterward we can compare the results.



encapman”
_______________________________________________________



Personally speaking, in our commercial carpet cleaning business we run 3 Cimex machines with synthetic FiberPlus pads and Releasit. The results... We no longer provide any form of extraction cleaning in our business. NONE.

And after a couple years cleaning with this system as a stand-alone method, our carpets look cleaner and brighter than they ever have in our 22 years in business. And we are not getting any complaints at all from our clients. Some of these accounts are serviced monthly, some are quarterly, some are 6 months and some are yearly.

So encapsulation can be an interim method if you want it to be. Or it can be a stand alone method if you want it to be.

There's nothing wrong with performing encapsulation along with HWE if you see a need to do so. However, you may find that the need to perform HWE will be very infrequent - or like in the case of my business, not at all. I still own HWE equipment just in case there's a need. The need just hasn't arisen yet.

Encapsulation is not here to supplant other methods. All methods can produce acceptable results when they're performed properly. Encap is just another tool. And tools are good.






Rick Gelinas

Hey Fred and just think we are on your side on this issue. Man you would not want to be on the other side of the issue.
Fred keep us honest, I appreciate your opinions on encap cleaning, and agree with you, it is hard to explain where the soil goes, I have taken the approach of not getting into great detail with my clients, other than to get them after the Janitorial contractor to vacuum the carpet according to their contract.

I explain to those who ask, that encapsulation is self-extracting, that it fractures off the carpet fiber taking the dirt with it enclosed in a crystal, that it is then picked up by the vacuum. That's it. Keep it short and sweet, emphasize the self-extracting nature of the product and the fact that there is not as much moisture in the carpet as hwe.
One other thing - I tell people that encapsulation is the way I clean the carpet in my own house. I don't tell them that I'm lazy.
Also, as often as I use the hwe, it looks like my machine will last forever. Maybe, I should sell it.

Naysayers abound.........keep going forward,don't
look back at them.

We prevac'd a Video Store and Cimexed. I did a white towel test in the main area right after and it was almost perfectly clean! Stanley Steamer eat your heart out!