I have posted on here several times about a car dealership I clean. They have a service lobby where I have cleaned for 4+ years. We clean about every3-4 months. Before the Cimex we cleaned every 1-2 months. I have tried every suggestion I have received off this board to get the three stains in the service lobby to go away and stay away. They look good for about 2-3 weeks and then they always come back. No matter if I use a lot of moisture or a little moisture and no matter what chemical I use. I think I have tried just about everything but I am looking for any new ideas, because I have to go back tomorrow night and try it again.

Kevin Pearson

Spots that take days to return seem to be caused by a sticky residue rather than wicking. I've had a few spots like this that usually seemed to be a salad dressing spill or something else very oily. It was easy to remove the soil but I had a hard time knowing if I had all the oil. I read a few years back that encap was limited on this type of soil. I wonder if that is still considered true? I was eventually able to remove the spots using solvent spotters and an ammoniated spotter. Hopefully someone else has a better solution.

David VB

I have had this happen to me. The only thing that
worked for me was using my water claw over and over again. Soak and rinse, soak and rinse. Then cleaning with solvents. Sometimes a stain is simply that... a stain. We are not magicians. I have said this to some customers that I will try everything I have to offer, But sometimes it is what it is.

Ralph

David that is what I think it is also. Now remember this is in a service lobby of a car dealer ship. I have tried solvents and different presprays and HWE and encap. All these suggestions are helpful though. I think I will be trying a different solvent tomorrow night unless someone else has an idea.

Kevin Pearson

A stain that takes 2 or 3 weeks to reappear is not likely to be wicking. It is either a residue that gradually attracts soil until you see the stain in the same place or a new stain in the same location. Maybe it is a spot where the salesmen stand and chat and spill coffee or near the soft drink machine where drinks get spilled in the same place.

If it is a residue the solution is to rinse snd flush out any cleaner or solvent you use. non-volatile solvent needs to be rinsed with volaile solvent and then hot water. Flushing with a Water Claw was a good idea. Use a hose on slow lfow around the edge of the stain while you extract with the Water Claw until there is nothing left to lfush out.

If it is a stain recurring in the same place, the only thing you can do is identify the source to make you feel better that it is not your fault.

Scott Warrington

Scott Warrington
Tech support Bridgepoint & Interlink Supply

what color are the stains.??

Could it be something in the subsurface concrete??

maybe something that a Claw wont get too. ??

So they disappear and reappear. that rules out stains.. they are spots that are appearing back.

Are they in the same exact spot??

Steve Dobson
ProFloor
Custom Cleaning Services

Scott,

When you said to "use a hose on slow flow around the edge of the stain while you extract with the Water Claw until there is nothing left to flush out" were you suggesting to use something like a garden hose on a low flow while you're sucking it up with the Claw?

Interesting idea.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Scott has a good idea. Ive thought about doing the same at some of the mall stores that have recurring spots over time in the same places. The neat thing about that idea is, you dont even need a truckmount to use the water claw. A small portable would do fine. Hit all the spot areas first with the claw, then cimex and see what happens. I will try that on my next mall store znd experiment a little.

On occasion we have found that using "Capture" has been very effective in getting rid of reappearing stains.

"Commercial Only"

i agree with Rick about Scotts post.. very interesting idea with a slow flow hose in place.. on the perimeter,, clawing it out and paying attention to the clear top for visibility.

also about the VDS after a NVDS if it applies. Many I believe, flush after teh NVDS. . I was taught to go the VDS route..

Like when I use BPs PIG<, flushing it before HWE with Solvent Clean.

Steve Dobson
ProFloor
Custom Cleaning Services

The carpet needs to be flushed with a TM. Get a T wand and a Greenglide. The Greenglide has solved all my problems on commercial gluedown carpet. The stain needs to be removed not scrubbed in.

Waldo The Golden Wand

It has been my understanding that the effectiveness of the water claw is limited on glue downs. True or not?

Waldo,

I have used my Butler with the big blower, my Ti wand and my greenglide on it several times to no avail. This is glue down carpet that is blue and is in the lobby where the customer wait and watch TV while their car is being fixed. The stains have always come back. Whether I cleaned it with my old Butler and small blower or new Butler and large blower and Ti wand, butler wand, greenglide, or cimex. I like Scott's idea and I think I will try that on at least one spot and see what happens. I have also tried Rick's old juice, the reformulated Encap-Clean DS, Encap-spot, Encap-Punch both old and new. I have also used numerous presprays and spotting chems. If I ever get it licked then it will be a miracle. Thanks for all the advice, like always I plan to put it to good use.

Kevin Pearson

I have found that a couple of techniques will work on most recurring spots.

The first technique is the one I use on a regular basis and it works 99% of the time...

http://www.cmmonline.com/article.asp?IndexID=6635489


I've also found that what Fred recommended works well in the exceptional instance where a stubborn stain will come back. DAM (Dry Absorbent Matter) products such as Capture/Host etc can suck the stain out and reduce the likelihood of future recurrence of the spot. You could stop by Lowe's and pick up a tub of Capture and give it a try. Scrub in a bunch of the Capture, and vacuum it thoroughly. Then scrub in a bunch more and just try to remove what's on the surface. It's worth a shot.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Rick, Yes. I was suggsting using a garden hose or other water source to slow add water around the perimeter until you could through the clear plastic top of the Water Claw that there was nothing but water coming through.

The Water Claw will recover a lower percentage of water on a dirct glue down compared to use on carpet over cushion. The main reason is that air flow from under the carpet helps extract the water. On the GD carpet no air is flowing from undeneath. However it will pull air and water from the sides. So putting water around the edge to flush out contaminents still works well.

Scott Warrington

Scott Warrington
Tech support Bridgepoint & Interlink Supply

Thanks for sharing your wisdom Scott.



Rick Gelinas
encapman