I have been looking on other boards and reading the posts of several people on this board and others and to say the least it is very confusing! Posters say take IICRC classes I did and am Certified. then they say no Prevac when you are taught that you remove 75+% of the soil by prevac. But they don't pre vac,have custy do it or whatever. Then the same people say you don't remove dirt with Cimex and Encapsalation.
These are people that own Cimex and use Encapsalation products. so my problem and why it pi$$es me off is I did alot of research before I bought into encapsalation and I BELEIVE the process works.
The product removes the 20% soil that is adhered to the fiber encapsalates it and you vac it up in 24 hrs.
If you don't BELEIVE in the process why would you ever do it in the first place. I explain the process to my customers and tell them to post vac and they do.
By the way I do HWE also and a full arsenal of tools there also but am not ashamed as I have had to do in the past week to use my Cimex (to rave reviews,referals and add on biz) because I had a prob with my HWE. Sorry for the long post. I certainly don't have the experience of others but at least I'm committed.

A few post back I was a little down about this biz, purchased lots of equip, did a lot of reading, looked at a lot of other boards and had no work(which is my own fault). I was getting so bummed out by all this info(this system works or it doesn't work or you cant remove soil with encap but yet the ones that tell you you can't remove soil use a cimex) I was wearing myself down and going nuts. I know now that part of geting into a business is you need to take baby steps and study, read and listen, you also need a system you can believe in and cimex is one that I do believe works and Rick gives 100% to helping you make it work, unlike other suppliers who only care about making money.

I myself have a Cimex and a Challenger(for residential) and I know both systems work well. You just can't make the HWE guys understand.

Sorry for the rant, I am on some major muscle relaxers because I hurt my back at work, at least I am getting paid for it.

I hope I have not made a fool of myself.

Hey Rick,

According to the data that's been tossed around our industry since the 1950's, 79% of the soil in carpet is dry soil. The 79% number is still taught in IICRC classes so we can assume that it's at least relatively accurate. This means that 79% of the average soil in a carpet is dry vacuumable. Since we're able to remove the larger portion of the soil during the pre-cleaning vacuum process, we're left with the smaller number to clean using wet cleaning with whatever process we choose. In other words, the customer is hiring us to remove the smaller percentage with our wet cleaning = 21%. It's not so challenging to remove 21% of soil that's binding to fiber, especially in a commercial carpet that's only 1/4" in length. As you know, with encap we agitate the fiber and get the sticky soil that's binding to the fiber to release into the encap solution. Then the post vacuuming process can extract the encapsulated soil laden particles. However the task of wet cleaning becomes far more challenging when the carpet is still loaded up with dry soil. And that's why the savvy pros pre-vacuum extensively prior to wet cleaning with any method.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Thks Rick in my rant I though that was exactly what I was saying but I guess I wasn't clear. My point was that the 21% of soil that is encapsalated is REMOVED by post vac. The nay sayers say Encapsalation doesn't remove soil. But they also use encapsalation if you don't believe the process works as stated than why are they even in it to begin with. I JUST DON"T GET IT!!

Rick or anybody,

I know that Encap is the best because my customers love the out come and the Very Low Moisture. I have allot of people that turn me down because they have to post-vac and say they do not have to do that with HWE guys.

What do I tell them on this issue so I can better bid and get the jobs?

Thanx


Thanx :~}
MA

Afterglow Services
Commercial & Residential Carpet Care

Tell them...

"We add a special polymer to our cleaning detergent that encapsulates sticky oily residue which will crystallize and be removed during your next vacuuming. This is an added benefit to normal hot water (steam) carpet cleaning. Bye removing the sticky oily residue from your carpet fibers, your carpets will stay cleaner longer." --Value Add!

There's some honest disagreement about methods and tools to use in pretty much any trade or line of work. After you make an investment, you may feel the need to defend the logic of the investment. Maybe even stretch the truth a bit. Maybe even feel threatened by the better looking toy someone else bought.

I would not worry too hard about what your competitors think about your choices. I guess I'd pay more attention to what your customers say. If they are ravingly happy, that is what matters.

don't sweat what those other ppl say on the other forums Rick and Joe.

those kinda guys typically claim that they are multi-method CC'ers but primarily they are HWE guys, and that's wonderful for them. but some of them think they are better than those of us who don't have as many tools as them. that's simply not true. our happy clients prove that. don't let the cocky and arrogant posters get you down about the work you do. they can't argue with the results you are getting, the smiles you are creating and ultimately (and the reason we are all in business) the checks you are cashing.

they're just stroking their ego's...realize that some ppl just need to do that.

thanx --- Derek.

Rick,
Take it all with a grain of salt. Do what works best for you and don't worry about everybody else. I use encap 95% on commercial carpet and have had great success with it on berbers in residential. I still lean toward hwe on plush or frieze. Why? I'm just more comfortable with using hwe in those situations. Eventually I'll do an encap on a plush or frieze, but when I have that $13,000 truckmount sitting out there, I tend to lean toward using it!! lol

What I have learned in this business is there are many
ways to clean carpet. I am a HWE and Have invested alot of money into my equipment. Who cares what other people think about what we're doing. I have made just as much money using encap as Hwe and my customers love it. I am a firm believer that there are many different ways to clean and if the customer is happy that is what's important.


Ralph

Mark Anthony,

Who cares what a few knuckle heads say on a couple of message boards.

Take a look at how often some of these "experts" post. They post morning, noon, and night. So when are they out cleaning? My guess is that they're at home in their underwear, sitting in front to of the computer trying to impress anyone who's dim enough to bite.

This is business.

Business is about the bottom line - nothing else.

So what's the bottom line when it comes to encap???

Quite simply... encap works. Commercial carpets clean up easier. They look better than they do with other methods. The carpets are much brighter looking. The endless recurring spill stains can now be put to rest. Formerly dingy traffic lanes can now look great, day-in day-out. The carpets stay clean longer between cleanings. More referrals are generated. Production time is amazing. Higher profits are generated, even if we're forced to bid a little lower to get the job. It's easy to train techs, so we can easily multiply our sources of revenue.

Like I said - it's about the bottom line. We're in business to provide for our families. Sure, we enjoy the work or we wouldn't be in this business. Yet in the end we're all in business to make a profit. And the Cimex/Releasit system achieves that goal unlike any other method when it comes to commercial carpet. A Cimex can effectively clean 2,000-3,000 sq ft per hour - try doing that with a truck mount.

Now how should you respond to the bulletin board hillbillies? I think the real question, is WHY would you want to? Let 'em talk. Just smile and let the Cimex/Releasit system fill up your bank account

Mark you also asked how to explain the post vacuuming process to your prospective clients.

STOP!

The customer is not normally concerned with your methodology to any great degree. They may ask a question or two about your system. That's because they don't know anything else to ask. Heck that's all our industry has talked to the customer about. So the prospect may feel like he should try to throw out a question or two. But trust me, they really don't know or care about your truck mount's blower size.

Have you ever walked into a restaurant and asked them if their ranges have 6-burners or 8-burners? You don't care, you just want a nice meal, with quality food, at a fair price.

Do you ever ask a mechanic what brand of wrenches he uses? Don't be using no Snap-On wrenches on my car buddy, I only want a mecahinic to use Mac tools on my engine. Of course you don't care what type of tools the mechanic uses.

Now when the restaurant owner or the mechanic gets together with his buddies they may talk about stoves and wrenches. Among their peers that's the topic they discuss. But they DON'T discuss this with their customers. Because their customers simply do not care.

My point is this... Sell them CLEAN CARPET, don't sell them CARPET CLEANING.

Sure, you have to answer basic questions. Here are a few statements that have proven to work well regarding the method we're using. These points are marketable.

~ We'll be using a planetary scrubber with 3 cleaning heads that scrubs your carpet fiber from all directions.

~ The machine we'll be using to clean your carpet is imported from England. (builds mystique)

~ New technology has emerged in our industry during the past few years. I keep my ear to the ground and stay abreast of the changes. That's why we're now using a new cleaning system that has rapidly grown throughout the commercial carpet cleaning market all over the world.

~ We can eliminate your recurring spill stains. (You know the ones that keep coming back) If you have a good size spill stain in the building I can clean half of it. Then you can walk on it for a few days to see if it comes back.

~ The detergent I'll be using contains a crystallizing polymer called CRYSTALON3. This product enables the carpets to remain cleaner between cleaning. And it gets cleaner each time you vacuum the carpet.

~ The detergent I'll be using contains a built in carpet protector called Soileze. This will help your carpet to stay cleaner longer.

~ I have all of the major industry approved cleaning methods at my disposal. We will select the method that's most appropriate for the soiling conditions in your building.

~ We have been cleaning carpets for ___ years. Our reputation as experts in the area of commercial carpet care is quite good. We'll make sure that your experience with our company will be a positive one too.

~ We guarantee your complete satisfaction.

You see we have built confidence in our ability to CLEAN THEIR CARPET, rather than spending time talking about how many watts our machine draws. Draw their attention to the end result as you talk with them. Never dodge answering questions about the method. The comment above covers where the dirt goes --- "The detergent I'll be using contains a crystallizing polymer called CRYSTALON3. This product enables the carpets to remain cleaner between cleaning. And it gets cleaner each time you vacuum the carpet."

Just try to avoid getting hung up on methodology.

Use your precious limited time spent with the prospect helping them to see how your state of the art service is going to improve the condition of their carpet, their business, their lives. Sell them what they want... CLEAN CARPET.




Rick Gelinas
encapman

Mark Anthony,
What customer in their right mind is going to complain about vacuuming their own carpet? It may be the way you're phrasing it. Most of my customers are commercial and all I say is "you'll want to vacuum at the end of the day (or before opening)". No one has ever complained. It is something they have to do anyway.

I do HWE (mostly with Encap Punch- so I call it HWEE). Anyway, I have always told my customers that they need to post vac 24-48 hours after the carpet has dried. I explain to them that no system no matter how expensive is perfect and that some material may become jarred loose during cleaning, and they need to remove it with their vacuum. Then I discuss how often a regular vacuuming should occur for them- How many people, pets, smokers, environmental conditions, etc.

This has worked well for me. If they don't like to vacuum I also offer a vacuuming service where I will come vacuum for them (for a fee of course).

So when someone really wants to do as little work themselves as possible and does not mind paying me here is what I do.

1) HWEE Cleaning. (Sell protector and warranty- it is a WIN-WIN scenario).
2) Vacuum Service (as often as they want to pay for, but at least at every 3 months- that way I know that they are not totally loaded with dry soil).
3) 6-Months- HWEE traffic lane areas only- includes pre-vac.
4) Vacuum service again.
5) 1 Year full HWEE cleaning again.

You can play with the intervals and if you are blessed enough to have full encap equipment you can substitute an encap process at the 6-Month mark for the entire house instead. This works nicely for a flow with using Encap-Punch for the HWEE. Also use your other visits to showcase other services- upholstery cleaning, matress cleaning and sanitization, vehicle carpet and upholstery, and/or whatever else you may offer.

Del Scrivner
Owner/Operator
Cowboy's Carpet Care