I noticed that many of my Commercial cleaning competitors are cleaning VCT as well as carpet - I'm at a loss as I have never done it...Is it hard? can I do it with my cimex? what do I need to get for a basic setup?

Thanks!

Joe

several factors

how large are the areas needed to be done

are you talking just cleaning, scrub and recoats, strips,burnishing

Yes you can do with Cimex but it can be messy doing VCT at min a good wet pick up vac with e front squeegee along with your Cimex and you can do say 5k places with out too much problem

having a good floor guy you can call on is my preference, then again we have ended up doing our own again. 24 inch auto scrubber 20 inch buffer wet pick up vac mop and 4 mop dbuckets is what I bring to a vct job. I know it is over kill never use much of what I bring but i am not about to wish i brought something and not have it

Stripping and waxing VCT is a nightmare. Run from it and don't look back.

Joe, did you get your Orbot cured?

In our commercial carpet cleaning business - we have always provided "Commercial Floor & Carpet Care". It's a good fit. And as you have noticed, if you don't do it, your competition will. Stripping is indeed messy, but it's not that difficult. Here is an overview of the 3 types of service that are required for smallish floor care accounts. And keep in mind, this can become even more profitable, if you're performing carpet cleaning simultaneously in other parts of the building while the floor finish is drying.

Floor Stripping (.25-.50 per sq ft)
1. Dustmop the floor.
2. Apply a "rinse free" stripper solution to the floor.
3. Fill the Cimex with water and attach Lightning Strip pads.
4. Scrub the floor slowly, making multiple passes. Dispense water from the Cimex as you scrub.
5. Hand-scrub / detail the corners and edges. with a doodlebug, brush, or mop.
6. Wet-vac the floor using a wet-vac with a front mounted squeegee.
7. Rinse the floor with a mop bucket of fresh water.
8. Apply 4-6 even coats of floor finish to the floor using a finish mop.
9. Burnishing the floor with a soft pad after it has dried thoroughly may improve the overall appearance.

Scrub & Recoat (.10-.20 per sq ft)
1. Dustmop the floor.
2. Fill the Cimex with a neutral floor cleaner and attach FiberPlus Max pads.
3. Scrub the floor slowly, making multiple passes.
4. Wet-vac the floor using a wet-vac with a front mounted squeegee.
5. Rinse the floor with a mop bucket of fresh water.
6. Apply 1-2 even coats of floor finish to the floor using a finish mop (in the wear areas only).
7. After the finish has dried thoroughly, burnish the entire floor.

Clean & Buff (.05-.10 per sq ft)
1. Dustmop the floor
2. Mop or scrub the floor with Pioneer's Rebound Cleaner/Enhancer
3. Burnish the floor with a 1500 rpm or higher UHS burnisher.

As you can see, this is ain't rocket science. You can use your Cimex for stripping - in fact it strips amazingly well. Just make sure you wipe it down with a wet rag as soon as your done stripping, because the emulsified floor finish will make your Cimex look terrible in a hurry. YOu will also need a wet-vac with a front mounted squeegee, and a UHS buffer. You'll also need a mop bucket with a down-press wringer. And you'll need a dust mop, as well as a rinse mop, and a finish mop.

P.S. We handle a full line of Pioneer Eclipse Floor Care Products. I've been around the block a few times doing floor care for over 25 years. I've tried everything, and have found Pioneer's products to be state of the art across the board. We also carry burnishers and wet-vacs. So if you need help give us a holler 1-800-330-1888.




Rick Gelinas

CLICK HERE TO TAKE A FUN 1 MINUTE SURVEY

Personally I would not use my Cimex for VCT the stripper if not cleaned off the machine completely can cause problems. Get a 175 some stripper pads, and wet n dry vac, mop set up and go, takes time and labor intensive hard to make decent money at it.

Hey Jeff, what kind of buffer is that looks like the wheels stay on the floor as you kleen. Just as a cimex. I'd like one of those along with my scrub3 once I attain my 50,000 sq.ft. account.

Al Taylor

Wiegh the meaning and look not at the words.

Rick is only telling you about the good accounts. The other accounts will make you scream and commit mayhem if you don't have a good background in strip and refinish.

Grocery stores == nightmares
Pet shops == nightmares
any jack@ss that put finish on ceramic tile, travaretine, marble, and such == complete nightmare and want the same crap done again cause it's a few pennies cheaper
dealing with MMM == nightmare

If you do it, buy a buffer, leave the Cimex for carpet. There will be at least one time you can't clean it up and the stripper will trash the finish of your Cimex. My buffers are either powder coated or polished metal. There is a reason == even if I can't rinse it it's easy to fix it later.

If you are going to be serious about it, invest in stripping brushes they are spendy, but, absolutely smoke pads for speed and you don't have to fool with sloppy pads.

If you are serious about doing big jobs, buy the propane stripper ($5k new), autoscrubber (batter powered), and large area finish applicator. With the right tools you can produce some amazing volume with a 3 or 4 man crew.

Did I mention I really don't like it, but, I'm the area franchise expert.

I've gotta say - I really do agree with George. My comments above were simply intended to try to show that basic floor care can be done on a simple scale. It isn't that hard if you're doing smallish jobs. And it can be acceptable money, especially if it's included with carpet cleaning. But like the comments above have stated - floor care can often be a huge pain in the butt and it's not nearly as profitable as commercial carpet care. So if you're feeling brave, go for it. We've done it our commercial cleaning business for years. And although I agree that floor care isn't where the serious money is, it ties in just fine with our overall service approach that includes commercial floor & carpet care.






Rick Gelinas

CLICK HERE TO TAKE A FUN 1 MINUTE SURVEY

Before I found encap for commercial carpet, I did all the VCT I could find. I have way too much money invested to completely drop it. I bought the first Clarke BOOST in the area ("special" pad and water to strip). Use it on SMALL projects where stripper might cause issues. It's at it's best doing a deep top scrub. Total strips can be done, but, it's a royal pain. It's on the market; soon to be on Ebay. I can go faster with a regular buffer.

Propane, batteries, standard buffer, boxes of pads for each size buffer, I think I have 10 mops and 5 mop buckets, a 5 gal finish applicator (think many thousands of sq ft an hour), 1/2gal pad finish applicator for edging, blah, blah.

I can take one of my 20" buffers with a 4gal tank and a fiber plus pad; fill the tank with Release IT DS (or standard Release IT) mixed at TWICE the recommended ratio; spend two hours by myself in hallways and make about the same profit as my crew of 3 (plus me 4 total) will make in 4hrs doing a strip and refinish. That's a REALLY annoying thing to know since I have enough invested in VCT stuff to outfit at least two crews with Cimex/Brute rigs, chemicals, and a Subaru Outback.

On top of that, carpet is a lot easier on the body. ONE scrubber to load/unload vs at least 2 (and autoscrubbers are 300+ lbs; propane burnishers 220+ lbs) for VCT.

You CAN make money. You CAN make good money. If you can add little areas - break rooms, kitchens, foyers, etc while you do the carpet there is money to be made. FIX it the first time, then properly maintain it so you are in and out with a touch up every 6-12 months. You'll get 2-3 years out of a properly done refinish and maintenance contract. The initial refinish will be low profit; the remainder should be nearly all profit.

I have a small account (under 3k sq ft) I burnish twice a month, refinish (top scrub & 2 coats) once a year. I get $275 a month I have about $30 a month in expenses. I'm there 4hrs a month it's 5 miles from my house.

When I used to do strip 'n seal, I did it much the same way as Rick explained.

But with a little difference.

After the slurry had been free rinsed from the floor and dried, I would then burnish the unsealed floor with a red pad.

The unsealed floor is very absorbant.

Buffing it will help seal the pores and also give it a dull shine.

You then need less sealer/finish for your first coat + the shine always appeared much glossier than without the buffing stage.

I also only used to apply one top coat against the wall, keeping all following coats about a mop width away from the wall.

This way I did not have to be so careful every time I went near the wall, and the polish did not get a "build up" along the wall, as it eventually spread from burnishing.

Personally, I'm glad I don't have to do this vct stuff very much anymore

Just for special occassions and special people, when they need a good strip, err, and seal.

Ooroo,



I've seen the light, and changed my wicked ways.
www.get.shorty.com.au

Clarke Boost!!! Hey you just told my life story. But I had 2 Boosts..Total junk, nope i take that back, way beyond JUNK... We ended up striping with a Cimex and sucking up the mess with the boost. All my boost's were good for was a vacuum, but only when they were working enough to do that.

But back to the point..Before I met Rick at the ISSA I was like you and tired to do as much Vct and I could. Yes I still do some, but now I just charge a lot more, if I don't get the job great! But when I get the money I want, its a great add. I think you should add vct cleaning, if the price is right. Bid only small jobs and don't put a lot of money in equipment at first. It can take over your business quickly but not in the way you want. My Cimex is "butt ugly" now thanks to striping with it so keep that in mind.

AL-
The 175 machine is a old General the wheels are movable, I always use it with the wheels up, only down when moving so I don't have to drag it. If you use it with the wheels down you loose aggressiveness and the nose does most the work creating premature wear.