I understand that pre-vacuuming is an essential part of carpet cleaning. I also know it is especially important in VLM. What is your preferred method for vacuuming stairs with commercial carpet ground in dirt?

Normally you can run an upright vacuum on the stairs with the handle locked in the "up" position. It's a little awkward - but it's doable. You start at the top. And you nose the vacuum into each step making a couple of passes. Then you drop down to the next step and repeat. This technique has always worked for me.


Rick Gelinas

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I guess it sounds funny, even to me, now that I asked the question. I have always used a stair tool with my HWE not wanting to hassle with the upright. Now that I am encapping or plan to I was hoping for a better solution knowing that the stairs I saw today were 'scary dirty'

If the stairs are that dirty than HWE them.

We are big believers in vacuuming all jobs. For steps we use a small Miele cannister vac and the hand tool attachment. On jobs without steps, we use the Lindhaus commercial upright. HWE or encap, we always vacuum (especially the edges).

Get a Rug Rat, hook up to your vacuum's attachment hose. We use proteam vacs and the hose is rather short but just keep the vac on the same step that you are standing on. Work from top to bottom,no biggie. Oh yeah the rug rat has a beater bar too.