I have just completed one full season cleaning my retail stores with my Cimex and encap.
In January I have to negotiate a new 2 year contract, the only change is they want me to research the option of requesting the Host cleaning system. The contractor that cleans the NYC stores for this same client is using the Host system and has left an impression on my customer.
So I am looking for any experiance anyone has with the host system, costs per sq ft as compared to Encapping. Advantages of Encapping over Host method...disadvanatges with Host....
I may end up doing a store cleaning half with Encapp and half with Host...
Thanks for the help in advance.

Don't do it. Host (Racine Industries) and it's cousin, Capture (Milikin sp?) are more do it yourself type products, that don't require professional skill to use. They are easy to use (sprinkle, brush, vacuum)and generally ineffective. The marketing of these companies is impressive, however their products' results are pretty poor. Just my two cents (and my experience)

How can a moist little spongy product ever out clean
encap? It can't!! Look at some of the contest photos posted and see
if the little sponge things can clean it. If your customer isn't impressed then there are 2 things to look at. Has the operator cleaned the best that his tools & solutions let him OR you have a customer who is not the sharpest Pencil in the box. Rick has products on his site to clean most any floor with great results. Host can't even compare.

Example of low moisture & dry clean: Next time you take a shower, don't turn it on full blast. Soap up & rinse as usual. Results = clean.
Dry Clean: Get in the shower with no water running and rub a dry washcloth over your body. Results = you are still dirty & smell!!!

Stick with the proven encap system.

You're comparing two entirely different methods of cleaning here.

I would be asking your customer what it is about the Host system that he likes, or is it only on the word of the other operator.??

Has he personally seen the results of both systems, both before and after cleaning.??

Does the drying factor contribute in any way to his decision.??

I'm sure there are many more people on here that could add a lot more questions on the systems than I can offer as I know virtually nothing about Host.

Shorty down under.

Host works, in fact it actually works well. We have a machine and we use it on occasion but mostly but it has it draw backs.

It's and expensive product and you will need a lot of it to maintain as size square footage. It is also a lot slower when the carpet is soiled.

Low moisture is by far easier and would be cheaper alternative for your client.

Oh how I hate to disagree with Shorty. Two different methods! No way. There both encap systems. One uses a polymer to encap the soil and Host uses cellulose (made from the corn cob) to encap the soil. Host and Glamorene (came in glass jars, sealed tight as it was flamable) and it was made from sawdust, are two of the original encap products, on the market since the 40's and 50's.

Host does work, lots of schools use it. Ours did, in fact I was the guy who went around and did the cleaning.

It is a high cost compared to using Ricks DS and it does take a little more time.

Also a host machine will set you back a bit unless you buy one from ebay.

So if you can do it and it comes down to not getting the contract I would go for it.

I would try to find out what they like about it and direct them to using some sort of encap other then host.

Host can be useful in some applications.

I have used it in the past in our cleaning business. We were servicing Payless Shoe stores, during the daytime, wile the stores were open. (This was back before I discovered the encap process.) We decided that Host might be a good way to go. Here's what we encountered:
(1) It didn't clean really dirty carpet all that well.
(2) Applying enough Host sponges to the carpet to try to put a dent in the soil load was very costly.
(3) Doing a decent job was slow.
(4) The Host sponges would bounce up as we ran the Host machine along the edges of the aisles and would get into the boxes of shoes at the floor level (in fact, their district manager made us stop using Host because of this).
(5) And we could observe that the Host sponges were beginning to load up in the backing of the carpet.

That was just our real world experience on that particular account.

On another occasion, we were called out for a special service-call to clean a juice drink spill in front of the counter in a jewelry store in a busy mall during business hours. They were having a VIP visit from their corporate office in the store that evening, so they wanted it taken care of NOW. I used Capture to clean the spot by hand. The spot was gone, and the carpet was dry right away. So in this case the dry powder process worked really well.

On another occasion, a very dear elderly friend of ours had an old silk rug that she cherished - it had been her mother's. She wanted it cleaned. The rug wasn't very dirty. So I brushed it by hand with Host, and vacuumed it. It looked great when it was done, and I felt confident that the rug would not be damaged.

And I always recommend dry powder cleaning for unusual delicate pieces - like Sisal rugs (grass). There are definite places where this method of cleaning can have an advantage!

By the way, we sell a very good dry powder detergent for these specific applications...
http://www.excellent-supply.com/Brush-and-Clean-Sponges-_p_46.html

In limited applications, dry powder detergents definitely makes sense.





Rick Gelinas

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Thanks for all the great comments, I certainly agree Encapping is the way to go. Thanks for your real world arguments Rick, your points are now the begining of my presentation.
A national vendor has been cleaning New York City locations using the Host system. My customer has seen it first hand as well as my Encapping. I think the "dry" application and no need for running water is part of the attraction in the confines of NYC. They have also said they think it helps the apperance over time, like my Encapping, but they want me to make argument why it should or should not be an option for them to request.
My fear is out of ignorance they will request it!!
First I need to get some real pricing by asking a Host cleaner to look at a location. I also want to know how long it will take, post vacuuming requiments, and issues that could be a probelm to the long term care of the carpet.
I have sold them on Encapping, especially the fact that Encapping treats the carpet to be more soil resisitant and Host cleaning does not. NOw I have the task of making sure they dont request Host cleaning in my states, it would effect allot of contractors over 24 states. If they want to keep it in NYC thats fine, NYC is a world of problems all its own that I want nothing to do with. I dont want my customer to make this a national campaign, so without telling them that Host cleaning is Stupid I need to sell them that is is pricy and not practical in the rest of the country.
Comments are welcome

Not only is it pricy, it can also build up and cause dust problems over time if not thoroughly removed.

The compound not removed in initial vacuuming is in theory supposed to continue to work for you attracting soil.

The problem is in reality once the compound dries out it becomes just another containment.

So you either have to do a great job of vacuuming or expect some build up issues.

Paul BOTH are encapping. Both use water. The vehicle to carry the cleaning solution to the fiber is different. If you want a professional way to figure the cost of cleaning a building, and to make a professional presentation, why don't you contact Host in Racine, Wisconsin and have them draw you up a C.A.M.P. (computer aided maintenance program) they will need a layout of the floor plan, and a small fee for their services. The bldg. super or whoever is in charge will have a copy that you can copy and send in. What type of a bldg, how many people use it daily and what are the hours of use, what type of carpet is it etc. They will provide you with a color graph/pictoral layout of when to clean, how far done the halls/offices/elevators. It also tells you how much Host you will need, frequencies of cleaning to provide the customer with clean carpet annually not just a carpet cleaning. You can use the C.A.M.P. Program with other encap products (I do) to secure the carpet contract.

Sorry, I was the unnamed poster from earlier.
I will look into the CAMP, thanks for the suggestion,

I have used it in the past and, like some of you, found that it was expensive and produced disappointing results when the carpet was more than moderately soiled. In my area, one of the carpet sellers pushed it for many years. Anytime I go into a home or business where it was used for an extended period of time, it is always packed down into the carpet backing. I think it takes more than just regular vacuuming with a real good vacuum to get those sponges out.

Ive used host in oriental rug cleaning and also some sisal carpets with great results - but like others have said its expensive and slow, but it does work for sure, and the guys at Host are VERY knowledgable about carpet cleaning...I'm a TANDUS CertiCare provider, and guess what they use to clean their OWN carpets in their corporate headquarters - HOST! And when I visited their factory their carpets looked wonderful....