Encapsulation carpet cleaning and commercial carpet care forum by Excellent-Supply.com & Releasit

I am a housekeeping director at a small to medium sized hospital, and the entrepreneur in me has decided that it's time to build a business of my own. I've been doing a significant amount of reading about the carpet and hard floor cleaning business, and I've decided for my market that VLM/Encap will be my only carpet cleaning method.

I'm trying to make the best investment for my initial capital that will allow me to provide a high quality of service with minimumal expense. My goal is to provide hard surface and carpet cleaning at about 60/40 commercial to residential. As my experience is in VCT I will be starting with a bid to strip and wax a dental clinic (it's a lock)... to be completed about mid-January. For that I will need a rotary.

My question; is anyone out there exclusively running a 175 rotary on CGD and Residential carpet? The rotary will not be my go to forever, as I pick up accounts I will pick up an OP and a Cimex (in that order). Since I am the labor and all of my labor and profit will be re-invested in the business I am not too worried about my productivity rate (although it definitely matters). My main concern is the results.

Should I just bite the bullet and buy an OP along with my rotary? If I can use my rotary, what kind of results can I expect?

I would be looking at the Low Boy from excellent supply. A good tool for all that you are looking to do with excellent end results. Good luck in your venture. P Cleaner

I started with a 175 for commercial and residential work. Within six months, I bought a Sprayborg, and then a Cimex a few months later. The differences in productivity (800sf/hr vs 2-3000sf/hr) alone make them better choices than a rotary, especially on CGD. In my view, other than initial price, the 175 has few sustaining advantages, if any.

Has anyone used the lowboy on VCT or T&G? I saw a video of the orbiter in use in both situations, but Oreck has very little information on the lowboy.

If I could use the OP on multiple surfaces it would be much more valuable. At the moment the only machine I know will clean all of the above (albeit slowly) is the rotary.

The Orbot with the weight kit can clean all surfaces.

Doesn't the lowboy have similar properties as the orbot? Motor, rpm, travel? The obvious advantage is that it's much cheaper.

I have a sprayborg and 2 cimexs and all do the job very well. Your question was a machine that would get great end results that could do all floor cleaning ,tile, residential an commercial carpet with out breaking a bank. I would today start off with a Low boy.
If you wanted to re finish wood floors ( sanding ) you would be covered.
As your business grows then step up to the cimex sprayborg ect.ect.
PCleaner

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Let me add that the orbiter is a miniature low boy... P Cleaner

I to would go with the lowboy much better machine for doing all surfaces. If your business plan didn't call for 40% residential I'd say you could do ok with the rotary.
The lowboy will do am much better all around job.