7000 sq. fts. How long does it take ???

[Bernd]

I got a new commercial customer. A real estate company.

Next week i am cleaning three offices with 800 sq. fts. It is heavily soiled with traffic lanes and coffee spots. If the result is ok i have to clean the 7000 sq. fts.

My question: How long does it take to clean 7000 sq fts with my 175 ? I have a helper who vaccums and pre sprays. The offices are empty.

I want to use VCT pads and the SuperZorbs for the traffic lanes.

[encapman]

Give yourself 4-5 hours. There will be some variables - depending upon how accessible the water is, and whether or not you have obstacles to move or work around. And with a helper, you can possibly shave a little time off of that.

[Bernd]

Give yourself 4-5 hours. There will be some variables - depending upon how accessible the water is, and whether or not you have obstacles to move or work around. And with a helper, you can possibly shave a little time off of that.

Thanks for your reply. There are no obstacles as desks or chairs. The rooms are empty.

The only "problem" could be the water...

5 hours would be 1400 sq fts / hour. I am realy excited. For me it would be a big deal cause most of my customers are residential.

[Act One Cleaning]

Bernd, make sure you have plenty of everything; pads, encap solution, everything. Congrats on a nice, big job!

[Bernd]

Bernd, make sure you have plenty of everything; pads, encap solution, everything. Congrats on a nice, big job!

Thanks. Yes, i will take enough with me.

Got my new order of Releasit from UK. Now with the citrus fresh scent. Smells good.

[Bernd]

I now cleaned about 800 sq fts and it took me 3 hours!!! The carpet was very trashed!

I used VCT pads and some SuperZorbs- but it definetly took me to much time! It was this horrible needle felt carpet. Very thin.

The result was good but i have to do it faster.

[encapman]

Yes, you do need to find a way to increase your speed. If it's "trashed" as you say, you still should be able to hit around 1,000 sq ft per hour.

[Bernd]

The customer called me this morning...they have heavy brown wick back spots. i cleaned the whole carpet with DS2 and as pre-spray i used Punch. The darker spots i sprayed with HydrOx cause it seemed to be coffee spots.

As i finished the cleaning the brown spots were still there- very light. I went to the office and saw the brown spots and it looked horrible. I tried a kind of Stain Magic this morning, based on Peroxide. Hope it works now.

What do you think why i got this wick back problem? Did i use to much solution? The needle felt carpet is very thin without a real floor.

[encapman]

Since you spent 3 hours to clean 800 sq ft, you could very likely have used way too much water. LOW MOISTURE is the key to success! Using more solution may be tempting, but the results will be wick back. Clean it again with minimal moisture! You can use Encap-HydrOx to treat browning from wicking. Try bonnet cleaning with HydrOx.

You could plan to pre-scrub the rest of the carpet with Encap-Punch, and then post-bonnet with Encap-HydrOx. You may be aware that you should not use other products in conjunction with Encap-HydrOx. It's true, the polymer in Encap-HydrOx may be compromised somewhat if you were to use it in tandem with Encap-Punch. But it sounds like you're being called to clean what sounds like a last ditch effort to resurrect a trashed carpet. Sometimes you need to break the rules a little to get the job done.

Keep the moisture to a bare minimum. Accelerate the drying time. And use Encap-HydrOx to correct wicking/browning. I think that would be the best approach for this one.

[Bernd]

Thanks a lot! I will try it. Customer knows that the carpet was in a very bad condition before cleaning. He was ok with the result except of the wick back spots. He will call me next week to decide if the rest will be cleaned or they buy new carpets.

Should i prescrub with the crb and then use SuperZorbs or MF Pads?

I have to find a way to spray the right amout of solution. As you said...less is more...

[encapman]

Yes, you could pre-scrub with your CRB followed with bonneting with Superzorbs.

[Bernd]

Which dilution of HydrOx do you recommend ?

[Charles]

Bernd,

You really need a solution tank. That will put down the correct amount and you can go faster. 

[Bernd]

Thanks Charles. I have a tank for my 175 but did not try it untill now.

How do you regulate the solution? You make one wet pass- then one dry and then go down and overlapp 50%?

How long do you open the solution tank? The whole pass or only a few times during the wet pass?

[Charles]

On my 175 tank I pull the rod maybe 1/4 way  so it flows good and move machine to the right then back to the left and underlap the top and do this a few times then go over it dry. I use white 17" floor pads and carpets have always come out good. I have cleaned greasy floors  at a chinese place and came out good.  The more you practice the better you will get.  For example time:  I cleaned a church all open areas a little over 2500 sq ft in about 55 minutes. First 1500 sq ft was dry before we left. Second half was drying pretty good before we left. $300 job.