Crb Machines. When should carpets be vaccumed?

[cookiemonster]

I have just started using a crb machine and have found that when cleaning cut pile carpets a lot of dirt, hair and carpet pile is coming up when using my tm3 and I am having to vacuum the carpets up to tidy them up after cleaning. Should vacuuming be done before crb cleaning or after. I don't want to vacuum twice?

[Jarrod]

Depends on how soiled the carpets are but.

I CRB then vacuum. However I sometimes vacuum then CRB then vacuum again. Getting that dry soil out before adding any cleaning solution is the key to a great finish.

[GroovyJon]

Hey CookieMonster,

You actually bring up a loaded question, what I'm going to say comes from commercial carpet cleaning only and my experience.... the subject of vacuuming.

If you can vacuum before and after it would be ideal for carpet cleaning,,, that is,,, if the customer is willing to pay for it.

Vacuuming can be as time consuming as cleaning the carpet itself sometimes. So if a customer is willing to pay for your time to do it, then why not. In my world of commercial carpet cleaning most customers are not willing to pay extra for vacuuming. Also the question comes up from my commercial customers is, "why do I need to pay extra for vacuuming when I have janitorial that vacuums on a nightly basis". So all I can do is in my proposals is make vacuuming recommendations, does it get followed, I highly doubt it.

For me its a double edge sword, do I want to vacuum? yes...................... Am I willing to do it for free and/or customers willing to pay for vacuuming ? 95% of the time,,,no

[encapman]

I agree with Groovy Jon completely. His experience mirrors my experience, cleaning commercial carpet for many years.

But here's a strategy I learned that works. Offer a vacuuming discount....

THIS WON'T WORK:
It's hard to upcharge for vacuuming. Tough to sell!!!
People will scream if you say, it's $700 to clean the carpet, but if we have to vacuum, it will cost $1,000.

THIS DOES WORK:
People LOVE to get a discount. Explain how critical good vacuuming is prior to cleaning.
Then say: "You guys already have a vacuuming program, right? Well, here's what we can do.
The carpet needs to be vacuumed REALLY WELL, before we clean it. But they'll really need to do a thorough vacuuming.
The price for carpet cleaning is $1,000, but if you can have your janitor do a super job vacuuming, we can discount it to $700."

You've attached a dollar value to the vacuuming, and they own it. They'll be thrilled to get their person to vacuum in order to save money. Emphasize the need to do a really thorough vacuuming. And understand that their vacuuming still may be less than perfect. But normally it's a good start. Sure, we may still do some additional vacuuming in the high traffic areas. But we're not responsible for the paper clip in the corner. And it's generally a big improvement over a building that wasn't pre-vacuumed.

Works like a charm! Try it.

[Bernd]

I agree with Groovy Jon completely. His experience mirrors my experience, cleaning commercial carpet for many years.

But here's a strategy I learned that works. Offer a vacuuming discount....

THIS WON'T WORK:
It's hard to upcharge for vacuuming. Tough to sell!!!
People will scream if you say, it's $700 to clean the carpet, but if we have to vacuum, it will cost $1,000.

THIS DOES WORK:
People LOVE to get a discount. Explain how critical good vacuuming is prior to cleaning.
Then say: "You guys already have a vacuuming program, right? Well, here's what we can do.
The carpet needs to be vacuumed REALLY WELL, before we clean it. But they'll really need to do a thorough vacuuming.
The price for carpet cleaning is $1,000, but if you can have your janitor do a super job vacuuming, we can discount it to $700."

You've attached a dollar value to the vacuuming, and they own it. They'll be thrilled to get their person to vacuum in order to save money. Emphasize the need to do a really thorough vacuuming. And understand that their vacuuming still may be less than perfect. But normally it's a good start. Sure, we may still do some additional vacuuming in the high traffic areas. But we're not responsible for the paper clip in the corner. And it's generally a big improvement over a building that wasn't pre-vacuumed.

Works like a charm! Try it.

It is a great idea to give a discount! Will give it a try. I have a helper who vaccums really well but i would save some money if the janitor would do this.

Thanks for this advice!

[lee@deepclean.us.com]

Unfortunately the quality of vacuuming customers provide may not be good.
Many times customer vacuums have full bags, broken belts, brush rollers that don't work while blowing dust all over.
I never feel right unless I do the vacuuming because I know it is important to get the quality I want.
Never be afraid to invest a little extra time! You will be happy you did!

[encapman]

Agreed. It's always best to provide the vacuuming on your end! But you can lessen the load by farming out some of the work to the client. And then be prepared to supplement their vacuuming in the traffic areas.

Sometimes you need to cut the cloth to fit the garment.

[cookiemonster]

I done a job today and I was left with no alternative but to vacuum after using my crb as lots of carpet pile from my last job fell out of my tm3 on to the carpet. I never though it would gather so much rubbish of carpets. I think it might need to be cleaned after every job. Has anyone got any advice on how to clean it?

[encapman]

A fair amount of debris, fuzz, dust, hair can accumulate.
So it's a good idea to clean a CRB machine at the end of each day or job.

1) Remove the brushes.
2) Wipe out the underside of the machine with a rag.
3) Vacuum the brushes. Or you can use a stiff whisk broom to scrub junk from the brushes.
4) Reinstall the brushes. Store the machine on the tray.
5) Wipe off the top of the machine. Applying WD40 will keep the stainless looking nice.

A little daily maintenance will keep your machine clean and running smooth.

[rodriguez]

We always Pre-Vacuuming and Come back with CRB as a pre-agitation tool. You will increase the quality of your service. Just be careful discounting your service if they do all the vacuuming. Many Times they won't do it and you have to apply the discount.