Dwell time

[george8585]

George, what are your thoughts on my comments regarding pre-vac and pre-scrub being the great equalizer between HWE and VLM?

Would like to hear your perspective as a HWE guy.

I know I can't get the same results wtih VLM that I get with my TM. No matter what I do. Using 400 PSI and 200 degree temp. with a 360i gets fantastic results. But sometimes even with all that it can be difficult. Using the right prespray and rinse is very important, to prevent resoiling and wicking.
I often wonder when I'm doing a nasty carpet, how do the VLM guys get this clean. It seems impossible to me. Carpet that is old worn not cleaned in 5- 10 years. How do they do it? How long would it take?
Pre-vac and pre-scrub can be a great equalizer on residential carpet between HWE and VLM for 75% of the jobs, but what about the other 25% of the time.

Commercial is different I think VLM is great for that 90% of the time, but how about the 10%. I read about guys using these crazy mixtures for restaurants and wonder how bad of a odor they left from those strong mixtures. Can't even imagine how many pads it would take to do a greasy restaurant.

I think both systems have their place, but if you only have one, having a good Truckmount and knowing how to use it, is the way to go.

That is just my opinon, many will disagree. I'm still learning about VLM, next year my opinion may be different.

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George,

Do you pre-vacuum when you HWE? Agitate with a 175?

If you do, surely that adds time to the job. I think if a HWE cleaner added those two steps - and maybe even a post bonnet dry or rake - it would take almost or just as long as VLM?

That's the great thing about HWE though. You can cut so many steps and still have the carpet looking clean.

You absolutely - imo - cannot cut corners with VLM. Pre-vac is a must, dwell is a must, etc.

For those that say customers want you in and out as soon as possible - not sure if I agree entirely with this. A lot of times customers will tell me something like, "oh the other guy was gone in an hour and I was really upset with how much I paid just to have him rush." That's not always the case of course, but I hear it regularly.

People want to know that they got their moneys worth, and time spent is one easy way to measure it.

Yes, a helper is great. Especially for two story homes. If there is one single Achilles heel that we as VLM'ers face, it's stairs. Dragging stuff up and down again - not to mention the cleaning of steps - is a time killer.

I can do 2 - 3 jobs a day with reasonable comfort. Anything above that would need to include some apartments, single story homes, etc.

I ask the customer to vacuum, they usually do a bad job, but it's not as important with HWE. I have a devastater filter it holds a lot without any vacuum loss. VLM the pre-vac has to be perfect, so even if the customer did pre- vac you still need to when you get there. It's time consumming.
I use a 360i for residential and RX-20 for commercial, if it needs it. Most of the time I use a wand.
If your in and out that's not good either. I hear that about Stanley Steemer. What I'm saying is, they don't want you there any longer neccessary. Every customer is different, but they want a good job done in a reasonable amount of time. I've had some customers think it was going to take me all day to do a job that only takes a few hours. People absolutely want to think they got their moneys worth. There have been times when I was getting done to fast, so I slowed down so the customer didn't think I did it to quick. If they think you did it to quick, they will look over your work trying to find something wrong.
Post vacuuming is so important in VLM, but takes up more time. Your all finished now you got to go back and do another thorough vacuum, That really makes the job, but it's just more time on the job.