Why is Encapping considered more suitable for Commercial?

[AusCapper]

Would like to hear more on peoples views as to why Encapsulation Carpet Cleaning is more suited to Commercial work than Domestic.
Obviously reduced cleaning time in larger areas, and more accessibility are two of the more common advantages thrown up. And of course there are the many who swear by encapping domestic, and many who swear not to.

Is there clear cut answer to this?

[leofry@1966]

I don;t know about clear cut answer but you nailed it on the head faster production time and much easier on the body when it comes to large commercial. IMO i do think its easier to do smaller jobs like residential and even a few small commercial accounts with HWE...

Also i think and so do many many others that commercial carpet just looks better after encaping, I can't say that wicking is eliminated but i can say less chance of it due to low moisture.

so to summarize
1. more productive
2. easier on the body
3. better results

and what the *****
you might also save on labor

[rlord]

What Leofry said is right on. In my case all the Entrances are VCT so the areas I clean are mostly from something spilling or dropping (food,coffee, etc).
this is where Encapping shines, getting the fibers clean without getting the carpet wet underneath, resulting in wickbacks. When Encap is done properly
you won't have any or very few wickbacks in years.
I've gotten lazy on a couple jobs and when the spill disappeared from running over it with the Cimex I just kept going instead of setting on it and hitting it from all angles and then spraying with Releasit mixed 50% with water. This resulted in re-soiling after a couple weeks. When done like above no issues went away and stayed away.
As far as domestic I always used HWE but I'm starting to question that as I unloaded my Cimex one day, had some left over juice in it and said I'm going to run over the downstairs area. We have two dogs that sometimes track in stuff from outside. It came out looking great, as good if not better than HWE and a heck of a lot easier.

[Kevin K]

We have 3 truckmounted systems running and 2 Cimexes. We look to encap wherever possible, due to the high productivity. However, IMO, residentially, HWE is still usually the best option, at least compared to "straight" encapping (Cimex/pads or brushes). HWE removes soil, so the carpet is cleaner from a hygienic standpoint. It also tends to leave the carpet softer, as there is no or very little polymer left behind.

If you add "padcapping' or bonneting to the mix, that will blur the lines a little, as you will be removing at least some of the soil, and leaving the carpet at least a little softer.

There are many ways to clean a carpet, and you can be very successful using virtually any method. Each method has its definite strengths and weaknesses, and rather than try to bash one method, we prefer to promote the positive of the method we use- whether it's HWE, encap, or a combination of the two.

[encapman]

Rick's Top Ten List:

1. Faster production rates.
2. Essentially no chance of wicking.
3. No recurring spill stains.
4. Dingy traffic lanes and drab looking carpets snap back to like new.
5. Quick drying / low moisture.
6. Environmentally sensible.
7. More profitable (see number 1)
8. Easy to train technicians.
9. Easy to set up a "maintenance plan".
10. Easier to get equipment into the service area.

[TheCleaningDude]

The part about the carpet not being 'soft' is very true.

I recently cleaned my own carpet using hwe on one half and vlm on the other half (padding). They looked identical, however the VLM side felt a little stiffer. Not crunchy or sticky, but firm.

I'm bringing this up because I saw a clip recently of a VLM cleaner doing a demo and at the end he applies a 'rinse'.

Is anyone familiar with VLM rinsing products?

We have 3 truckmounted systems running and 2 Cimexes. We look to encap wherever possible, due to the high productivity. However, IMO, residentially, HWE is still usually the best option, at least compared to "straight" encapping (Cimex/pads or brushes). HWE removes soil, so the carpet is cleaner from a hygienic standpoint. It also tends to leave the carpet softer, as there is no or very little polymer left behind.

If you add "padcapping' or bonneting to the mix, that will blur the lines a little, as you will be removing at least some of the soil, and leaving the carpet at least a little softer.

There are many ways to clean a carpet, and you can be very successful using virtually any method. Each method has its definite strengths and weaknesses, and rather than try to bash one method, we prefer to promote the positive of the method we use- whether it's HWE, encap, or a combination of the two.

[MikeB]

Like an All fiber rinse? I suppose that could be applied and padded up with a damp pad.

[TheCleaningDude]

Yeah, I thought about this.

But, doesn't the rinse itself need to be rinsed?

Like an All fiber rinse? I suppose that could be applied and padded up with a damp pad.

[MikeB]

It's worth checking into. I think if it was sprayed on and padded up with damp pads that would be sufficient.
Something to experiment with. Personally I haven't noticed any texture issues though.

[encapman]

Occasional fiber stiffness is a characteristic of working with a polymeric detergent. Any crunchiness will only be noticed briefly, on fluffy carpets (such as a residential saxony). However after a few days of vacuuming and normal foot traffic the carpet will return to its normal softness. On a commercial carpet, this phenomenon is rarely observed. It's not normally an issue. However using a non-encap "rinse" product will nullify the effect of the encap process, so I wouldn't recommend that. Like I said, this a minor issue that occurs only on soft carpets and it dissipates in a couple of days.

[MikeB]

Thanks for clearing that up Rick.

[encaprodney]

We just cleaned an arena that had carpeted sections all over the place (CGD and Carpet tiles) and I can't imagine how difficult it would have been using HWE. We got there at 2 pm and the facility maintenance manager was concerned about drying time because he had an event scheduled at 5:30 on the large carpeted club section. No worries though with VLM, we put 4 Cimexes and 4 blowers and we were done in less then 1 1/2 hours. He was VERY happy, the carpet was cleaned, gum removal and all, and dried very fast and we were home by 6pm! Yet another "real life example" of the advantage of Encapsulation with Releasit.

[AusCapper]

Production rates seems to be the biggy, and without sacrificing quality, in fact in most cases improving quality it seems.
Its always great to hear clients being very happy with the results encapping produces especially given the many advantages (to the operator) associated with using this method.
Nice top 10 Rick, that list is a direct marketing pitch in itslef.

Ned

[CleanItGreen]

I'm still relatively new to the biz (a little over a year) so take this with a grain of salt. but I spoke with Rick on this way back when I got into the biz. most of my business has been residential and I encap. I only pull out my HWE for very dirty berber and areas with a lot of urine stains that have to be treated with extra strength urine remover. I have a cimex but my machine of choice for residential is a Procaps cylindrical brush machine.
I've gotten great results with the procaps machine and Encap Hydrox mixed anywhere from 10oz/gal to 16oz/gal depending on how dirty the carpet is. I have yet to hear anyone complain of crunchy carpet. regarding the dirt in the carpet, I have a sanitaire commercial vac and ALWAYS vacuum first. I'm fairly certain that a couple of passes with that gets much of the dirt out. I also inform my customers (many of whom i haven't yet gone back for round 2 yet) that on the second or third cleaning I will opt to use HWE just to "make sure" we've gotten all the deep down dirt.