Transitioned from Truckmount to Encap

[encapman]

Those of you who have transitioned from a Truckmount / HWE operation to an Encap / VLM operation - I would LOVE to hear your story. 

What moved you to make the transition? How has it affected your business - good or bad? What has been the reaction from your customers? What benefits do you see?

[procarpet]

Since no one else has commented... We haven't changed completely, I'd say we hwe 90% of our accounts. In the past year we have invested in a crb, royal vacuum and cimex to go with our 175. We use es chems and pads both absorbent and scrubbing. We used to hwe hallways in a highrise, 14k sq ft office and a large museum. This year we started encapping and padding the walkways. I thought they would complain, but to my surprise I have heard good things. One account claims that a spot that reappeared after 2 weeks for the past 10 years we've cleaned it has disappeared for the past 6 months. They suspect it was an oil spill before the carpet was laid. The museum says that the carpet has stayed cleaner longer. My back appreciated not playing bucket brigade on the high rise hallways using portables. And, when we get an easy vacant home we run the crb with great success.

[keepitclean]

Well, first post, but intrigued by this thread.  I never owned a truck mount, and actually started out as a vlm cleaner.  I loved it, however hearing all the bashing got me wondering so I purchased a 360 and a portable with auto fill and auto pump out.  Long story short......If I had to do HWE to make a living, I would've quit long time ago.  Seriously.  In a quest to be a better cleaner, I recently got a crb and actually primarily got it to pile lift and to agitate the pre spray along with the occasional cgd.  After getting the crb though, I was talked into getting some dry compound just to try out.  Very skeptical, but man, let me tell you, that stuff rocks.  I was able to go really just as fast as I would using vlm, but the carpet was dry when done and imo, not only looked better, but felt better too...  I'm not going straight dry, but believe this is a very viable option for people who want to serve this specialized niche..........As for me, before I got into cleaning, I wouldnt have my carpet cleaned because I hated the dry times, and the wicking...........VLM and especially dry has eliminated those problems for me and hundreds more who I call my customers.

And Rick, I see you sell crb's,......and I see you sell dry compound too, but cant see where I can buy more than little packages.  Do you sell the compound in bulk>

The pic is from a section 8, fairly trashed apt using nothing but a little prespray, compound and a crb.

[encapman]

If you would like larger "bulk" packaging of the dry compound we can provide you with that. Just give us a call and we can get it for you

[keepitclean]

what is the pricing per pound Rick?

[bonedrycarpet]

Well, first post, but intrigued by this thread.  I never owned a truck mount, and actually started out as a vlm cleaner.  I loved it, however hearing all the bashing got me wondering so I purchased a 360 and a portable with auto fill and auto pump out.  Long story short......If I had to do HWE to make a living, I would've quit long time ago.  Seriously.  In a quest to be a better cleaner, I recently got a crb and actually primarily got it to pile lift and to agitate the pre spray along with the occasional cgd.  After getting the crb though, I was talked into getting some dry compound just to try out.  Very skeptical, but man, let me tell you, that stuff rocks.  I was able to go really just as fast as I would using vlm, but the carpet was dry when done and imo, not only looked better, but felt better too...  I'm not going straight dry, but believe this is a very viable option for people who want to serve this specialized niche..........As for me, before I got into cleaning, I wouldnt have my carpet cleaned because I hated the dry times, and the wicking...........VLM and especially dry has eliminated those problems for me and hundreds more who I call my customers.

And Rick, I see you sell crb's,......and I see you sell dry compound too, but cant see where I can buy more than little packages.  Do you sell the compound in bulk>

The pic is from a section 8, fairly trashed apt using nothing but a little prespray, compound and a crb.

Pics?

[encapman]

what is the pricing per pound Rick?

I don't have the price at home. Call the office during the week and we can dig into it for you. 
We'll work hard to get you a good deal on the Dry Compound. 

[keepitclean]

I'm trying to post a pic but its not letting me load it up.........

[encapman]

It's very easy to post an image on the EncapBoard.

1) First host your image anywhere on the web. 
     Photobucket is a popular free image hosting service. 
     Once the image has been hosted online, copy the URL of the image.

2) Start a new topic, or reply to a topic. (Don't do a "Quick Reply")



3) Press the Image Icon (as shown here) and paste the URL of the image into the image tool.




Voila! That's all there is to it.

[the rugman]

Used to run 4 TM's - now I run 1 Cimex. Had an OP but sold it. Might add another one back in the mic. Customers are fine and love the low moisture - faster drying. i bought my Mex 15 years ago and never looked back!
My first use of it was a PSE&G repair facility ( utility company). The re-built all the turbines at the place and the main office was a mess. we were running 2 TM's every 3 weeks. I brought the Cimex in and the guy flipped out on me. I told him that I wanted to give it a try as every 3 weeks the place looked like we were never there! After about 2 months we were able to cut back to once a month and the place was looking great in between visits.

[keepitclean]

   

[bonedrycarpet]

Do u crb it after? Shark tooth looks awesome

[msc1917]

Im in the process of making the switch now. I got an orbot about 5 months ago just to try out vlm. Shortly after that my tm blower failed. With little cash in my pocket after the orbot puchase i couldnt afford to fix it. I was essentially throw head first into vlm overnight. I spent the first few weeks banging my head on how to get things cleaning up well. After a few weeks of practice i got a hang of it and clients were REALLY IMPRESSED with the results. I will never go back to steam, and plan on selling my tm in the spring. Here are a few pics of our vlm work.

[bonedrycarpet]

What are your secrets? There is a learning curve for sure. Looks awesome!

[lee@deepclean.us.com]

Excellent work 1917!  You are on your way to being an encap Master Jedi!  
I find a small spotter comes in handy when you need to flush the gunk out of a customers carpet from time to time!  That is about all the HWE I need for almost all things.  
If it gets beyond that I tell the customer " I'm sorry but I don't think I am the right option for you today".