Sprayer or solution tank

[cammo54]

Thanks Rick
If I was to do that now, would it remove the streaks?

Cammo

[cammo54]

Thanks Jamie
Client (retail shop), vacuumed yesterday and couldn't remove the streaks but said they felt powdery or crystalised. She also said they appeared sudsy.
My only thought now is that I used Releasit DS with Chemox added as a booster left over from a previous nasty job a few days earlier. I only used this as the carpet hadn't been cleaned for over 2 years and recently had about 30 unknown spots left from a customer. The shop manager then scrubbed each spot with a general (non-carpet cleaning product!).
I earlier treated a couple of the spots and was able to remove them with Releasit on a cloth, so I decided not to treat any others, but proceed with a normal clean (albeit with the Chemox added).
Maybe with the uneven solution being released from the tank together with the Chemox, it has cleaned some areas alot more?
I need to remedy this carpet asap but not sure if I encap again with only Releasit DS from a pump up sprayer before using my Taski 165 will it remove the streaks by cleaning the non-streaked areas and evening out the appearance.
Or, do I need to HWE now by using my normal pre-spray (Fabripowr).

Cammo

[Jamie]

Hey Cammo,

Firstly I think it depends on what vacuum she was using, if its just a suction vacuum this may not be powerful enough to remove it. Do you have a quality upright Vac with a beater brush? This will do a far better job and be the real test as to whether it can be vacuumed out.

Based on the description she's given you it does sound like Encap residue which is pretty normal (not sure about the sudsy bit, that bit is very subjective) But I certainly wouldn't rely on what the retailer is saying too much because they really have no idea (and understandably so). you will need to eyeball this again (it doesn't sound like you have had a chance to go back there yet from your recent post).

It doesn't sound like the time or place to keep experimenting so If it were me, I would Vac with an upright, if it didn't come out I would HWE and be done with it as I think you only have 1 more opportunity to return and fix it from the sounds of it. If you do have to HWE its probably best to put a defoamer in your tank because the DS will cause a lot of foam when HWE'ing it.

Good luck mate, I'm sure we would all love to hear how this one turns out.

Cheers

Jamie

[cammo54]

Success! Thanks Jamie, I went back today and it looked better after they vacuumed with an inferior machine, so I grabbed my Dyson and yahoo!!! The lighter areas of streaking suddenly disappeared.
Some areas (especially over uneven flooring ) I went back and forth a few times for a great improvement.
When I returned home I emptied the vacuum canister and it contained fine grey cement looking powder. Is this normal?
So glad I didn't need to re-do the job or HWE and I can confidently invoice them.
Just shows again what a great forum this is.
But it still leaves me with the problem of my newly purchased water tank for the Taski. I just can't get the solution to dispense evenly and I certainly don't want to leave a job with unsightly streaks again.
Does anyone have a foolproof method to dispense via the tank in a consistent manner?

Cammo

[jtmellon]

I do a wet left to right pass and hold trigger on tank wide open, then I do a dry right to left pass, move back about one step or so to overlap the last area and do it again, left wet to right, then dry right to left, step back and wet left to right, then dry right to left, step back. Get the idea?

It's easy and you will get the hang of it in time. Don't sweat it.

[cammo54]

I presume you're using a Taski also. Do you use a brush or pad and are they pre-sprayed so as not to commence dry on a dry carpet?
I have also plugged the 80mm hole on the drive pad to avoid all the solution going straight down in one spot only. Whether this is the answer I don't know but it did seem to help. It then is distributed via the other small holes outside of the centre hole.
It just seems that if I leave the trigger open for any length of time, too much solution is being dispensed and then it sprays outside the pad as a foam and is flicked around.
I've tried to find a video of the tank being used, but the only one close showed a massive amount of foam being left on a carpet and the operator then raked it all up. Surely this is not the correct method.
Cammo

[Jamie]

Really glad to hear that was your issue, a much easier fix. I too have received no end of great advice from the forum and it continues to be a fantastic learning tool.

There are very few people that go back to a site to post-Vac. I think the best way is to let them know (once you have the job) that they will need to give the place a thorough vacuum otherwise you will need to price a return visit into the job ( or nice words to that affect).

As to encap videos, I'm know that Rick has some on the site or maybe his blog. But if you search for Releasit on YouTube you will find them, there are a few. Also the concept of encapping with a Cimex or a rotary is exactly the same except one goes side to side and the other walks forwards or backwards. To be honest I often walk forwards with my rotary in open areas, it's really not hard. So when watching videos that have a Cimex in them they will still help you.

If I find some I will post them for you.

Good result mate

Cheers

Jamie

---

As a further note to dispensing the solution, I think it's important that you feather the dispensing trigger (if you're not already). What I mean by this is, pull it on, let it off, pull it on, let it off. You do this in a medium to fast'ish action so that there is not a flood of solution hitting the pad and it has time to distribute via centrifugal forces before another hit of solution is sent through. You will get the hang of that pretty quickly with practice.

The best way to know if you have distributed too much solution is if there is foam spitting out the sides of the rotary. A real little bit is ok but if bigger chunks of foam start spewing out then there is definitely too much solution and you need to slow up on the feathering action. It really should just be a nice even whitening of the surface. Also make sure the head of your rotary is as flat as it can be. It obviously will never be 100% flat because you use the up down motion to swing it left & right but try to limit too much angle.

It may be an issue with your shower feed (quite possible) but it could just as easily be the technique you are currently using because you have just started using shower feed. Try technique before playing with the shower feed. If you have carpet or big rugs at home, try it there first.

Now here is the true benefit of the forum because I have only been encapping myself for about 4 maybe 5 months at most and everything I just said, I learnt off Rick & Shorty (I met Shorty at a Trade Show for the first time this week, helluva nice bloke) and all the other gents that contribute on this fine forum. I've certainly learnt so much in that time it blows my mind.

[cammo54]

Haven't had any more opportunities to practice using the tank on my Taski yet, as I'm too concerned about uneven distribution even by feathering the trigger.

Wondering if anyone has put an inline tap in the feed hose to reduce the amount being released and maybe I can then hold the trigger on for the wet pass and release for the dry pass? This will take a bit of experimenting, but I'm thinking when I get the setting right, it will also mean less finger work on the trigger especially when doing a large commercial carpet clean.

The other advantage would be I could close off the hose at anytime to eliminate any leakage?

Cammo

[GCThomas]

I'm starting a new urban commercial carpet maintenance business to train and employ teenage boys after school, evenings and weekends who do not have a car. They live downtown and have bikes or bikes with small carts behind.

I believe that traffic lane cleaning will reduce my customer's need for extraction enough to more than pay for our service. I don't mind referring customers to extractors for carpets if they are really badly soiled.

What equipment do you suggest? I'm hoping to focus on corridors in high rise office buildings, hotels and condos.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[encapman]

That's going to be a challenge. At the least, they would need a rotary machine with a solution tank, buckets, extension cord, pad driver, pads, and possibly some rudimentary spotting products. That's the most basic bare bones way you could go. The weight of pulling all this stuff in a small trailer behind a bike would be hard to manage. And then storing all the equipment (I'm guessing at the boy's apartment) may present another challenge. Training boys to work with a potentially hazardous machine is also risky - it's easy to put a rotary machine through a wall for an inexperienced operator (or worse). And lastly, there's the ever-present risk in corridors of residents tripping or slipping.

You have an interesting concept, but I think it may be very challenging to implement successfully.

[cammo54]

I've now installed an inline tap in the solution hose near the inlet to my Taski 165 and with either a feathering action, or on for a couple of seconds and then off, I've started to master the shower feed method.
The tap is set to almost fully open and is handy to be able to close when needed to avoid any leaks etc.
The results I'm getting are so much of an improvement on the pre-spray method used previously.
My only question now is how much solution should I be using per m2?
I'm thinking that about 1.5 lt per average size vacant bedroom is ideal, but anymore than about 2 lt may overwet the carpet and also delay drying times?
Cammo