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We are actually considering turning all Berber jobs away. Starting in January we have been tracking the quantity of jobs that are Berber. At the end of the year we will know what percentage of our jobs are Berber. I would rather spend my day doing 2 non-Berber jobs than 1 Berber.
We have just recently started turning away very badly soiled carpets.
I actually enjoy cleaning most berbers. The ones that I have trouble with are the cheap ones that are very dirty and matted down tight. Fast acting enzyme is the key for me.
Dirtbag is on the ball. Olefin is a type of carpet fiber. It is usually found in berber style carpets (or cheap Home Depot style rugs) as it is not as durable as regular nylon or wool. “Experts” say olefin (aka polypropelene) can be stepped on approx. 6,000 times before it breaks down, nylon over 12,000, wool 20,000. Hence, they usually put it in a loop to help extend the life.
Olefin attracts oils, which can make them tough to clean. They also resist water, which is why they wick so often (in theory, they float on water, never tried it though). Also, unlike regular nylon which is made of a clear plastic and then dyed, olefin is actually made from colored plastics (i.e. green fiber is green plastic) which is why you can pour bleach on them (in theory) and not experience any color loss. Many berbers are made of olefin, especially in commercial settings. Some are made from blends of nylon and acrylic (which has many similar properties to olefin). Obviously, you then have your straight nylon berbers and wool berbers. Identifying the type of berber is an important step in your approach to cleaning it. If you are cleaning olefin, I recommend using as little solution as possible. Spray lightly, clean, and respray each ensuing required pass to reduce the chance of wicking.
Ron, I know many companies do charge extra for berber, so before you completely eliminate these potential customers, you may want to explore other alternatives first if you haven’t already. Believe Laura said she charges more. I agree with you though as I hate cleaning berber.
One more thing, olefin has a low melting point so be careful when moving/sliding heavy furniture or leaving your vacuum/beater bar in one spot on the carpet for too long (i.e. while you answer the phone) as the heat from these type of actions may burn/melt the carpet.
BERBER IS THE WORST, I NEVER TELL MY CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE BERBER WHEN THEY ASK…NOW AS FAR AS HWE..DON’T DISCOUNT IT.
IT WORKS FAR BETTER THAN BONNET CLEANING IN SOME CASES (HEAVILY SOILED CARPET) IF YOU JUST USE BONNET CLEANING YOU WILL USE UP TONS OF TIME AND SOLUTION. THEY HAVE SOME GREAT TRUCK MOUNT EQUIPMENT ON THE MARKET THAT GETS CARPET DRY JUST AS QUICK AS BONNET CLEANING BUT IT IS BIG BUCKS!! DUAL PROCESS IS A GOOD TOOL TO HAVE. IN MY CASE I WOULD RATHER TURN DOWN A JOB THAT NEEDS DUAL PROCESS SO I CAN GET TO THE GOLF COURSE ON TIME. OH, I JUST LOST A GREAT COMMERCIAL ACCT. TO A HWE OUTFIT SO KEEP YOUR MIND OPEN TO HWE..Berber is everywhere… a room here or there. One would clean cut pile in a home and not the berber carpeting in the same house? Or not clean any carpeting in the house because of a room having berber? Must be nice!!
We clean the berber and have used Laura’s method very successfully wth our Ninja, w/o heat…though, now I will try the heat option on ours.
Everyone I have met that has berber complains aout it…a lot, and vows never to but it in again. We do our very best to educate and they almost always realize it is a pain to get perfect, if at all…by our educating them on the issue and their past experiences. HWE, with bonnet agitation will get berber clean most of the time.
The thing I do is this… I let the customer know that berber is very difficult to clean by any method, however, ours is the BEST way to clean it. When we are done, it looks great, but as time goes on, it will get less and less appealing, and at some point turn ugly! When it is ugly, we cannot get it back to the same level we did before, so call at some point in time, 3-4-6 months call and we will most likely be able to get it back to the same level…call before it looks ugly.
Cleaning berber more often is the secret to keeping it from being a royal pain.
We have a physician that has ivory-white berber throughout the house. We get a call every 3 months to clean and it has not slipped a notch in over a year plus…
Perhaps this is helpful.
Dave
I have white berber w/ blue and mauve flecks throughout my house. 5+ years old, never been cleaned by any other than HB. We clean it once per year and apply stain protector each time. Still looks like new (dispite never removing shoes ). Most people put in cheap berber, own a cheap vac and seldom use it. Then they wait 5years past due for cleaning. Will they ever learn? I doubt it!
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