My Second Job! QUESTIONS!

Trevor,
First of all, I’m glad to see you’re getting some work. Keep at it!

See my comments below:

@TrevorAdams wrote:

Hey guys, I’ve had 3 more jobs and I have some more questions…

1. The second job I had was a church’s sunday school rooms. They had lots of Playdo rubbed into the carpet and I wasn’t sure what to use to get it up with. 101 and CB didn’t touch it so I just chipped it away with my fingers and a knife, took quite a while though. Anything else work on it?

I haven’t cleaned up any Playdo, but I have had to resort to the old knife and fingernails a few times. That’s one way. I wonder would the gum freezer spray help? Perhaps others will address this.

@TrevorAdams wrote:

2. There were several spots where white paint had been spilled on the carpet and I used TGP to get it up. Worked really well. I was wondering though how long I should let TGP sit before I suck it up. I’m worried if I let it sit to long it will hurt the carpet glue.?

If you didn’t suck up any carpet fibers, you probably kept the dwell time short enough. I usually limit my TGP dwell time to 30 seconds and can see the results I want. I believe the manual specifies a time limit. Be sure to flush/suck a bit extra after you finish with the TGP. You don’t want to leave any residual TGP to do damage later on.

@TrevorAdams wrote:

3. When I sprayed Fabric Protector on the carpet for the first time I realized what a strong solvent smell that it had. That’s a shame since our products get the carpet smelling so good before hand. Is there anything that can be done about that?

You need to get some good airflow when you spray. If I spray all at once, I open the nearest door for a few minutes. Also, raising a window up a couple of inches elsewhere in the place will help. Sometimes it is difficult to get some airflow. I have been houses where the windows were painted shut. That’s when you need to keep the door open longer. If I have sprayed at the end of my work, I find it easy to keep the door open for a few minutes while I am putting my equipment, pads, etc. outside the door. Sometimes I spray each room/area as I complete it. In that case I either open a window some or go to the door to lay dirty pads outside and leave the door open a bit. The initial smell will dissipate, however, the protector can create a weird odor later if applied and then no airflow occurs. I have not personally smelled it, but it happened with one of my early customers and it has been mentioned once or twice on this board. In my case, a very strong thunderstorm came up just as I was finishing a job. I had sprayed everywhere at the end, so I rushed to get my things in the van and forgot about getting some airflow. The customer had to buy some Fabreze and spray it everywhere. I apologized later and she has used me more, so she forgave me. I was lucky with my customer. I believe at least one operator had to refund for the job due to the smell.

Be sure to check that you are applying approximately the right amount. It certainly does have a bit of smell, but perhaps you applied it a bit heavy if the smell was real strong. If I recall, one gallon should be good for 2000 sq. ft. — So one ounce is good for about 15 sq. ft. — So a sprayer filled with 30 ounces should cover about 450 sq. ft. I am going from memory here, so you may want to check the manual.

@TrevorAdams wrote:

4. On our fourth job I used FAE and the dirt napper for the first time. It was a berber that hadn’t been cleaned in quite a while. The traffic areas were pretty dirty and really mashed down. After all the good stuff I’ve read on the boards about FAE and the dirt napper I didn’t think I would have any problem with it at all but I have to say I was pretty disappointed. It didn’t seem to do much of anything to the carpet. I sprayed the FAE on the problem spots, let it set for 10-15 minutes, sprayed 101 and CB everywhere, and used the dirt napper with a regular pad on it. And like I said, it didn’t seem to do much of anything. I then had to go over it 2 or 3 more times without the napper before I started to get any results at all. Was this just really bad carpet or was I doing something wrong?

Hard to say, but definitely don’t get discouraged about FAE’s benefits. Check that you followed the instructions properly on mixing the FAE. It was probably just one of those very difficult berbers. I have had a couple like that where no matter what I did, the dirt just came up very, very slowly. Once, I isolated an area of the room and kept going over and over it (re-applying 101 as necessary to provide dampness of course), changing pads of course. I could finally see the difference between where I had cleaned and where I hadn’t. Being careful not to overheat the carpet, you need to be sure to get berber fairly dry.

Also, depending on which version of the dirt napper you have, you could experiment with different pads under it to see which ones get up into the drive plate enough to let the bristles dig in enough to help.

Lastly, sometimes the remaining dampness gives a look that isn’t as good as it will look after it dries completely. So it may look better later after you leave. If you see this situation again with a larger job, do some of the worst first. Then go back and check it as you leave. It still may look better later though. You might even ask if you could return to see the carpets, depending on how the customer seems.

I discovered the completely dry result after I needed to return to a customer’s house soon after I cleaned some stubborn berber. My customer had a pet in training and called me back a couple of days after I had left not really being as satisfied as I would have liked with her berber. To my surprise and relief, it looked great a couple days later and she told me I had done the best of any cleaner she had ever used.

By the way, you mentioned spraying 101 and CB. You do mean CB added into the 101, right? Not separately?

One more thing — there have been quite few threads in the past concerning berber and what to do. You may want to search and review them. We had one thread going for a while that was like the old Miller beer commercials – “Taste great! Less filling!” We had a Quick boost vs. Fast acting enzyme debate.

@TrevorAdams wrote:

5. This house also had linoleum that butted up to the carpet, and where they met was the metal divider strip that holds down the carpet. Right at that edge always seems to be the dirties and also the hardest to get with the pads. Any tips?

Sometimes you can lean the buffer a bit. However, you have to be careful that the pad doesn’t catch on the strip or its nails. You may have to resort to a bit of cleaning by hand with a white towel along those areas now and then.

@TrevorAdams wrote:

6. I’m planning on probably using FAE quite a bit after all I’ve read on the boards. Rather than having to switch 2.5 gallon jugs in the power sprayer all the time, could I just put the FAE in the backup big pump sprayer that we get?

Of course, but I usually don’t mix up more than a gallon, depending on the size of the job and how many trouble areas there are. I have a backup power sprayer that I prefer to use for pet enzyme. If you get comfortable treating pet stains, you will definitely want your pet enzyme in a 2 1/2 gallon jug and power sprayer. You could order a 3rd power sprayer. I use a hand-pump garden-type sprayer for FAE. Also, I think you will find it difficult to get warm water into the large 2 1/2 gallon jugs at some customers’ homes, depending on their sinks’ depth. This may cause you to be filling something smaller and then pouring it into the 2 1/2 gallong jug, which may prove cumbersome and/or spill prone.

@TrevorAdams wrote:

Sorry for the long post, I really appreciate the help.

Ask away! We’re here to help. Also, you help many others (who may just be reading) by stimulating information exchange on this board.

Keep in mind that my suggestions are what I find working for me. You will get some varying opinions, which are all valid and good advice. You are doing well to just get some time behind the buffer. Build your experience and experiment along the way with different mixes, different pads, with and without the dirt napper, etc. You will soon find what you like and what works well for you.

Mike

This house also had linoleum that butted up to the carpet, and where they met was the metal divider strip that holds down the carpet. Right at that edge always seems to be the dirties and also the hardest to get with the pads. Any tips

Another issue, everytime the floor is washed, a little soapy water spills up onto the carpet creating a nice dirt attracting area

What kind of time is used here and why? I am reading the above message and it is Monday evening at 10:25 pm….not the 19th at some time…

Welcome anyway…just venting. Remember this, if you use FAE…by using it and the 101 cleaner, the carpet will most likely not dry in 1 hour…and berber almost always takes longer here to dry…

By the way, my wife and I were born and raised in Indianapolis. Welcome

thanks…