There are three things that every business needs.

Teamwork

If youth knew; if age could.    –- Sigmund Freud

We make a good team. As I watch Ryan (he does all the hard work since I’m no longer able to) I’m reminded of the above quote. When we’re old, we have the knowledge, but not the energy. And when we’re young, even though we think we have both, hindsight tells us we were wrong.

Carpet cleaning is hard work; both physically and mentally. I’m glad Ryan is around to do the heavy work; lug 150 pound portables around and push a wand for 8 hours. And, I’m sure he’s glad I’m around to help with the marketing and sales. When building your business, make sure you build a team that compliments one another. I think all too often, we’re tempted to hire people we like, not people that will make us better. Find someone that has strengths in the areas you are weak in.

5 Things I Learned While Running a Carpet Cleaning Business

Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice. –- Peter F. Drucker, Professor of Management

After moving to Layton in 1985, where I spent the next 14 years running my own carpet cleaning business, I learned some business lessons. And, as is usual in business, I learned them the hard way.

1. If it’s not working, don’t keep spending money and time on it.
2. Learn to recognize A customers from B customers.
3. Knowledge = profit.
4. Price for profit
5. Be ready to seize opportunities

Problem:
You are preparing to clean your client’s upholstery. It may be white cotton, linen, a jacquard print or another fine fabric where there are concerns about possible browning, bleeding or shrinkage. When the cleaning is finished, it should be protected. What type of product do you use?

Back at the turn of the century, this would have been an easy question to answer. You reach for a protector with a solvent carrier and (hopefully) your respirator. Clear the home-owner and her family from the area, set-up ventilation and go to work. This is how many top cleaners would have responded.

Back in the last century, many top carpet and upholstery cleaners used the yellow pages as the cornerstone of their marketing strategy. But times change, sometimes rather quickly.

What has changed causing upholstery cleaners to decide against picking up that sprayer full of solvents?

For one thing – government regulation. With California Air Quality Board (CARB) leading the way and other states often following a couple of years later, regulation of solvents that might be used in fabric protectors has increased. The current regulation allows fabric protector to contain no more than 1% solvents. There are a few exceptions (acetone, Methyl acetate, ‘perc’ dry cleaning fluid), but these are regulated in other ways because of their extreme flammability and/or because they are suspected carcinogens.

A few drops of acetone used to clean up some ink or fingernail polish is OK, but imagine spraying enough solvent to protect all the upholstered furniture in an average living room. Just the odor alone could keep the family out for a week!

Another reason for avoiding the widespread use of solvents behind is safety concerns. This includes the safety of the technician and the occupants. Asthma is on the increase with many attacks being triggered by reactions to fragrances and odors. Solvents also trigger a number
environmental concerns.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

You may have heard this quote before. However, it deserves our attention another time. This can apply to how employers treat their team as well as how everyone in the company interacts with your clients.

Like carpet cleaners, airline employees are working with the public every day. Some examples from Southwest Airlines can suggest new ways of looking at how you do business.

Southwest Airlines people are known to be happy campers, often while making less money than they could make at another airline. Herb Kelleher, the founder and former CEO of Southwest airlines was famous for his respect towards his employees. Among many other things, he worked on Thanksgiving, loading bags on planes, so one or two ramp people could have the day off. ^[1]

Rod Jones, assistant chief pilot, recalls a captain who left the gate with a senior citizen who had boarded the wrong plane. The customer was confused and very upset. Southwest asks pilots not to go back to the gate. In this case, the captain was concerned about the customer’s well-being. “So he adapted to the situation,” says Jones. He came back in to the gate, deplaned the customer, pushed back out and gave us an “irregularity” report. Even though he broke the rules, he used his judgment and did what he thought was best. And we said, “Attaboy!” ^[2]

Colleen Barrett, Kelleher’s main assistant, was concerned about a customer service agent who, recently, had gotten less than glowing reports, when she usually was highly rated. Barrett called her into her office and asked, “Is everything okay?” At that point, the employee started to cry and then went on to describe a difficult divorce, a custody battle over a 3 year old son, and an $1,800 debt for legal fees. Barrett listened and consoled her. A few hours later the employee received an envelope with $1,800 cash in it. There was no note. It simply had the employees name written on it, in Barrett’s hand writing. More than 7 years later (at the book’s publication) this person remains one of Southwest’s true zealots and her responsibilities have been expanded. She says, “At what other company could you walk in thinking you’re fired and walk out feeling loved, listened to and really cared about?” ^[3] 

Make your employees feel like a, “somebody”, at every opportunity, not always by giving them money, make them feel important and they will think more about what they can do for you and your company.

By Dennis Klager, industry trainer

[1] [2]  [3]  Kevin & Jackie Freiberg NUTS! Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success (New York: Broadway Books, 1998)

As promised, here is a sample of what you can find by clicking the “Technical Resources” tab at the very top of this page. Here is one of our Spotting Procedures. There are about 70 more waiting for you.

Few people ever dig up a buried treasure or find gold. But, wouldn’t it be great to to know where some nuggets are buried? Today I’m giving you a map to find gold in the Cleanwiki site.

We hope you enjoy end benefit from the weekly blog posts here on Cleanwiki, but I want to remind everyone that the real “meat” is deeper inside our website. We have Technical guides that answer questions on over a hundred subjects, cleaning guides with general instructions and suggestions on what products to use for what job, audio interviews with industry leaders, videos that allow you to see the answer to your cleaning questions. But Wait, there’s more!

You can download a free manual on showing you how to deal with pet urine and make money from this common issue. You can watch a training video on add-on sales like carpet protector which adds money to your bottom line faster than any other sale.

Maybe you want to know if the stone floor you have opportunity to maintain is marble or serpentine. The Spinergy Stain Maintenance Guide teaches you to identify different stone flooring and how to maintain and polish it.

I don’t want to forget the management tips and marketing gems that are just a few clicks away.

PowerPoint training gives you a glimpse inside the classroom at Interlink Supply, Bridgepoint and Hydro-Force. Topics range from how various products are used to chemistry and science behind the products.

Do you need parts break down and repair instructions for a sprayer? It’s on Cleanwiki.

One of the latest additions is our Spotting Procedures Guides. These cover step by step instructions for dealing with scores of different spills and stains. Would you know how to remove spilled copier toner?

To discover all the technical help that Cleanwiki has to offer, click on “Technical Resources” at the very top of the page and just left of center. This will open a menu of options.  I’ll be posting up some examples over the next few weeks.

By Doug Heiferman

While traveling the country and speaking with thousands of professional textile cleaners, the question I hear most often is, “Which cleaning method and system is best to use to clean carpet?”

My reply goes something like this:

“What is the age of the carpet?”

“How many previous cleanings?”

“What is the construction?”

“What are the manufacturer specs?”

“What are the environmental conditions at the time of cleaning?”

In many textile-cleaning situations you will need to employ a combination of cleaning systems to get optimum results. There is no one answer.

Systems of cleaning are extremely important. However, I would say the technician’s knowledge and education, combined with experience and technical expertise, will ultimately control the outcome of the job. Any cleaning system is only as effective as the trained professional using it. When I hear comments made by textile cleaners in general regarding which cleaning system is better than another, the low-moisture system tends to get a negative rap. From my personal cleaning experience, I have employed several systems on a particular job to obtain optimum results. For example, performing hot-water extraction of commercial olefin carpet followed by bonnet cleaning with cotton pads or oscillating pad cleaning. Pads used in bonnet cleaning or OP cleaning help remove more soil and leave the carpet fairly dry. Faster drying action helps prevent the reappearance of spots as well as soil wicking back to the surface of the carpet.

The successful textile professional knows there are different levels of cleaning:

Maintenance

Interim

Restorative

The emphasis of maintenance cleaning is to minimize the impact of soiling and how that relates to carpet appearance. Examples of maintenance strategies include efficient placement of walk-off mats for soil prevention, regular vacuuming and fast removal of spots.

Interim cleaning employs systems that require little moisture, quick drying time and generally is used between restorative cleanings. There will come a time, depending on traffic in a building or residence, when interim cleaning will no longer be effective in removing the heavy soil load exhibited in the carpet.

This leads us to the third level, restorative cleaning. Cleaning systems employed for restorative cleaning use more water than interim cleaning systems and are designed to extract and rinse deep embedded soils from the carpet. When used properly by a trained and certified technician, restorative systems can also provide quick dry times.

Restorative cleaning, however, uses higher levels of moisture, and this can wreak havoc if employed by an improperly trained technician. Over-wetting carpet can lead to numerous problems, the most serious being that, given certain environmental conditions, if carpet is left wet for more than 24 hours, microbial action may occur, jeopardizing indoor air quality and becoming a health concern for the occupants.

Now don’t rip me to pieces; low-moisture systems used by an untrained operator can also wreak havoc and create the same problems as wet extraction, only it is much less likely to happen when drier systems are used. Bottom line, textile-cleaning professionals, no matter what system is used, must first get the carpet clean and, second, keep drying time to a minimum.

Now let’s take a closer look at low-moisture cleaning systems. This is not an all-inclusive article on every low-moisture system available; however, I will examine several commonly used in today’s marketplace. Low-moisture cleaning systems give great results on many different carpet types, with very fast drying. Remember, it’s the operator more than the system that has the ability to achieve above average results. The equipment and systems are nothing without a certified, trained professional running it.

Absorbent Compound

This minimum-moisture method is used both in residential and commercial situations. Schools and large institutions employ this method for its fast drying and little chance of excessive moisture or over wetting. The system uses a granular carrier distributed through the carpet, usually with brush agitation. I suggest Brush Pro Dry Compound used along with the newly redesigned Brush Pro counter-rotating brush machine. Brushes are available for wool or synthetic carpet.

Once distributed by brush agitation it dries quickly and is removed by HEPA filtration vacuum equipment. When you use a Brush Pro it also lifts the pile providing even more impressive results. Even though this system uses minimum moisture, chemical action is accomplished through the use of the granular product, with or without preconditioning. The Hydro-Force Brush Pro line does include a preconditioner for heavily soiled or greasy carpet. Dry times are generally thirty to sixty minutes or less.

Dry Foam

Dry foam is also a low-moisture method. The dry-foam machine produces mechanical aeration and can be applied to the carpet usually by a brush system; soil and spent solution is then drawn back into the machine by wet vacuum. The wet vacuum approach for soil extraction is most common. Some machines absorb the moisture and soil into certain pads or bonnets.

Bonnet Cleaning Methods

There are several variations of this method with either rotary or oscillating machine and different types of pads including cotton and microfiber. What I will term general bonnet cleaning is also called absorbent pad cleaning. This is a minimum-moisture method used on many different types of carpets and fibers. Bonnet cleaning is most often used in a commercial environment  for fast, effective cleaning in addition to ultra-fast drying capabilities. Having carpet cleaned and dry quickly is of major concern not only to homeowners. Wet carpet in buildings or schools quickly becomes a safety issue where slip-and-falls are concerned not to mention issues that relate to re-soiling of the carpet in addition to area that cannot be accessible during the drying period.

A detergent solution is applied to the carpet and extracted using an absorbent pad/bonnet attached to a drive block usually on a low-speed, 175-rpm floor machine. Encapuclean Double Strenth (DS) and Encapuclean O2 are among the encapsulation presprays recieving great reviews from cleaners who are achieving production rates of 3,000 sq. ft. per hour and more.

Many professionals use a 300-rpm machine to achieve greater results in addition to faster production. You must have experience and understand where to use and not use higher-rpm bonnet cleaning. Lubrication will be key in addition to bonnet selection to avoid creating texture changes or fiber damage during the cleaning process. (Note: An untrained operator can damage carpet or improperly clean carpet with any system, not just bonnet cleaning. Training, certification and experience are crucial. There’s no substitute for these three factors.)

Oscillating pad or OP is a version of bonnet cleaning where the carpet is also sprayed with detergent and extraction is with a pad usually cotton terry cloth towels on an oscillating floor machine. The machine will not only rotate slowly, it will also oscillate.

Many use these sytems as a standalone system for cleaning carpets, especially in commercial work, while many who clean with extraction systems also use them in conjunction with extraction to help eliminate slow drying, wicking problems and also to remove more soil. In addition, on trashed carpet, many pre-agitate with a bonnet or pad before extraction of the carpet and achieve great results.

Encapsulation Cleaning

A system continuing to gain ground and popularity in the commercial marketplace is encapsulation. There are many variations in equipment including rotary floor machines, triple head machines like the Cimex or a counter-rotating brush such as the Brush Pro. The key principle here is working a solution into the carpet thereby applying polymer technology with the ability to surround and crystallize soils. The polymer technology coats the fiber so soil will not be attracted by any sticky residues.

After drying the crystallized soil is HEPA vacuumed from the carpet. Encapsulation gives carpet a good appearance quickly, which is critical in a commercial environment. This system saves time, material and labor. Fans of encapsulation systems will tell you the carpet will stay cleaner longer from the polymer coating. There are also encapsulation products that contain carpet protector.

The professional cleaner interested further in low-moisture cleaning can get in touch with the Low Moisture Carpet Cleaner’s Association (www.lmcca.org), a group of professionals dedicated to educating people to the science of low-moisture cleaning systems.

Textile cleaning and maintenance is a science. The professional must be armed and ready to employ different systems. Low-moisture cleaning will open new avenues of business. Today’s professional textile cleaner must have the ability to clean to Clean Trust / IICRC standards and manufacturer specifications, and possess the knowledge to offer valued clients different cleaning systems that add extreme value and credibility.

Doug Heiferman is owner of DH Seminars, a technical and business development company specializing in marketing and business programs for the professional textile cleaner and restorer. Visit Doug’s web site at www.DHSeminars.net for additional information.

Why Carpet Cleaning?

My son is now an ‘entrepreneur’. That’s what you’re called when you don’t have a job. –- Ted Turner, broadcasting entrepreneur

So why carpet cleaning? Well, because as is the case with many of our decisions, it just felt right.

In my last entry, I’d mentioned how I had been a coal miner, and how relieved I’d been, to get out of the mine and into a safe office. As it turns out, the office was more dangerous; both to me and my family. It was the 70’s, a time of social turmoil and protests. Labor unions were organizing to protect the welfare of employees and get them more rights. The Plateau Mine happened to be the only non-unionized mine in the area – and that meant trouble.

Those who had joined unions were openly hostile to those that worked at the Plateau Mine. It was even worse for me because I was in management at this time and was seen as one of ‘them’. Of course, I had no real say in what the owners did with their mine, but since I worked there, they felt I was part of the problem. My kids were harassed at school by the kids of the union miners, we received threatening phone calls and life was downright scary. I can recall the time I was shot at – boy, that gets your heart pumping. Bridges were blown up, we had to drive through picket lines in armor plated buses and the Highway Patrol had to escort us to and from work.

One day, I’d finally had enough. This was no way to live life I thought. Sure, the pay and benefits were great; I got 6 weeks of vacation, every weekend off and health and life insurance was paid for completely by the mine, BUT none of this would do many any good if I was always on pins and needles and if my kids were being persecuted. Something had to change! And it did.

Dave, a friend of mine, had been asking me for some time to work with him in his carpet cleaning business; he made it sound like it would be a simple matter to get clients and after crunching the numbers we knew we would easily make enough to spend our retirement years snorkeling in Hawaii (everyone raise your hands if you’ve crunched the numbers and said, “We’d only have to sell X, to make X, cha-ching!”).

As it turns out, he convinced me to join his business, promising to keep my salary at the same level it had been at the mine. My original thought was, “Wow, what a great business if he can give me that kind of guarantee!”

I put Plateau Mine behind me and headed to Denver, Colorado where I had my SteamWay Powermatic installed in our shiny, new high cube van. My partner was convinced that we’d pick up all the business in Price since we had a lot of connections there. It only took a few months of my monthly draw to take Dave’s bank account down to critical and for us to see the err of our ways. Where had we gone wrong? In hindsight I would say we underestimated how hard it would be to get new business. For those who’ve started a business, you can sympathize with this statement.

With my bridges burned at Plateau (literally) and a lot of debt (but a shiny new van), I sold my home, packed up my stuff and headed to Layton, Utah where I grew up. It was gut wrenching to leave the house I’d built with my own blood, sweat and tears, but I was on to better things.

So why carpet cleaning? Carpet cleaning was something that provided flexibility, I had the opportunity to be my own boss, I got to work with people and I could control my financial destiny.

The three things that are most essential to achievement are common sense, hard work and stick-to-it-iv-ness….  — Thomas Alva Edison

The above quote by one of history’s greatest inventors pretty much sums me up as a person. I’ve had enough real-world experiences that I feel like “I get it” most of the time, I’ve always had jobs that demand the most from me, and, well, if stick-to-it-iv-ness was a disease, I’d be dying from it.

Over the next few months I’m going to share my experiences – real – not contrived, about life as a carpet cleaner/restorer. I invite you to comment, ask questions or just laugh with me as I describe the ups and downs of this business. I hope that I’m able to pass on a few tips that will help you in your business; I’m sure I’ll learn something from you.

My name is Paul Kelly and I, along with my daughter Tressa and son-in-law Ryan, run Blue Diamond Premium.

Let’s go back, way back, to a time when I thought carpet cleaning was nothing more than making a few passes with a Hoover. One of my earliest jobs was a position as a personal trainer for the European Health Spa in Ogden, Utah. I basically got paid to work out. While working there, I had the opportunity to help people make a lasting change in their life. I watched as people overcame personal challenges. People who previously couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without sounding like a blacksmith bellows, could now run a race, play with their kids, and have the strength to do what was previously unthinkable. It was jobs like this, and other life experiences that showed me how much I really enjoy working with, and helping, people.

It was only natural; therefore, that after I’d gained a love of working with people that I become a mortician. Notice, ‘logical’ wasn’t one of the traits I said I personified. I went to Los Angeles, California, where I attended mortuary science school. If working with the living and seeing them change their lives was inspiring, how much more inspiring would it be to see the dead change their lives! After being severely disappointed in my abilities to affect changes in the dead, I ended up as a coal miner at the Plateau Mine in the small town of Price, Utah. This might seem strange at first, but I was actually born in Price, so this was simply a return to my roots.

Work as a coal miner is everything you think it would be: hard, cold and dangerous. The pay was the best in the area though so the risk seemed worth it; that is, until I shattered my leg. I’ve always been very active and this really hurt as I was prevented from doing any physical activity for months. I was eventually promoted to various positions that allowed me to get out of the mine.

At first, I thought I’d put all the danger behind me when I got out of the mine and into my desk job – boy was I wrong. The next few years were some of the scariest years of my life.

Next entry… Why Carpet Cleaning?

BIO:

Places Lived

• Price, UT
• Layton, UT
• Australia
• Los Angeles, CA
• Salt Lake City, UT

Family

• 11 Kids (3 sons and 5 daughters of my own, 2 daughters and a son from another marriage), 34 grandchildren

Loves

• Working around the yard with my wonderful wife
• Gold panning
• Fishing the world famous Provo river with my kids
• Rock hounding on the world famous Topaz Mountain
• Hiking
• Camping
• Cooking, and even better, eating what I cook
• Reading – Clive Cussler is one of my favorite authors
• Love being involved with my church and helping others
• Love the beaches of Hawaii, snorkeling and swimming

Hates

• Stupid drivers
• Weeds (love Round-Up)

Years in the Cleaning Industry

• I’ve been involved with the cleaning industry since 1985.

Business

• Blue Diamond Premium Carpet Cleaning and Restoration; http://www.bluediamondpremium.com/