Laws of Managing a Cleaning and Restoration Company or any company!

Many in the cleaning and restoration business have employees. If you have employees you are a manager. Many managers learn to manage. Many don’t. The ones who don’t learn to manage deal with the same issues, over and over, day after day. Often, it’s blamed on employees. They may decide to go back to being an owner / operator. This limits growth. You may not even be able to take  vacation or a sick day.

It took me years to understand that my company would never be better than my ability to lead and manage. As I improved, so did my company.

Some say management is easy. Some say it depends on your personality. But there is much about managing that is more than personality. It can, sometimes, require the wisdom of Solomon. How does a manager acquire that wisdom?

Generally, great managers got that way through time and a great deal of study.

I found being a tech easier than being a manager. I thoroughly enjoyed both.

NOTE: One of the most important things I had to learn, while managing my cleaning and restoration company, was managing myself, so I could manage others.

Following, are a few laws of management for a cleaning and restoration company, that when followed, can improve your effectiveness dramatically.

These are certainly not the answer to all problems and not in any particular order.

1. Be the person you want your employees to be. They will imitate you.
2. If you want behavior repeated, praise it. If you ignore good behavior, it will disappear.
3. Follow your own rules.
4. Inspect your employees work – show up, unannounced.
5. Show them. They may not see what you are thinking. Next, have them show you what you just showed them. Show them again.
6. Be consistent. If 5 minutes late was punishable yesterday, it’s also punishable today. If 5 minutes late was OK yesterday, why would they expect it to be any different today?
7. Give yourself and your people written procedures to follow. Guidelines make you and your employees consistent. Managers and  employees need consistency and structure.
8. Apply your guidelines equally to all. This makes you fair.
9. Give your people as much education as you can. The more they know, the more they can help you. NEVER be afraid that an employee will know more than you. That’s a good thing!If no one in the company is smarter than you, the ceiling is set at your level for every skill required. The best managers would prefer only people that know more than they do.
10. MAKE THEM FEEL IMPORTANT. Give value to what they do and say. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  Maya Angelou
11. Enforce rules! Humans respect discipline. We don’t particularly care for being disciplined, sometimes, but we respect those who care enough to make us do right.
12. Develop volunteers. People who see why they should do it, because you have shown them the benefits. If you “handle” every detail of your employees day, you are working too hard.
13. Spend time investigating the people you hire. Hire someone with the values you need. We hire too many bad employees because of lack of effort in hiring. You cannot give someone qualities that Mom and Dad never gave them. You don’t have the time or the skill.
14. Be honest, with yourself.
15. Be honest, with your people.

Study laws of management and leadership. It’s not just cleaning and restoration!

Dennis Klager

Today I’ll share a success story with you from a cleaning company that is new in the business. This is told by the sales rep at the Interlink Supply where they purchased their supplies.

Abe and Rachel Kenison of Salt Lake City recently started a part-time cleaning business to supplement their income. Since Abe is just starting into the business he has not had time to learn the standard responses to new ideas:

 “That won’t work in my area.”

 “I can’t charge that much.”

 “I don’t have that kind of customer.”

As a result, Abe is in the unfortunate position of having to do exactly what I taught him. Fortunately, it works.
Since Rachel and Abe are both employed and this was going to be a part-time effort, they bought a Nautilus 1200 and a Brush Pro. They wanted to be able to do hard surface as well as carpet and upholstery so the Nautilus was the perfect choice. I told them that they could do as well with this system as they could with any truckmount, it would just take them a little longer. Since they have more time than money that made sense. Recently, Abe got an appointment with a couple that owns 18 rental homes. He was quoting them a price for cleaning one home and asking for a contract to clean the others as needed.

THE POWER OF A DEMONSTRATION

This is a picture of the living room before cleaning. The clean area you are looking at is the outline of the sofa. Abe told the owner that he would like to show him a demonstration of his “Premium Service” which includes dry soil removal with the Brush Pro, prespray, pre-agitation with the Brush Pro, extraction cleaning and grooming.

The customer was amazed at how much soil was removed just by the Brush Pro. It was the first of several moments of amazement. He was also amazed at how clean the carpet was after the premium service cleaning. He said it is the best it has ever looked, and they have had it cleaned multiple times with truckmounted equipment.

The final part of the equation that helped to seal the deal was the red stain removal demo. Abe got his spotting kit and using an iron took out a pink punch stain that had been in the carpet for several years and through several cleaning procedures. The customer had been told by the previous carpet cleaning company that the stain would never come out.

SELL OPTIONAL LEVELS OF SERVICE RATHER THAN DISCOUNTING

Abe told the gentleman that his price for the service would be $550. He told me later, “I was so close to discounting, just because I was worried he would not accept the bid, but I didn’t. I stuck to my price.” Instead of dropping his price, Abe told the customer that if he preferred he could do what everyone else does and charge him less for a reduced service. The guy signed up on the spot for the premium service and told Abe that he was his new carpet cleaner, “his go-to-guy for cleaning”. $550 for a rental – That’s Good Stuff!

INTERIM MAINTENANCE

Abe told me yesterday that he has an appointment to talk to the customer about interim maintenance on carpet with the Brush Pro and encapsulation. If Abe can make this sale on rental homes he will be my hero forever. However, keep in mind what a powerful tool this is for the normal residential customer. Clean up before or after parties, holidays etc. It is a very quick and lucrative service.

COMMERCIAL CLEANING

Abe also told me that he has an appointment to bid on a chain of local restaurants next week. They have stamped concrete floors. His Nautilus 1200 with his SX-15 is perfect for the job. Keep in mind that the Brush Pro will enhance the performance of this system as well if a pre-scrub is necessary.

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS STORY?

We doubt that there is a single principle or practice in this story that any of you have not heard, understood and used. But sometimes we forget. These are things that you can teach your customer.
 Use the Brush Pro to improve your cleaning capability. Many of our customers are using the Brush Pro for pre-agitation, even if they are cleaning with a truckmount. It makes a big difference in the end result and in how hard the technician needs to work.
 Use the Brush Pro to provide a premium service that brings in extra revenue. By adding dry soil removal and pre-agitation you can charge extra money for the upgrade.
 Use the Brush Pro to enter the commercial world. Pre-agitation and interim cleaning with encapsulation is how it is done.
 Use the Brush Pro for diversification. What a great tool to use in the hard surface world. From tile to concrete, it is the ideal tool.
 When we are dealing with a customer who wants to start in the cleaning business they are not usually ready to start their business with a full truckmount and van package. In Abe’s case, starting him with the Brush Pro, the Nautilus 1200, Flexipro sprayer and SX-15 allows him to compete at a high level at a fraction of the initial investment. He uses the family minivan for transportation.

A SPECIAL OFFER TO YOU

If you would like to see what the Brush Pro and Nautilus could do for your business, stop by an Interlink Supply Store and ask them about getting a loaner for a day to try this system out on your jobs.

Microfiber has been an extremely popular upholstery fabric over the last couple of decades. The first microfiber commonly used in upholstery was sold under the brand name “Micro-suede.” This brand became very popular. So, you may hear any microfiber referred to by that name. Although the name has fooled some cleaners in the past, micro-suede is neither suede nor leather.

Exactly what is this fiber and how should we clean it?

Most microfiber upholstery is made of polyester or a combination of polyester and a polyamide fiber (like nylon). Very thin polyester fibers are split and fused with a nylon core to produce a fiber that looks like illustration #1. Rarely, you will also find some rayon and acetate fibers used.

Microfibers have a denier (a way of measuring diameter) of 1 or less. For comparison, a human hair has a denier of over 100.

The shape and the extreme thinness of each filament mean that there is a lot of surface area for water and soil to hide in a microfiber fabric. To remove the maximum amount of soil and water, you will want to make multiple slow vacuum passes during the initial dry vacuum step and also during extraction.

Microfiber has a soft luxurious hand and is available in a number of deep and rich colors. Microfiber is not likely to pill like other polyester upholstery. It has intrinsic resistance to water and water-borne dyes and staining material.

Pet hair can be difficult to remove from microfiber. If animals have been on the furniture, remove the pet hair before it dries. I like to use a Dry Cleaning Sponge (AX26) that builds a static charge pulling the pet hair off the surface. A Hair & Lint Roller ( AU12) works well also.

Although polyester tends to repel water, its affinity for oil and the surface are to hold dry soils means that microfiber can hold a lot of dirt. You’ll want to hit microfiber with Avenge Heavy Duty Fabric Prespray (CU21GL). Remember it takes a lot of those thin fibers to make the fabric. Apply sufficient prespray to cover all that surface area.

Boosting your prespray with Citrus Solv (CR08) or Pine Boost (CR07GL) does wonders to speed up the removal of an accumulation of hair and body oils along with greasy food spills. For the tops of arms, the headrest area or other high touch places that collect a lot of body oils or hair oils, use a clean white towel or even the center circle from a white floor polishing pad for agitation.

Rinse with Avenge Clean Rinse Neutral Upholstery Emulsifier (CU24GL). Don’t press your upholstery tool down into the fabric. This makes lines or marks from the tool more likely. Rather use a slow and gentle movement allowing vacuum to bring the fabric up to the tool. Top of the line upholstery tools often have rounded  or smooth edges that help reduce marks or lines from the cleaning tool. Check out the Hydrokinetic Upholstery Tool (AW58) or the Sapphire Scientific model.

A word of caution!

Although most microfiber is woven, an increasing amount of microfiber is flocked. This is especially common in lower priced pieces.  Open a cushion to inspect the backside of the fabric.  The interlaced fibers should be visible on a woven fabric. A flocked fabric is produced by giving short fibers an electrostatic charge and gluing them to a foundation or base fabric.  Because flocked fibers are not locked into the foundation by weaving, they wear off easier. Loss of the fuzzy face fibers in high wear areas like the arms is another indication that you may be dealing with a flocked fabric.

Solvents may loosen the adhesive used for some fabrics and allow fibers to come loose. Check your cleaning solution in an inconspicuous area before overall cleaning.  If solvents prove to be an issue, clean with Fabric Shampoo (CU61GL) and do not add Citrus Solv.

Because microfiber resists watery spills, some may hesitate to apply a protector, but polyester needs protection from oil! Be sure to finish your job with by applying Maxim Advanced for Upholstery (CP01GL)

The Groom Industries Handi-Brush (AB34) is a real time-saver to groom the nap following cleaning.  In areas that were matted, you may want to begin by rubbing a clean white towel or grooming tool against the fiber – usually from bottom to top. Finish with strokes that go from top to bottom and from the back to the front on horizontal surfaces.

An Air King will provide air movement across the fabric – never directly into the fabric – helps assure quick and even drying.

Have you considered mattress cleaning as an add-on service while in the home cleaning carpets? If you look into this diversification, you will find out that cleaning mattresses for the purpose of removing allergens such as dust mites and their droppings can be a very lucrative market. Allergy suffers will pay well to have the triggers for allergy and asthma removed from an area so close to where their faces will be for about 1/3 of every day.  Because everyone sheds skins cells all night long, their will soon be more food to attract dust mites and after several months they will need the mattress cleaning service again.

The potential drawback is finding folks who have these allergies and then marketing your services as a better solution than other methods they have tried for dealing with the discomfort. To summarize my experience, these clients pay well, are regular repeat customers but are difficult to find. The business will build very slowly.

Another group of mattress cleaning customers seemed to locate our services without any real marketing effort. These folks had stains or odors in the mattresses they wanted to remove. Like other aspects of cleaning, they could be great customers if you set the proper expectations. Many mattress stains will not be entirely removed, but the appearance may be improved. What you can offer is a mattress that is sanitary and an end to unpleasant odors.

Fire damage restoration cleaners will also find that many residential fires include some soot or odor in the mattresses even if the source of the fire was in the kitchen or some other spot distant from the bedroom. People will notice odors on a surface when their nose is only a few inches away.

MATTRESS SANITIZING – A mattress that has been stained with any liquid including urine will general still exhibit a ring or water mark after cleaning. This is due to removing some of the sizing on the new mattress ticking.

The mattress can be cleaned using portable cleaner with upholstery cleaning attachment. Use any upholstery cleaning product and rinse. Avenge Fabric Prespray with Avenge Clean Rinse would be good. If there are any issues of sensitivity to chemicals or allergies, use Masterblend’s Responsible Care Anti-allergen Prespray and Anti-allergen Rinse.

Vacuum before cleaning. If allergies are a concern – Lean across the width of the mattress and make cleaning strokes from the far side toward the center. Repeat from the opposite side. This assures no contaminants such as dust mites or their feces are pulled off the side and onto the carpet but instead get extracted.

To prevent new water marks – evenly mist the entire side of the mattress with your prespray. Clean evenly and dry evenly. Water marks can appear where there is a change from a wet or damp part of the mattress and a dry portion of the mattress. An even level of moisture across the entire surface avoids these interfaces between dry fabric and wet fabric.

Use of an upholstery tool that pulls the fabric into the vacuum chamber and pushes the cleaning solution through the fabric but not down into the mattress stuffing cleans thoroughly and dries faster. The Hydrokinetic upholstery tool does just that. Click here to see how it works.

Use the hottest water available. Hotter water will dry faster and helps makes the surface more sanitary. Cleaning will provide a sanitary surface to the mattress. (Don’t make claims to disinfect or to sanitize mattresses or any fabric. Most disinfectants and sanitizers are not labeled and tested to verify such claims.)

Another concern will be urine that has penetrated the surface (ticking) layer and gotten into foam or padding. Extraction of the surface simply can not clean this area that it can not reach. Urine remaining in these interior layers will still have an odor and will eventually wick its way up to the surface and recontaminate the outer layer. There are two ways to deal with the urine deeper inside the mattress. Either of these steps should be done before cleaning.

Option 1)  Mix Hydrocide at 4 oz. per gallon of water.  For light depsoits, that is all you will need. For moderate or heavy saturation, add several ounces of Bio-Charge  to this solution. Saturate the area that was wet with urine with the Hydrocide mixture. The goal is for the mixture to reach everywhere the urine did. To be sure all areas are reached may require a significant amount of solution and drying time will be slow.

Use a Water Claw Spot Claw tool and your body weight to extract as much of the solution as possible. Use air movement across the surface to accelerate drying. The addition of heat will also facility drying.

Option 2) Using a hypodermic syringe, inject Bio-Charge diluted 1:4 through the mattress ticking into all areas that might be contaminated with urine. Each injection should be 1 to 2 oz. An injection of Bio-Charge will spread about one inch in every direction up/down, side to side, end to end. Space injections so that all affected areas are treated.

Allow as much dwell time as possible before cleaning. Twenty minutes minimum. For maximum effectiveness, make the injections several hours or even a day before cleaning.

Bio-Charge solutions works faster if heated to 110 to 115 degrees before injecting. Mixing with hot water helps reach the goal but the water should not be too hot or it will adversely effect the bio-enzyme combination.

SOOT REMOVAL - When the goal is soot removal or deodorization, handle the mattress only when wearing disposable gloves. Moisture and oils from your hands can make soot harder to remove.

Vacuum with a soft brush and / or use a soot removal Dry Cleaning Sponge to remove as much soot as possible while dry. If it is necessary to wet clean, I suggest using Fabric Shampoo as a foam and brushing it in, allow it to dry and then vacuum off. Another alternative is to clean the affected area with Encapuclean Green DS.

A light mist of Hydrocide following cleaning should deal with remaining odors if they are light. For more pronounced odors, use VaporTek SOS (Smoke Odor Solution) cartridges or membranes.

Recently I inspected a carpet that was installed in the lobby of a commercial building. The complaint was premature wear and color loss. I worked with the carpet and the fiber manufacture as well as the maintenance company to determine why the carpet “uglied out.” The projected life cycle of this carpet was 10 to 12 years and it “uglied out” after about 3.5 years. The same carpet was installed throughout the building and is performing beautifully everywhere except the lobby. Why is the carpet working well everywhere else but has uglied out in the first floor lobby?

The carpet is vacuumed daily and extracted twice a month with a ride on or walk behind carpet extractor. The extractor applies a cleaning solution; a cylindrical brush agitates the carpet and then vacuums out as much of the emulsified soil and solution as possible.

Samples of the worn carpet were sent to the mill and the fiber manufactures lab for testing. We looked at the fibers under an electron microscope which showed the tips were extremely damaged but at the base of the tuft appeared to be in good shape. All three of us (the mill, fiber manufacture and I) determined that the fibers were damaged by over cleaning the top of the carpet and by not effectively removing the heavy ground in soils. Heavy soils act like sand paper and abrade the fiber causing the fiber to look dull and soiled.

Recently I was talking with Rob Hanks (Founder of Bridgepoint and Interlink Supply) about improvements they have made with their Brush Pro Counter-rotating Brush (CRB) machine. Now with a powerful 700 watt motor, longer-lasting gear box and sealing that allows it to be used on wet floors, even several inches of standing water the Brush Pro is a powerful and versatile cleaning machine.

With the addition of catch trays called “Renovators” they believe they are able to remove more of the heavy soils found at the base of the carpet than a pile lifter or vacuum. Finding this hard to believe we have tested the Brush Pro on several commercial buildings and every time we are removing the heavy soils you normally miss with pile lifting, vacuuming or extraction. Even when we pre-vacuum and then run the Brush Pro we are pulling out heavy soils we are not finding in the vacuum bags.

The Brush Pro has completely changed the way I look at carpet cleaning and maintenance. For years we have been told 80% to 90% of the dirt in a carpet is fine particulate soils that is tracked in off of shoes or blown in through the HVAC system. We have been thought this soil is easier to remove when it is dry vs. wet and should be vacuumed out.  We thought pile lifting and vacuuming was removing this heavy soil. I recently read it costs well over $800 to remove a pound of soil from a carpet. This too was hard to believe until we started collecting and measuring soil collected from vacuums and the Brush-Pro. The cost in removing soil is in the labor required to vacuum out an actual pound of carpet.

In the early “80’s” when I worked in my “family business” we developed a seven step cleaning process. We made sure the carpet was pre-vacuumed, applied a pre-treatment, power agitated with a soft shampoo type brush, truck-mounted hot water rinse, bonnet dried, groomed the fibers and set up air movers to speed dry the carpet.

Reality is most people do not vacuum correctly, most people “litter chase” and do not systematically vacuum across the room. Skipping areas or quickly moving over a large percentage of the floor to make sure they get the debris that is visible to human eye.

Most carpet cleaners do not pre-vacuum, some say they do but most rely on the home or business owner to pre-vacuum. The rational is I can offer you a lower price if I do not have to pre-vacuum and besides I own the “Super Turbo-X59907894” and it can suck the dirt right through the back of the carpet like nobody’s business. We all know this is not reality.

After seeing how effective the Brush Pro with the Renovators is at removing heavy soils, I have changed the way I recommend cleaning a carpet. Because the Brush Pro is so simple to use and covers ground so quickly, why wouldn’t you use it all of the time as part of your regular cleaning process.

In today’s world “green” is the thing to be and most do not really understand what being green means? Using the Brush-Pro moves you into a new way to be green. By using the Brush-Pro first you remove more of the heavy soils that are not removed with vacuuming or extraction. This means you use less cleaning chemicals, takes less time/labor and uses less water to deep clean the carpet.

My new cleaning process is as follows:

Dry Soil Removal:  For preventive maintenance, use the Brush-Pro at least once a week before vacuuming, daily in high traffic areas like a lobby or elevator cab. Vacuum after you use the Brush-Pro.

Pre-Treatment Before Extraction:  In our family business, we always pre-sprayed and pre-agitated. The “wet and jet” carpet cleaners always asked me how you could make money spending all that time to pre-agate. They claimed they got the same results by scrubbing the carpet with their carpet wand.

We found that by adding an extra step (pre-agitation) we cleaned faster, the machine did the heavy work so we saved on labor. By pre-spraying and agitation we used less chemicals reducing the moisture in the carpet avoiding over wetting the carpet and the carpet was cleaner and drier. Every way we looked at it we offered a better product and our repeat business proved the customers agreed.

How does the Brush-Pro changes the way you clean carpet commercial:

Dry Soil Removal

• Vacuum and spot clean with a Power-X Spot Pro daily
• Brush-Pro with the renovators at least weekly before vacuuming

Interim Cleaning

• Agitate the carpet with the Brush Pro before you vacuum
• Pre-spray with a quality encapsulating product like Encapuclean Green DS
• Agitate the carpet with the Brush-Pro
• Groom the carpet with a Grandi-Groom if needed
• Allow to dry and vacuum

Encapsulation does not replace the need to rinse the carpet, use the Interim cleaning process on a ration of three or four Interim cleanings and then deep clean the carpet to rinse the carpet clean.

Deep Cleaning- Hot Water Extraction

• Agitate the carpet with the Brush-Pro before you vacuum
• Pre-spray with a quality product like Zone Perfect or other prespray appropriate for the fiber and soil level.
• Agitate the carpet with the Brush-Pro
• Hot water extract rinse
• Groom the carpet with a Grandi-Groom if needed
• Set up air movers like an Airpath or the Dri-Eaz Dri-Pod to speed the drying

Based on our research using the Brush Pro with the Renovators will change the way carpet is cleaned.

I believe the life of the carpet we spoke of could have been extended by at least 30% if they used our approach to carpet cleaning using the Brush-Pro from the beginning. Maintenance cleaning could have been reduced from every other week to monthly or quarterly. The facility manager, mill and fiber manufacture would not have to spent so much time and effort trying to resolve the problem.

Cleaning the carpet with a Brush Pro is what I classify as “True Green.”

• True Green uses less water
• True Green uses less labor
• True Green uses less energy
• True Green uses less chemicals
• True Green extends the life of a the carpet
• True Green helps avoid premature replacement due to “Ugly-Out”
• True Green helps keep a carpet on the floor longer and out of a landfill
• True Green is the color of the money you save by doing all of the above

About the Author: Cary Woodfield started his career in the carpet industry in the late 1970’s when his 3 older brothers purchased a carpet cleaning franchise. Since then he has studied every aspect of the carpet industry, and is considered to be a leading expert in carpet performance and maintenance. Cary has traveled to over 70 cities and 15 countries saving Carpet Mills and major clients millions by restoring or fixing their carpet problems instead of having to prematurely replacing the carpet. For more information about carpet maintenance and performance contact Cary@carpetproblems.com

©Cary Woodfield May 2012  

By Dennis Klager, IICRC instructor

Great companies have many things in common. It’s like they’re using the same play book! By looking at these commonalities, we get clear indication of the basics or foundation of a great company. In turn we can work to develop these same qualities in our business.

There are a group of Companies in the world that I put into the category of “great”. They are out front. Each is a leader in their field. They have a firm grip on their market. The competition can only try to “keep up.” Why is this? What are the common threads among these “super producers.”?

Disney, Starbucks, Chic-fil-a, The Container Store, Whole Foods, Williams Sonoma and Apple are great companies.

I have found 6 key similarities:

1. Consistency. You never wonder what the experience will be “this time.” It will be very close to the great experience you had last time. When there are exceptions, which can happen when humans are involved, they trip all over themselves to make up for any transgression.

This is critical. If this visit wasn’t quite as good as the time before, the customer may wonder. “Should I try someone else?”

2. Great Products / Services. Great companies sweat the small stuff, the details of a great product. The rare quality complaint produces an immediate reaction. They have planned responses for the few below standard interactions, services or products that somehow “slip through”. A plan is in place on how to respond to complaints and resolve any issues to the customer’s satisfaction. Personnel know what to do, before it happens. This planning is also demonstrated by the next key point.

3. Great Delivery. This isn’t random or spontaneous. It isn’t left to the individual employees to respond “as they see fit.” There is a pre-planned system of delivery, even a script; it’s taught according to a guideline ….and everyone follows it. Wiggle room might be given as to “exact” reaction, but the expected result is made very clear.

4. Standards and Procedures. Dress codes, equipment care, presentation of products; are all pre-planned, at great companies. It’s never a random outcome.

For example, I’ve watched Starbucks employees put product on the shelf, using a photo that shows where each item is to be placed, in relation to each other. (Other companies do this, too like the grocery store that put the most profitable items on a shelf just below eye level.) The professional presentation in their stores isn’t left to the chance that someone at the store will think they have an eye for design.

5. Pre-Planned Spoken Response. Rarely, will you find low level, unacceptable, responses at these companies. There are pre-scripted answers to almost any situation. People are taught how to respond in a way that is most beneficial to the company. Remember, before value meals, when every McDonald’s front line employee would ask “Do you want fries with your Big Mac?” Now it is “Will that be large?” delivered with a smile.  Again, “wiggle room” can be given for certain situations but the ultimate attitude and outcome is never left to the discretion of the employees. They have been trained on what is acceptable.

6. Employees Treated as Good as the Customers. Employees at these companies are valued assets. They are paid well, made to feel important and part of the process. Managers realize that employees who interact with customers shape the public image that will be remembered. Because these employees do interact with clients, they often have valuable insights about what the customer wants. Managers ask for and value that input. These companies realize that employees tend to treat customers the same way they are treated.

If I had to pick a single common thread…… People. Good people, trained and ingrained with the company culture, with examples to follow.

A lot of effort is put into this. The payback is tremendous.

Oh….another thing. None of these companies are known for being or having the lowest price, yet people keep coming back. In fact, most of these great companies must learn to deal with high volume.

Go figure.

By IICRC Instructor Dennis Klager

While manning a booth at the Houston Home and Garden Show, for my company, Clean as a Whistle, we asked people walking through, “Have you ever had your carpets cleaned? ” About 30 – 35% said they had. Then we asked, “Who did it?” The large majority could not tell us…… “I don’t remember the name.” was the most common response.

“You’ve eaten your turkey, let out a sigh.
Put away the cranberry sauce, and visit Interlink Supply.
No, not the store, with all its congestion.
Interlinksupply.com is where you avoid indigestion.
Online is the place for smoking deals.
Turn on the game and kick up your heels.
It’s the week of Black Friday let the sales begin!”

Now is a great time to get the equipment and chemicals you need. Visit www.interlinksupply.com/black-friday to view our once-a-year-sale extravaganza!

For some folks, the holiday season brings thoughts of shopping, decorations, family gatherings, and of course, big meals.  This time of year also brings happy thoughts to those of us in the carpet cleaning industry – the office telephone ringing, a fully booked schedule and positive cash flow.

Clients will be scheduling cleaning in preparation for the arrival of relatives and other guests. Those same folks and others will be calling a few weeks later asking for help in cleaning up spots, spills and stains on their carpets and rugs after the relatives have gone home and the parties are over.

This information is written for professional carpet cleaners, but we include some tips that will be helpful if you need do-it-yourself cleaning in your own home.

What are some of the stains you are likely to encounter and how can they best be dealt with?

Every holiday involves food, so naturally there will be food stains – turkey gravy, egg nog, cranberry sauce, cheese sauce that appeared on the couch as well as the carpet during a football bowl game, drinks of all varieties (including some containing alcohol).

Dye stains from wrapping paper or the red tree skirt, perhaps pine sap, candle wax and a few mystery stains may also show up. Depending on the local weather conditions, heavy foot traffic may bring in mud or ice melting products along with normal tracked in soils.

OK, you get the idea of what you may face in the coming weeks. What are some keys to dealing with these stains?

A few basic points apply to every spot or spill.

• The sooner it is treated, the more likely you are to have satisfactory results.
• Remove excess staining material before applying any liquid. This may mean blotting, vacuuming or scraping with the spatula edge of a Whiz Groom or Handi-Groom, or Gum Getter.
• If someone may have already applied a home remedy cleaner, be sure it is rinsed out before you proceed.
• Pretest any solution in an inconspicuous place to make sure it will not remove any color or do other damage to the carpet or rug you are working on.
• Don’t over-apply any cleaning solution. This can spread the stain. Too much solvent can damage the adhesive backing leading to delamination.
• Work from the outside edges of the stain toward the center. This will avoid spreading the stain.
• Be patient! Most stain removers need some time to work. Let them do their job. Rushing usually means you will be doing the work instead of the chems.
• Don’t be overly aggressive with agitation. Most spot remover products are best worked into the surface by tamping or gentle brushing rather than scrubbing. If you cause a texture change (fuzzy carpet) the customer’s problem has become your problem.
• You may repeat some steps as long as you see progress is being made.
• Finish the procedure by rinsing, drying with extraction and an application of Spot Stop to get any remaining residue and to prevent wick back.
• Use of an Air King or other air mover will help speed drying and have the carpet ready for immediate return to use.
• For complete instruction on any product mentioned, please, read the label directions.

Many of these spots, spills and stains can be removed by your client if you have left them a customized bottle of Home Pro Spotter Spotter and or a bottle of Home Pro Pet Spotter Plus. Use Home Pro spotter where Avenge Pro or Avenge Neutral Spotter are called for. Use Pet Spotter Plus if an oxidizer like StainZone is suggested. This will save you a rush job during a busy time of the year and your customers will love it and remember you!

Quick action will allow them to remove many of these stains before they become difficult. If they can’t get the spot out, they will have your company name and phone number right in their hand. Advise them to call you at this point rather than attempting home remedies that can make some stains permanent.

We’ll cover the key points for several common holiday season stains. To get more details or for information about dozens of other possible stains go to www.InterlinkSupply.com and download the  Spot & Stain Removal Guide  app or go to www.Cleanwiki.com and click on “ Technical Resources” at the very top and just left of center. Choose “Cleaning & Restoration Procedural Guides” from the drop down menu.

Gravy – A key ingredient in most gravy is animal fat. It is best to remove this part of the spill before going after the water soluble portion.

Apply All Solv Extreme to a clean white towel. Use the towel to transfer the solvent to the stain. Work it in and then allow a couple of minutes dwell time. Blot, Other solvent spotters including P.I.G. are alternatives. Repeat this process as long as some of the gravy is being removed.

Rinse with hot water.

Apply Protein Spotter, work it in and allow 5 minutes or so of dwell time. Rinse with very hot water. Repeat this until the stain has been completely removed.

You can accelerate the drying with the use of Air King or other source of air movement. With most spills, there is a possibility of wicking, so finish every treatment with a spray of Spot Stop.

Egg Nog – As with the gravy stain, you need to avoid forming a water barrier that makes it harder for the solvents to do their job. After the basic steps have been followed, apply Avenge Pro directly to the stain. Avenge Pro is a water-based spotter but it is compatible with All Solv Extreme and other solvent spotters. Use the edge of your to create a foam.

Rinse with warm water. If necessary, repeat these steps until the stain has been completely removed.

Dry with an Air King and finish with that important spray of Spot Stop.

Cheese Sauce – Removing any excess is important with this stain. Be thorough. Use the scraper edge of the Whiz Groom, a spoon or a spatula.

Now apply Avenge Pro. Work it into the spill and generate some foam.  Give it three to five minutes of dwell time.  Extract with hot water. Repeat if needed. Don’t forget to finish the job with Spot Stop.

Some sauces and dips may contain artificial food dyes that make complete removal more difficult. If you encounter one of those, RedZONE Ready is the convenient one-part solution to this problem. For fresh stains, this may be as simple as a liberal application of RedZONE Ready, several minutes dwell time and hot water rinse and extract.

On more stubborn stains, apply steam heat using a wall paper steamer or a steam iron with a slightly damp towel between the iron and the carpet.

CAUTIONS!

Don’t burn yourself with hot water or the steam.

Pre-test this solution.

Pay close attention to the progress. Check every 30 to 60 seconds watching for color change or color loss.

Soft Drinks – Most soft drinks can be removed fairly easily with standard HWE procedures. There are a few precautions. Sugar in the drinks can be caramelized by excess heat. This makes it more difficult to remove. If you run a really hot machine, dial down the temperature so that you don’t have temperatures above 180^OF at the carpet. Sugar does not always rinse away easily and can lead to wicking and resoiling issues.

Be sure to thoroughly flush the spill from the carpet using the Water Claw Spot Lifter. If you are not doing an overall cleaning, start with Avenge Pro, use the Whiz Groom to create foam,  allow 3 minutes dwell time, extract to rinse.

Here is a step that will prevent wick back. Have you guessed it already? After rinsing, spray the affected area with Spot Stop. Speed the drying with additional air movement.

Beverages with Artificial Coloring  – After cleaning some beverage spills, discoloration from food color (FDA dyes) may remain. If the carpet has been protected with Maxim Protector, you should find they come out easily when extracted. In other cases, your success will depend on the construction of the carpet, the age of the stain and other variables.

Use RedZone Ready, the one step reducing agent described above under the “cheese sauce” heading.  Don’t forget the Spot Stop as the last step for this or any other stain removal.

Alcoholic Beverages – There are a variety of possible sources is endless. Start by flushing out as much of the stain as possible. Again, the  Flash Spotter or Spot Claw is a very useful tool for this step. It allows a thorough flushing without over-wetting the cushion or subfloor. Next, move to your normal prespray or Avenge Pro. If any of the ingredients leave color behind, follow the suggestions above for removing stains from beverages with artificial coloring. Some colored stains will come out even easier with StainZONE. You can also test both products on a few tufts and then finish the stain with whichever gives the best results.

Figgy Pudding – Figgy pudding is a cake-like soufflé. A typical recipe includes dried figs, walnuts, butter, molasses, buttermilk and lemon peel.

Figgy pudding should be fairly easy to remove with Avenge Neutral Spotter or HomePro Spotter Apply the spotter, tamp or blot into the spot. If discoloration remains, apply StainZONE, agitate, allow a few minutes dwell time and blot up.

Cranberry Sauce – A typical cranberry sauce recipe includes sugar, water, cranberries (usually frozen), and potential texture additives such as pecans or raisins. It may or may not include artificial coloring.

Apply Avenge Pro. Agitate to create foam. Allow solution to dwell for a couple of minutes and absorb into a cloth. If necessary apply StainZONE. Work it into the spot. Give it a couple of minutes and blot up or extract.

Pumpkin Pie – A typical pumpkin pie recipe will include pumpkin, cream cheese, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, and of course, pie dough.

Remove as much of the spilled material as possible by gently scraping and blotting. Do not rub the spilled pie deeper into the carpeting. Apply Avenge Pro and follow the label directions.

Dyes (from skirting or wrapping paper) – There are a variety of possible dye types. Begin by doing some testing to see which process will yield the best results. Try each method on only a small spot until you observe the reaction. Then decide how to proceed.

Start with The combination of Avenge Pro  and All Solv Extreme. The foam created by Avenge Pro captures pigments and dyes released by All Solv Extreme and keeps them from spreading. The color can now be removed by blotting or extraction.

The next potential answer is RedZONE Ready. Follow label directions. Make use of steam heat if needed.

If the stain does not respond to the above options, Apply Stain Zone. Read and follow label directions.

Pine Sap – This is a terpene. You may recall that “like dissolves like.” Pine Boost, Citrus Solv and Gel Break all contain solvents and terpenes that can make quick work of pine sap. My preference is the new and improved Gel Break. Simple apply the gel to the spot, quickly work it into the sap with a Gum Getter and allow it some time to work. Rinse with hot water.

Candle Wax – As with all spots and spills, remove as much excess wax as possible using one of the edges of the Whiz Groom or Gum Getter along with vacuuming. Use brown Kraft paper or an unprinted area of a paper grocery bag. Place this over the wax. Put on iron (on the lowest temperature setting, usually “wool”). The paper will absorb the wax as it melts. Change to a fresh section of paper when one area gets saturated with wax. Repeat as necessary.

Apply Gel Break if any waxy residue remains. If color remains, grab the Stain Zone.

Ice Melter – In some climates this powdery white residue on the carpet is a normal part of winter. The various salts used attract moisture from the air. This keeps them just damp enough to strongly bind to the carpet.

Use of walk-off mats to prevent this stain is much easier than removing it. However, if you must deal with ice melting products begin by repeated vacuuming.

Before applying any prespray, extract with Fab Set diluted at 6 to 8 ounces per gallon. Keep water pressure and volume low. Too much water can dissolve and spread the residue.

Extraction cleaning using End Zone in your rinse water (No prespray). If you are going to clean the entire carpet, include this area again with your regular cleaning. Be sure to use an acid side rinse such as End Zone.

For complete removal, you may need to encapsulate the affected area with Encapuclean DS or make a spray application of Encapuguard.

Remember that Additional Information on dealing with these stains and many others can be found online at www.cleanwiki.com under the “Technical Resources” tab, or download the Stain Removal app from www.InterlinkSupply.com or ask your local Interlink Supply distributor.

By Scott Warrington and Dennis Klager

Carpet cleaners frequently inquire about how and where they may dump their waste water. This may be out of concern for the environment or simply a desire to avoid fines and other legal problems. There is no one answer that is right in every situation. A solution that is right in one part of your service area may not be allowed in another location you service.

During past decades of truckmount cleaning and water extraction, one typical procedure was to open the dump valve and empty the water onto the driveway and into the street, ending up in the storm drain.

The storm drain is the opening out on the street that clears away water during a “storm”. This water goes to our lakes and streams, usually with no filtering. Whatever is in the wastewater ends up in a river or lake. This is NOT the sewer system.

I have witnessed cleaners who open a valve and dump dirty water while driving down a highway or city street.

When automatic pump outs came along, technicians could place a discharge hose in the flower bed or on the lawn and dump wastewater onto the ground.

What has happened, in some cities, response to dumping on driveways and city streets has been met by the city or local municipality imposing fines and even criminal charges. In Houston, it can be a substantial fine plus criminal charges.

Local jurisdictions – states, counties, and cities – are all able to enact regulations that control how wastewater is managed. These regulations are often adopted from guidelines and licensing requirements set out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Whatever the specific details, the goals are to keep drinking water safe, minimize impact on the environment especially aquatic life, and to avoid creating problems with the wastewater treatment facilities.

We will examine the potential issues and some possible solutions for different situations.

Septic Systems

What are the potential issues when wastewater is discharged into septic lines or a septic field? Number one is the volume of water. Septic tanks and fields are built to handle the expected volume of discharge from the home or other facility that feeds it, plus limited extra capacity as margin for error.

Waste material must spend sufficient time in the septic system before it is ready to percolate through the ground and reach aquifers or drinking water. The addition of an extra 100 gallons of water to the systems may push waste matter through the system too fast.

An additional concern is how the waste material affects the bacteria working to digest organic matter in the septic system. Excessively high or low pH or the addition of a quantity of solvents can slow or stop the action of the bacteria necessary to breakdown waste material.

It may be acceptable to dispose of limited quantities of wastewater from carpet cleaning in a septic field through a drain or commode. But this would be unacceptable for large volumes of water or if the waste includes significant volume of solvents.

Sewer / Waste Treatment Facilities

Known as publically owned treatment works (POTW), most communities will have a wastewater treatment plant that incorporates a series of processes to remove pollutants from wastewater. These plants are designed to treat organic materials not hazardous chemicals. Even household cleaners, beauty products, medicine, and lawn care products should not be disposed of in public sewer lines.[1] Are there potential issues for the cleaner who wants to discharge into a sewer that leads to a POTW? Yes, there are several.[2]

Foremost are synthetic fibers and other non-soluble solids. During the cleaning process, especially with cut-pile carpet and staple fibers, there will be some shedding of fibers. These fibers along with paper clips, staples and other miscellaneous solids will enter the wastewater. They can contribute to clogging of pipes. They don’t breakdown in a system that is designed to eliminate organic solids. They must be filtered out at some point.

The easiest way to accomplish that is by a simple prefilter added to your vacuum line before the waste tank.

A second concern is solvents. More stringent regulation of solvents used in cleaning, has resulted in volatile solvents that would easily evaporate with low vapor pressure or non-volatile solvents that evaporate slowly if at all. This reduces solvent vapors in the breathing air space, but more solvents end up in the wastewater. Yes, these solvents are usually diluted with large volumes of water; however sophisticated equipment can detect amounts in parts per billion. This increased awareness of the presence of solvents has heightened concerns. Small amounts of solvents are still permitted in most jurisdictions, but if quantities of paint, oil and grease removers, graffiti removers and similar solvents are used, it may be necessary to dispose of the waste as hazardous waste.

The pH of the wastewater is also a concern. Highly alkaline or highly acidic waste can interfere with the chemistry used at the treatment plant. The pH of your wastewater should be between 5.5 and 9.0. In practice, this is seldom a problem since any cleaning products are highly diluted with water.

The run-off of fertilizers containing phosphates into streams, rivers, lakes and other bodies of water encourages the growth of aquatic plants. Plants use the oxygen dissolved in the water leaving less oxygen for fish. This can result in fish kills. The process is known as eutrophication. The problem is mainly from agriculture, but regulations limit the amount of phosphates that can be in cleaning products including laundry detergents and carpet cleaning presprays.  There may also be rules on how much if any phosphate can be dumped where it will drain into a body of water.

There may also be concerns about pesticides. Although disinfectants have been classified as pesticides, carpet cleaners do not use pesticides in the regular course of cleaning. Any pesticides in the recovered water were cleaned out of the carpet after being applied by a pest control company or the home-owner themselves.

Disposal Options

Emptying the waste tank where the water can run to a storm drain is not approved in any situation. Draining to gutters, paved streets, parking lots and similar would fall into this category.

If some areas, especially where water is a scarce commodity, pre-filtered water may be dumped onto ground. However, water should not be discharged where it can reach a stream, creek, river, lake or other body of surface water. In situations where water can be drained onto the ground, it should be a minimum of 75’ from any body of water.  The discharge should not be on top of a septic field nor within 35’ of any drinking water well.

Surface draining should not be done repeatedly in the same location, even if it is your own property. Quantities over 150 gallons should be discharged onto the ground at one location.

Pumping pre-filtered wastewater to a drain or commode that leads to a sanitary sewer system and treatment facility is acceptable in every location as long as you have the property owner’s permission. These sewer lines may also be reached through a clean-out opening in the yard if one is present. Look for white PVC cap to locate a clean-out.

Some recreational vehicle parks may allow you to dump into their system where RV holding tanks are emptied. There is usually a fee and should only be done with the permission of the operator of the facility. Some car wash facilities may allow you to dump filtered water. However, this can put a strain on some recovery systems. Do so only with permission from the owner.

Another option is to create a dump site at your office location. This may be as simple as a small concrete basin and filter that drains into the public sewer through a cleanout connection at your shop or office. The company I worked for did this. We even made a public invitation to other cleaning companies to use our approved dump site in lieu of emptying their waste tanks in a ditch beside the road. No other company ever took us up on the offer, but our concern for the environment did generate some favorable publicity.

If the source of the wastewater is extraction from a water loss, category 1 and 2 water can be handled in a similar fashion to wastewater from carpet cleaning. Category 3 water should only be disposed of through a sewer system that leads to a waste treatment facility (POTW).

Another major issue can be a company doing a sewer backup cleanup. Let’s say the sewer serving the whole cul-de-sac is backed up. What do you do with the extracted sewage? According to the IICRC S500, it must be hauled to a licensed wastewater treatment plant or other appropriate facility in accordance with local regulations.

You could call a septic tank cleaning company or licensed waste hauler to do this. Just be sure, whatever you do is legal and safe.

One of our carpet cleaning trucks was leaking a little water, in our parking lot, due to not being completely emptied after a job. The local village officials came to our office, to inform us if it was still leaking tomorrow, we would be fined.

Make sure you know the laws in your area. It can be very expensive getting caught using the storm drain to dump your water. In some locations the “whistle-blower” who reports illegal dumping may get a reward based on fines you pay. That can be a strong incentive for someone to be watching how you handle the wastewater. PLUS, depending on what you are using to clean, it may not be good for our lakes and streams!

Make some phone calls. Don’t guess. Know your local laws!

[1] What Can You Do to Protect Local Waterways? From the United States Environmental Protection Agency.