FAQs - Protection Treatment for Pure Woven Silk

Hi, Jim.

One of my customers, a decorator/decorator supply company,
asked me if I knew of any type of protective treatment that
can be applied to a pure woven silk wall covering, either after
or before installation. Do you have any info on this, and who
might have experience applying it? Thanks.

Jeff
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Hi Jeff

I have a great deal of confidence in Maxim Fine Fabric for
this application. This product is a pure, solvent based product that
was originally designed for the decorator industry before it was
introduced into the cleaning industry.

I will recommend that you apply a small amount (the size of a dime)
and dry it with a hair dryer. Twice in my career I've seen it darken a
fabric slightly.

Any solvent based product can do that.

Jim

FAQs - Removing Blood from Denim Sofa

Q - Greetings, Jim.

Wonder if you would be kind enough to share your insight on this:

I have an appointment this Wednesday to attempt to clean a dime-sized blood stain on the seat cushion of a sofa.

I haven't seen the fabric yet, but the customer states that it is tan colored cotton denim. The warranty company sent her a bottle of Crypton to try, but it didn't remove the stain.

I took a look at the MSDS for Crypton, but the specific ingredients are considered trade secrets and weren't listed.

I was thinking of trying Zoop, and lowering the pH with Fab Set afterward. I'm also considering hydrogen peroxide (3%) after testing in a hidden area.

I'm not too optimistic due to the Crypton and the time lapsed. Do you know what type of agent Crypton is? Also, any suggestions on an approach?

On another note, my colleague told me he was pretty excited with the course – he definitely found it worth the time and expense to travel from NJ.

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A - Hi Jeff

Thank you for passing along that Barry's experience was positive, and for referring him to us.

I worry about denim because of its tendency to fade when exposed to ANY cleaner, yet alone peroxide.

Are you authorized to rinse the fabric from seam to seam?

If so, you should rinse the fabric with clear, cool water first to remove the "Crypton". The enzyme spotter Zoop is relatively neutral, so I'd just warm it up by putting the bottle in a bucket of hot water (since its not to be diluted).

Apply the warmed product to a clean white cloth, and then blot both the blood and the surrounding area to prevent an obvious "clean mark" or fading of the denim.

(Get a waiver from the fabric manufacturer too, by the way)

Give the Zoop half an hour to work, then rinse again with cool, clear water. If that removes the spot, use a hair dryer on a cool setting.

If the blood remains, get a full release before applying 3% peroxide. Even mild 3% peroxide can lighten such a stain. Allow several minutes for the peroxide to work, then rinse the fabric again with clear water. Dry quickly again.

High pH protein spotters, such as Prochem or Bridgepoint Protein Spotter may work, but are usually between 10-11 on the pH scale, and almost always will pull color from natural fiber fabrics. Be VERY wary of such products and never use them without extensive pretesting and a release signed whatever your test results show.

I hope this helped.

Jim

How Do Your Stats Look?

Hi Jim,

I share the following in case it would help your CLEAN TIP, blog, or a workshop. It shows; where my business came from in 2008, that I must do the job right, and what I need to "sell" when at the job.

71% were repeat clients
26% from referrals
3% new clients from the phonebook
Average per customer $306.85 (minimum service charge $150, .40 sf for carpet clng)

52% carpet cleaning
11% upholstery clng
11% carpet repair
11% odor control
11% floor care
4% color repair

I did not use a marketing program last year (and still had a decent year) but plan to go back to the postcards as these have always paid off with one job, (less than $100 to make, print, and stamp my own) AND I will not be in the phonebook this year and from now on. As recent CLEAN TIPS have used the word "trust", in our current world of fruits & nuts, "I" don't know if I can trust most of the strangers calling from the phonebook. Besides, my muscle and bones are getting older and I feel that my clientele is well established. I can survive without the 3% by using the postcards again constantly putting my name in front of my client's face that will remind them to have me and/or refer me.

This decision to discontinue the phonebook is partly from the suggestion made by YOU to keep such statistics as above, the recent CLEAN TIPS, and the YOU TUBE video you sent (thanks). I know that it is the right thing to do.

AGAIN I thank you for your commitment to the industry and helping the "rookies" to make it in this business.

See ya soon,
Ken
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Hi Ken

Thank you so much for the statistics. They parallel the experiences that other cleaners like you have shared with me over the past year.

Of course, there are not a lot of cleaners like you, so it has been a unique minority of owner operators who have built their businesses "a mile deep an inch wide", rather than the majority who have built their businesses a "mile wide and an inch deep".

Those latter types have not done as well as "your type" has.

Jim

FAQs - Flea Control

Q - Jim

Hey Jim, hope you are having a relaxing weekend! Slowly getting the old customers back little by little. (I've had a few calling lately, that I haven't seen in over 10 years) Still plugging away at the marketing, seems what use to work a few years ago, just doesn't pull results like it use too...I think that's always been my biggest struggle is the marketing.

Well enough rambling on, what can you suggest to me for Fleas? One of my brothers long time cats, fell ill...and I think while it was resting outside, a few hopped on her.

Doesn't seem to be to severe of a case yet, but there were 4 or 5 noticeable on the cream living room carpet. Sterifab will work won't it? Only thing I didn't like about that was the alcohol fumes...Maybe you have some other suggestions? The Cat is being treated in the meantime.

Thanks for any suggestions and for the help over the years!

A - Hi Tim

I'm glad your business is recovering. Marketing has changed though; are you a member of eCleanAdvisor and do you get our weekly Clean Tip?

Sterifab will kill fleas but any eggs that have been layed will not be effected; their life cycle is such that spraying again in two weeks will usually do the trick. That said, its a job best left for professional exterminators if the situation worsens.

FAQs - 2 White Rugs

Q - Jim,

I have a customer with a pair of white area rugs. Low profile white rugs. One is nylon with some nasty spots. A couple of beeps occur with moisture sensor.

Kory, my technician says no pets, but they are elderly, and the rug was in the bedroom, sooo I think I know what that might be. Also an extremely dirty area beneath where the bed was. They also are coffee and tea drinkers. (Sounds like Kory was doing his detective work!)

The other rug is 55% wool, 45% Acrylic. It also seems to have a cream colored coating maybe slightly yellowed on the back, kind of reminds me of the stabilized backing on some furniture. Some light yellow places apparently under pieces of furniture, and some assorted light yellow spots (6 or 7) at random places on this one. No foul odors that I can detect, but a noticeable fragrance upon getting down and smelling the carpet. Wonder if they use some kind of powdered stuff?

Any suggestions or warnings?

Thanks,
John
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A - Hey John,

Kory gets an "A +" and Gold Star for detective work!

The white nylon rug can be cleaned aggressively, and either Stain Magic or Stain Zone should clear everything up.

The white wool/acrylic blend is the problem rug. The presence of a fragrance that could be foot powder, lotion, or body oil are all contaminants that should be thoroughly rinsed from the carpet, and that alone can cause potential color problems that cannot be predicted ahead of time. Get a release on this issue.

Wool will "fuzz" (as you probably already know) with aggressive agitation, and its no friend of peroxide based cleaners. Try something with a reducing agent, like one of the sodium bisulfite based coffee stain removers, such as Bridgepoint Coffee Stain Remover or Prochem Coffee and Tannin Spotter and just let them work. These products are also surprisingly effective on urine stains.

You can use either Stain Magic or Stain Zone on the wool as well, but only with a release. These particular products exceed all wool care recommendations, and may damage the fiber as well as the color.

Jim

Consumers are Buying More Leather Than Ever

Why aren't professionals getting more requests for cleaning leather?

Just like the hard floor trend, too many consumers think that leather is an "easy care" or worse yet "no care" material. While they are finding this not to be true, they are also NOT contacting cleaners to care for their leather. An evidence of the lack of interest in specialty cleaning is the fact that with all of the available leather cleaning training available, few cleaners are being contacted to perform this needed service.

By the time most consumer's recognize the need for leather care, there is usually permanent damage that cannot be repaired. Another problem that exists is that few cleaners have been proactive in offering consumer affordable "leather conditioning", but instead only offer very high pricing for restoration level services that are usually not needed.

Cleaners who don't understand these practical details regarding their customers' attitude about leather, and the characteristics of leather itself mostly just neglect to make leather cleaning any part of their service mix. Once the decision to "cross leather off their list" is made, the decision not to clean challenging textiles becomes easier as well.

FAQs - Tile & Grout Question

Q: Hey Jim,
I have 300 SQ ft of tile I need to clean and was looking at the Viper Venom. Is one gallon enough and do you sell a sealer too? Is there free shipping if you exceed a certain dollar purchase amount?

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A: Good choice Joe,
Viper Venom has a variety of dilutions according to soil level. At its strongest, a 50/50 dilution, 1 gallon will still be plenty for 300 square feet. By the way, what method of cleaning will you be using for cleaning the tile and grout?
And, yes we do offer sealers as well: just go to . . .
http://pembertonstore.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=grout+sealer

You will find a number of products listed; I recommend the Hydroforce Grout Sealer (despite its name, it seals tile and stone as well).

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Q: Hey Jim,
I have a small tile cleaner machine I bought from Lowes. Will this type of unit be able to handle this type of solution? I have six properties and Coit showed me this product and I thought I would give it a try since all the other solutions I have used so far have been sub-par to date. What sealer would you recommend after using this type of cleaning product?

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A: Joe,
Viper Venom has been formulated to be used with high pressure extraction, which requires equipment that generates 800 pounds of water pressure per square inch at a minimum.

A word of caution regarding your tile cleaner, I have reason to doubt that the system you bought at Lowes can produce the pressure & water volume needed to achieve the results you want.

I'm not convinced that Viper Venom will be able to help to restore your grout with the type of application equipment you presently own.

You are welcome, of course, to try the product, but I cannot guarantee that you will be happy with the result.

Again, the sealer I recommend is Hydroforce Grout Sealer.

FAQs - Browning On Sofa

Jim

I recently cleaned a polyurethane/polyester sofa and it ended up getting some browning spots. Here is what I used: Bridgepoint Fabric Prespray mixed with Citrus Solv. I started to clean the sofa and ended up running out of gas. Left to fill up, came back finished cleaning and the next day the customer called back saying there were brown water stains everywhere. What is your professional opinion on how I should reclean this?

Brent
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Hello Brent

The problem will likely be easy to solve, but I'll need a little bit more information first:

1. How did you determine that the sofa was polyurethane/polyester? A label that described such materials describes the filler material, not the face fibers that you clean. Or did you do a burn test? If you haven't, I'd like you to do a burn test just to determine if it contains natural fibers (cotton/linen/wool/silk/rayon). If you aren't sure how to do this, let me know and I'll coach you through it.


2. Describe the type or appearance of the fabric.
   Is it:
   • Solid white or cream?
   
   
   • Printed?
   
   
   • Does it have a woven pattern with several colors? (such as jacquard)
   
   
   • Shiny?


3. Are the brown stains brown throughout or just at the edges? Do they appear randomly or are they more concentrated in areas that might have gotten wetter than others?

Finally, since you use Bridgepoint products, do you have any of the following products:

1. Fabset


2. Coffee Stain Remover


3. Boost All


4. Buff All


5. Fabric Shampoo


6. Stain Zone

You shouldn't need them all, but depending on the final diagnosis you might need some of them.

Jim
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Thanks Jim,

Maybe you could tell me what I need to look for when doing a burn test. I looked at the tag today and there is a hint of cotton mixed in it. Also it is white, and light brown or tan stripes I believe that it’s where I got the fabric a little too wet, I had to leave for about 25 min. (believe me I did not want to do this, but I had to do what I had to do, so this allowed the soap probably to dry and caused the browning, just my opinion). Yes we carry all of the products you listed.

Thanks Jim let me know what you think,
Brent
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Hi Brent

OK, here's what you need to do for the burn test:
Get a small pair of scissors and snip out a slice of fabric from under the skirt or inside of the zipper (there is always a hem or seam allowance that you can take).

The clipping should be the size of a finger nail clipping.

Light the clipping, blow it out, and press the ash between your thumb and finger. If it feels hard, its synthetic (polyester/nylon/olefin/acrylic). If it's natural, it will crumble and leave a black smudge on your finger (cotton/linen/wool/silk/rayon).

The browning makes me think that it's natural.

I'm a little worried that the brown or tan stripes might have bled (bleeding is usually irregular and looks like brown spots) but that's a rare problem with the formula that you used.

Its more likely that you have browning, which is most safely corrected by rinsing the fabric with FabSet at a rate of 2 ounces per gallon, and drying it rapidly. If you can put it in direct sunlight, all the better.

If that doesn't work, mix the Coffee Stain Remover per label directions with hot water, apply to the stained areas, and also put it in the sunlight.

Should that not work, use the Boost All, Buff All, and Fabric Shampoo by diluting them together at label use directions, applying it overall (not just on the brown spots) in the form of a foam, then putting it in the sun to dry (do not rinse).

I am a bit concerned about the Boost All step, as in some fabrics it may over-whiten the material, which is why I recommended that you apply it overall, not just on the stains.

Jim

Upholstery Cleaning Products: Keep it Simple and Safe

I had a conversation with a cleaner who shared his frustration with all of the different products being recommended for cleaning upholstery, and the confusion he felt in trying to establish a sensible cleaning system for his company to use.

His concerns made me take a hard look at what products are made available for upholstery cleaning, and how a cleaner can narrow down that list to what is truly needed for upholstery cleaning in the 21st century.

Here's my list:

AVENGE FABRIC PRESPRAY (NEUTRAL): I always tell students that if I could only have ONE product with which to clean upholstery, it would be this type. This excellent upholstery preconditioner has a neutral pH (7), and use a surfactant that does not allow for deep penetration through the fabric. Avenge Fabric Prespray will suspend body oil, food spills, and other "common upholstery soils".

If the fabric has been allowed to become "abusively soiled" or has become exposed to smoke damage, and Avenge Fabric Prespray cannot not adequately loosen soil, you may either choose a higher pH preconditioner, or use boosting agents to enhance your neutral upholstery preconditioner.

Which is the better choice? First, review the characteristics of the available products:

AVENGE HEAVY DUTY FABRIC PRESPRAY (ALKALINE): Avenge Heavy Duty is more effective on synthetic fiber fabrics that have strong oil bonding characteristics, such as olefin and polyester. However, Avenge Heavy Duty should only be used on colorfast, synthetic fiber fabrics.

BOOST ALL: Boost All is a powdered, non chlorine bleach additive that will brighten and whiten dull or yellowed colors, remove most protein and tannin stains, and also eliminate yellow/brown discolorations from oily soils that are bonded to olefin and polyester. You should be aware that Boost All will raise the pH of your preconditioning solution, and thus you must test this solution for any potential color related problems on the fabric that you intend to clean. Also, off white cotton fabrics may become snow white after the application of Boost All.

CITRUS SOLV: Citrus Solv is an additive that will increase the grease and oil cutting quality of your preconditioner without altering the pH. When cleaning fabrics that have become exposed to body oil, newsprint, and petroleum, Citrus Solv will greatly improve your results

Using Avenge Fabric Prespray on natural fiber fabrics and Avenge Heavy Duty Fabric Prespray on synthetic fiber fabrics is the easiest system, but with training and experience, the use of boosters with Avenge Fabric Prespray will usually render the best results.

For the vast majority of your cleaning needs, the only other product that you must have is an acidic rinse agent.

FABSET: This acid rinse agent offers the following benefits in upholstery care:

1. Dye Stabilization: Most dye bleeding and color fading may be prevented when FabSet is applied both before and after the cleaning process. Non-acid dye stablizers, such as Dye Loc should be used only if dye is not stable when tested with FabSet.


2. Browning prevention or removal: Fabrics that are rinsed or post treated FabSet and dried rapidly are less likely to brown. Unless pre-existing browning is severe, rinsing with FabSet followed by rapid drying often removes browning.


3. Natural fiber velvets dry softer when rinsed or treated with FabSet, followed by grooming and drying with drying fans.
   

With the use of proper tools, cleaning equipment, and training, seldom will a cleaner need more than these few products. Products such as alkaline upholstery emulsifiers, "Haitian Cotton" detergents and shampoos, and dry cleaning solvents are of very little use to cleaners who have the most up to date training and technology available today.

FAQs - Fixing Wicking

Q - I have a customer who spilled a mix vodka tonic and grapefruit juice on a Berber carpet, he had another company clean it, it looked good until it dried, then it wicked up looking brown.

He called us to try and clean it. What treatment could we use to remove the stain?

A - Just by the fact that the spot "wicks" shows that the need for elaborate cleaning chemistry is not as important as controlling the "physics" of drying and wicking.

I would treat the area with a good general purpose spotter, such as Perky or Avenge, rinse it thoroughly, and if possible, use the "Water Claw Spot Lifter" for the most complete extraction possible.

Finally, you should pack the area with an absorbent spotter, such as Bridgepoint Stain Absorb or Masterblend Absorbent spotter. If you have neither of these, absorbent towels with a heavy weight on top might work, but it is a poor substitute for the super absorbency of these "crushed mineral" absorbents.

Apply the powder to a depth of 1/8" on an inch, and an extra 2" around the diameter of the original spot.