Clarification of Answer by
cynthia-ga
on
22 May 2003 15:35 PDT
Hi again genki2!
I'm just going to jump right in.
Don't call the large ads, call the ones that are a half page or
smaller. Ask them if they bid by the room or the square foot. They
usually come out about the same, but you may get a better quote by the
square foot method. Prices vary based on size and whether the customer
wants furniture moved or not.
Get at least 5 qoutes. It won't take long, just be sure you give each
company identical information. I may be able to locate a good company
for you, but my friend is in Hawaii for the next week...
The most expensive jobs are where there are normal furnishings and the
customer wants _under_ everything cleaned. This is normally NOT
necessary. After you are in your place and get a cleaning a year down
the road, just ask to be quoted for the "TRAFFIC AREAS" to be cleaned.
This will save a lot. Most people don't specifically ask for that and
get quoted for moving furniture, then, when the technician is on site,
he'll skip moving some or all of the furniture, sometimes even telling
the customer that's what that isn't included. Be very specific and
write down each companies "includes"...
Avoid anything that offers a great single room price:
$6.95 A ROOM - NO GIMMICKS!! <---Big Lie
These folks will come out and relieve your checkbook of all it's
funds. At best you will hang onto your money but kick the guy out and
feel violated anyway. The really bad ones even charge you (a lot) for
the detergent, which costs about 25 cents a tank when bought in bulk.
Next expensive is a vacant area. Same area but no furniture moving.
Least expensive is Traffic Areas ONLY. Less area to clean and no
moving.
A good price is a fair price. Carpet cleaning is physical labor. The
technicians need to be fairly compensated for their work. They are
paid one of two ways: By the hour, or straight commission. The hourly
workers get a percentage of the UPSALES <----which is what you want to
avoid. Upsales are add-ons that the technician sells in the field. You
always get a better deal when these items are negotiated with the
sales person on the phone. I paid my techs straight commission, but I
pre-sold most everything that I could, because I hate bait-and-switch
tactics. My guys never had to go out to a house and clean a room for
$6.95 and squeeze the customer for upsales to make a living wage. They
did upsell though, it's normal in any industry to upsell, I just
insisted on being fair and ethical.
Always describe your areas accurately to the person on the phone. In
your case I'd call up with a list of items to discuss:
1) Are you licensed, insured and bonded?
2) Do you quote by the room or square foot?
3) I want your most experienced tech, will you guarantee me that? (you
also want the first appointment of the day)
4) What is included?
5) How much for Dupont Teflon? ...You want a company that will give it
to you for about half the cost of the cleaning. Cleaning is $120.00
Teflon would be $60.00 for the same area. Also, the deodorizer or
sanitizer would cost the same as Teflon. Be sure it's one of those two
I mentioned, you don't want a simple "smell pretty" odorant sold as a
higher priced deodorizer or sanitizer. You don't need both. (more on
Teflon below)
6) Are normal spots included? (kool-aid can be extra, a pop spill
should not be extra)
7) What are your extra charges that I *could* be hit with?
8) Do you charge travel charges? (they should not)
9) Do you have any hidden charges?
10) If I am unhappy, will you do a free re-do on a specific area?
11) How long do you guarantee this re-do? (a week to call back is
normal, people know immediately if a spot returns.)
Understand that raw Dupont Teflon, made specifically for carpets, is
$90.00 a gallon wholesale, and is diluted at a ratio of 15-1 --not all
companies will use it because of the cost. The others will try to
convince you that ScotchGuard is better than Teflon. This is NOT TRUE.
And it MUST be the Dupont brand of Teflon. There are knock-offs.
Always tell the tech what the spots are (coffee, pop), and when you
spill, it's best to attempt to remember which spot is what. Spot
removal is simple if you know what the substance is. PH is a factor.
Neutral is PH7. If a spot is PH11, you're going to need a PH3 to
remove it. When you add PH3 to a spot of PH11, it is magically turned
into a PH7 and is now neutral. It then loosens from the fibers and
falls into the water, and is immediately extracted. The techs don't
test the PH of each spot, they have an arsenol of products of
differing PH to use. Most spots, and soil in general, is slightly
acidic, therefore the detergent is slightly alkaline to begin with.
A note about Carpet Protection, it IS good to have, most people think
it's a waste but it's not. I can't tell you how many times I was told
..."Last time I got protection, my carpet looked the same..." OF
COURSE IT DID!! Protection does not stop you from spilling things, it
simply coats the fibers so that when you spill something it's not
actually touching the fibers.
If your carpet is less than 5 years old (well, ...4 1/2) and is a
"StainMaster" brand (the seller will know), then you don't need to get
Carpet Protection. The warranty on a StainMaster carpet is 5 years, at
4 1/2, you'll need to reapply to maintain the protection. Carpet
protection is good, but only if it's water based, and that eliminate
SCOTHGUARD <---the enemy. Scotchguard is oil-based, and no matter what
you are told, oil-based products are the enemy of your carpet. Please
don't ever use RESOLVE <---another enemy, on your carpet. Most folks
don't know this but the average home has everything necessary to clean
a carpet and to remove spots. A spot is not a stain. Spots can be
removed and stains are permanent. There are very, very few substances
that cannot be removed from a carpet, especially if action is taken
immediately.
Also a side note, an interesting fact, in the above example, the PH3
product *could* damage the part of the carpet _without_ the spot. The
spot actually protects the carpet from the product. When a spotting
agent is used, take care not to allow it to touch the carpet next to
the spot. (Overspray) Normally a PH3 wouldn't damage a carpet, but
Tannin (for tough coffee spots for instance) has a VERY low PH and can
cause the carpet fiber to shrivel. Don't worry, the Tech knows what
he's doing, all in all carpets are very forgiving. The manufacturers
know they are making a product that will be walked on every day...
As a side note, in case you haven't noticed, Carpet Techs never use
the word "chemical" (or they shouldn't), because it scares the
customer. "Product" sounds much better, but in fact, sometimes it is
necessary to use stong chemicals for stubborn or hard-to-remove spots.
We also never use the word "suck" as in "extract the water", it's just
unprofessional.
There is only ONE kind of Carpet Protection to use: DUPONT TEFLON. If
you are buying a carpet (future) remember to get PREMARKET protection.
Most carpets are composed of synthetic fibers and were liquid at one
time, and premarket means that the Teflon was added at that stage and
is literally part of the fiber. It does wear out after 5 years though
and after-market Teflon will need to be applied. Make sure it's done
at the correct dilution ratio. Also, the Teflon is NOT put into the
water, it's applied with a hand pump-sprayer and must be brushed in to
be totally and correctly applied.
Read about Dupont Teflon
http://www.teflon.com/NASApp/Teflon/TeflonPageServlet?pageId=/consumer/na/eng/household/household_home.html
Truck mounted equipment is always better, the motor is comparable to a
small motorcycle in power, whereas a portable is comparable to a
go-cart. Other truck mounted machines are powered BY the Truck's
motor...
What makes a good cleaning is the extraction power. The FASTER the AIR
moves through the wand, the better the job, the less damp it will be
at completion, which translates into shorter drying time. It's called
"LIFT", although the techs have no idea what is good lift and bad
lift, I assure you the person that bought the equipment had several
choices and purchased as much lift as s/he could afford.
HEATED WATER is ALWAYS imperative. The water must be at least 116
degrees or higher. Once water reaches 116 degrees the cleaning power
of straight water has doubled. The atoms inside the water molecule
have begun moving very fast at 116 degrees, and this literally
agitates and loosens the soil from the fiber. Every degree after that
(117, 118) going upward, Greatly Increases the molecular activity,
thereby giving more cleaning power.
WATER CLEANS, Not Soap... More product is never better. The only
reason that any detergent is used is because we want the water to be
slippery. Water alone has tension, reference certain spiders can walk
on water... If you add a drop of liquid dishwashing soap to a cup of
water, the spider will fall in. This is starting to get a bit
technical, but the soap changes the "level of surfactant" of the
water.
Definition of Surfactant:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=surfactant
...scroll down to see: --n: a substance capable of reducing the
surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved [syn: wetting
agent, surface-active agent]
Print the link below, it's an excellent "Carpet Care and Stain Removal
Guide"
http://www.billscarpetfair.com/stain.htm
It shows how to use normal everyday household products to remove most
any spot. Make sure you have everything on the list so when you need
to remove something, you can refer to the guide and do it immediately.
If you can't take time right then, cover it with a damp cloth and keep
it wet until you can work on it. And remember, if ANY of the substance
removes, ALL of it CAN be removed. The only difference is time...
The best thing youi can do for your carpet is 3 things:
1) ALWAYS REMOVE SHOES.
2) VACUUM AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK.
3) USE WALK OFF MATS.
90 percent of all carpet soil comes in on the bottom of your shoes. If
you do those three things you will have a clean carpet for years.
As far as the cost for your job in particular, from a fair, reputible
company, you should pay in the neighborhood of $120.00-$150.00 for the
cleaning, $60-$75.00 for the Teflon, and $60-$75 for the Microban or
MultiPhase. (see why it's cheaper to ask the tech to add it?) They
normally won't want to do this, and you'd be better off, if you're
sure you have a good company, to just pay for it from the company.
BBB of Central Florida
http://www.orlando.bbb.org/
If this isn't the right one, let me know.
Also, I'd check with the State of Florida to be sure they are licensed
and insured:
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/licensing/wl11.jsp?SID=
And the Attorney General would know if a company is a rip-off.
Frankly, with all this information, you will NOT get ripped off, to
the contrary, you will do just fine.
~~Cynthia
PS... I take Saturday and Sunday off, in case I don't clarify for you
tomorrow... I'm sure I'll think something I forgot to mention, and in
the meantime, feel free to ask questions...
