Carpet stiff after cleaning

[kingofsteam]

What would cause carpet to be stiff instead of soft after cleaning? Could this be caused by using too much chemicals or not extracting enough? We are new at this; were trained pretty well by the guy we bought the business from; but my boss (new owner and also for now, carpet tech) and I (General Manager) am having a conflict about how wet he leaves the carpet. I'm certified by IICRC; he is not. I feel he's not extracting well enough; he disagrees. Opinions? thank you

 

[mrotto]

what chems are you using?
what are your dilution ratios?
how are you applying them?
are you using soft water?
what are you rinsing the carpet with?

 

[sbsscn]

Yes, Thorough rinsing is Super IMPORTANT!!!

I see a lot of guys on youtube showing off their "cleaning Skills" but only doing 1 pass, sometimes theyll do a sssssslllllloowwwwwww pass, still its just 1 pass.

Do multiple passes, dont overapply prespray and agitate and Rinse, extract NOT Rinsextract

 

[Todd the Cleaner]

Several things can cause stiff carpet. Chemical not rinsed out all the way is one. Hard water can also cause it. Leaving the carpet too wet will also cause carpet to be stiff. Usually the best remedy is to vacuum well after the carpet is dry. If it’s still stiff after vacuuming then you will have to rinse the carpet again. Spray on some acid rinse then rinse well with the wand and do slow dry passes.

 

[euantaylor]

Some great advice there.

 

[U. S. Vet.]

Here is a little trick I use: put a bit of Fab Set from Bridgepoint in your prespray. It’ll cool down your PH, Help Prevent Yellowing / Browning & if you are a big stain guard guy, Fab Set will set the fibers for reception of the stain guard.

Finally, Fab Set leaves the “hand” soft and supple.

 

[U. S. Vet.]

Here is a little trick I use: put a bit of Fab Set from Bridgepoint in your prespray. It’ll cool down your PH, Help Prevent Yellowing / Browning & if you are a big stain guard guy, Fab Set will set the fibers for reception of the stain guard.

Finally, Fab Set leaves the “hand” soft and supple.

Fab Set also prevents issues related to residue left behind ( from home owner or last CC’r ).
If you forget to put a pinch in the ps, you can mist on anytime afterwards • then CRB or rake in - ( do not vacuum moist or wet carpet ).

 

[kingofsteam]

Thank you. i pretty much suspected all of the above. Too much pre-spray, too little rinsing and extracting. We are using Pro-chem Ultra prespray (or sometimes Citrus Max) and Zoom rinse. We're using those two specifically because that's what the guy was using that we bought the business from- he said he'd "tried them all", and he got the best results from those. He had consistent 5-star ratings, and thousands of satisfied customers, so obviously he was doing something right. We've been trying to duplicate his process but I feel it's not quite working for us. Most of what I learned in my CCT class, he didn't do. I want to do an excellent job for our customers, but I'm constantly having to fight my boss; he wants to do "only what the guy did"; while I want to go about it more "by the book", drawing on what I learned in class. "The guy" rarely vacuumed first, and he used the same product on every carpet; which makes me nervous since the main thrust of the class was the importance of knowing the type of carpet fiber you're dealing with, and adjusting your chemicals accordingly. So i don't know how much importance to place on "by the book" methods, as opposed to what was obviously working for the previous owner ( he very rarely got a call-back, maybe 1 a year). I would appreciate whatever feedback you all can give me on all of this.

 

[Darthmaeglin]

Disagreement with a company owner can be tough. Most of the people on this board own their own business and many of them are solo operators largely to avoid that problem altogether.

When it comes to rinsing I like to think about what a clean carpet is in the first place. It's obviously a carpet with the smallest possible amount of foreign matter in it. Does water or cleaning solution belong in a carpet any more than dirt or grease? If a carpet isn't properly rinsed and extracted then how can it be called clean?

Something else you can run into with a carpet left too wet is soiling wicking up from deep in the carpet, that small percentage of stuff that HWE just can't flush. This can add to the "crunch" of a poorly cleaned carpet. Dryer carpet means less force applied to that layer as the top dries. This problem will definitely be exacerbated by not dry vacuuming thoroughly.

As far as the previous owners success despite not cleaning "by the book", I find that the book is a great place to start but doesn't always account for the fact that there's more than one way to skin a cat. This isn't government work, get the soils out, get the cleaning solution out, do no harm without a signed waiver. Coursework can help inform you on how to do that- if you ever get into area rugs it's pretty much essential- but try to be flexible and let experience teach you as well.

 

[PistolPete]

I would do a head to head challenge, clean one room his way and one room your way and compare.
Results tell the story