Is carpet cleaning hard labor?

[sbsscn]

Recently I hired a guy. He was 28, 6'2 and 220lbs. He worked in construction for years but was looking for a change. His resume was great and his attitude was positive. Seemed like perfect fit. However after 2 days he came to me and said "Rob this is too hard if work. I'm going to have to quit". I looked at him like really?

He's not the first strong looking guy I've met who felt the same. It's just this guy did contraction and that to me seems like hard labor. Heck I personally did 10 areas of carpet, pet treatment and then sold her on her tile and grout yesterday for 1350.00. Yes it took me 7 straight hours of work but I was still able to do another job afterwards. So my question is twofold. Was he just a pansy or is carpet cleaning really hard labor?

Ill be Honest in one word yeah

in two words Hell Yeah

and in three words Oh HELL YEAH!

this line of work is hard, laborious

We don't feel it cause we love what we do.

 

[RichardH]

We use different muscle groups and build up stamina over the years. At a company that I used to work for I had to train all of the new guys. Every single one of them, without exception, at some point during their first or second day would ask to try using the stair tool while I was cleaning the stairs. They would clean exactly one stair and then, dripping with sweat and trying to catch their breath, hand the stair tool back to me and walk away.

 

[drycleancarpets]

Wow, you guys are easily taken off topic!

My experience here in Australia (Gold Coast, which is the toughest market in Australia) since starting working in the Carpet Cleaning industry in 2009 during the Global Financial Crisis is pretty much the same as you guys in the US.

• Everyone wants a Job, but no one want to work!

I'm amazed at how soft most males are, everyone appears to be as hard as marshmallows! I had a guy quit after only working 3 days, saying he wanted to stay in retail, sitting behind the counter selling stuff to women!

I'm not sure what the economy is like in the US, but here in Australia, it's far to easy for people to get by with Government assistance, most unemployed people seem to prefer doing a few odd jobs that are not declared to the Tax Department (IRS, I think you call it in the US) and live better than actually working, as the money is around the same for a worker.

So in Australia, if you work all your life, or get unemployment benefits, it doesn't really matter when you retire and claim Old Age Pension, everyone gets the same amount of Pension money. For mine, this whole mess, is created as no one is forced to be accountable for their actions or inaction is this case. Unfortunately work is often a choice, not a requirement to get by in life. Where some people just don't see any merit in actually making money, as there are far to many easy ways to make a living, than actually working hard.

I think New Zealand is probably very similar to Australia, as we have similar economies and Government agencies copy each other. It would appear the Western World is producing similar types of lazy people, all over the Western World!

 

[Blazer GT]

He would legit be a pansy, Carpet cleaning is easy, the tools are light the motions are simple and there is hardly anything heavy to do.

Source: Worked construction, worked on a drilling rig and i currently do carpet cleaning and work at a local lumber mill. The carpet cleaning is not 1/5th as hard as the others.

Buy a machine that has some decent suction and you might change your mind.

 

[Ed Cruz]

Here's the deal.........it is hard work for what most CC business owners pay their wand slingers.......Now I said most not all. I'd never scrub rugs for anyone else. Nope. I do most of the work and my helper is regulated to pulling hose, vacuuming, and lugging stuff in and outta the van. You can't pay a dude 10 bucks an hour and expect him to be gun ho. Nope. This is a good work out but without that lion share of the money I ain't gonna do it. This is strenuous work. Pump your chest out if you want but I'm willing to bet you ain't gonna do it for crumbs. Nope......I can get a job at Starbucks making maciatos for a couple bucks an hour and some atta-boys.....

 

[Jose Holguin]

Here's the deal.........it is hard work for what most CC business owners pay their wand slingers.......Now I said most not all. I'd never scrub rugs for anyone else. Nope. I do most of the work and my helper is regulated to pulling hose, vacuuming, and lugging stuff in and outta the van. You can't pay a dude 10 bucks an hour and expect him to be gun ho. Nope. This is a good work out but without that lion share of the money I ain't gonna do it. This is strenuous work. Pump your chest out if you want but I'm willing to bet you ain't gonna do it for crumbs. Nope......I can get a job at Starbucks making maciatos for a couple bucks an hour and some atta-boys.....

Exactly the point I made in the beginning but everyone went on a tangent. I'm not gonna be carpet cleaning for $12/hour when I can make that at Jimmy Johns. Is there jobs that are much harder? Of course but most are better paid.

 

[beau]

Buy a machine that has some decent suction and you might change your mind.

Man that has to be the only thing on your mind.

Should add, Ive used truck mounts before, still not that hard. Certainly nothing like most construction.

 

[Anderson]

As a sole owner there are ways to decrease labor
Get off the wand by using a zipper
Cut wanding in half with a crb
Get fuel heat...less dry passes
Absolutely use a glide if you have to wand
Bigger blower with no dry passes
Automatic hose reel
Or hire some par timers to move furniture and load
And unload the truck

 

[Waxmaster janitorial]

I say pansy! Give it a month and you'll stop being sore.

Work like this you gotta challenge yourself to be the best you can be. More jobs per day at faster and more efficient rates.

One good worker is like having a two man crew!

My $0.02

 

[Spooney]

It is hard work, if I had to do it for someone else. I would quit this chit.View attachment 64998

So true..

 

[racebum]

with-out-a-doubt it's hard labor.

how many of you who have been around for quite awhile look at your week and knew you can only expend so many calories, you have to seep X amount of hours and you have to plan your rest. if you're constantly busy and don't do these things you will wind up with torn muscles and or other health issues. those of you who happen to be 20-25 may be able to push a little harder but this job is really hard on the body. problem 2 is the constant exposure to nuisance level cleaning supplies. i've gotten to the point that i wear a mask on most jobs. charcoal and a p100 do two things #1 keep cold and flu viruses out of my body, carpets harbor this stuff and you will find multiple sick people per year calling you. cleaning supplies like pre sprays, high ph extraction like heatwave etc. all those petro solvents are not good to be breathing for hours a day.

when i first started doing this in 2007 i thought wow, this is good money

nearly ten years later i realize we are paid a fair wage, it's not good money, it's fair.

if you're a solo operator do not move furniture period. #1 it's a liability and #2 you expend a lot of calories and energy doing this with no real reward. charge less, have the people move it for you ahead of time. you will be able to make more per hour all said and done and with less strain on your body

again i'm speaking as someone with a full load more or less, when i was searching for business i was much more willing to move that couch and do more labor intensive things. the busier you get the less of that you can realistically do. i also know that if i hire a guy he's getting 25-30 an hour and will be a fit mther fker. the last person i had for a helper was just out of the military and served as a force recon marine. he was ideal. i did not have to babysit him, i did not have problems, i did not have negative calls. i can not relate to anyone who expects quality help for $10-15 an hour for more reasons than i can list. turn the greed down, money is not that important, cheap help will backfire on you as many members can tell you.

i understand prices vary depending on location but if you live where the median home is around 250k you best be charging at least $175 an hour if you want to stay in business

also makes a guy realize why the turnover at the yellow steemer is so high. it's nothing they are particularly doing wrong, it's just the nature of things

this is a hard business. as i age i keep considering branching out into HVAC or real estate. you just can't realistically do this forever on your own.

lastly, i read a comment about carpet cleaning isn't that hard, not like shingling a roof. well. i've done both and really....per hour, the roofing is less calories expended. when you have a urine job are you pulling carpet? replacing pad? working in a 120deg townhouse on the 3rd level, bending over to spot areas? the ONLY job while roofing that's truly much harder is the poor SOB who has to pack shinigles if you don't have rooftop delivery. that guy....really does have one of the worst jobs you can ask for

 

[rob allen]

with-out-a-doubt it's hard labor.

how many of you who have been around for quite awhile look at your week and knew you can only expend so many calories, you have to seep X amount of hours and you have to plan your rest. if you're constantly busy and don't do these things you will wind up with torn muscles and or other health issues. those of you who happen to be 20-25 may be able to push a little harder but this job is really hard on the body. problem 2 is the constant exposure to nuisance level cleaning supplies. i've gotten to the point that i wear a mask on most jobs. charcoal and a p100 do two things #1 keep cold and flu viruses out of my body, carpets harbor this stuff and you will find multiple sick people per year calling you. cleaning supplies like pre sprays, high ph extraction like heatwave etc. all those petro solvents are not good to be breathing for hours a day.

when i first started doing this in 2007 i thought wow, this is good money

nearly ten years later i realize we are paid a fair wage, it's not good money, it's fair.

if you're a solo operator do not move furniture period. #1 it's a liability and #2 you expend a lot of calories and energy doing this with no real reward. charge less, have the people move it for you ahead of time. you will be able to make more per hour all said and done and with less strain on your body

again i'm speaking as someone with a full load more or less, when i was searching for business i was much more willing to move that couch and do more labor intensive things. the busier you get the less of that you can realistically do. i also know that if i hire a guy he's getting 25-30 an hour and will be a fit mther fker. the last person i had for a helper was just out of the military and served as a force recon marine. he was ideal. i did not have to babysit him, i did not have problems, i did not have negative calls. i can not relate to anyone who expects quality help for $10-15 an hour for more reasons than i can list. turn the greed down, money is not that important, cheap help will backfire on you as many members can tell you.

i understand prices vary depending on location but if you live where the median home is around 250k you best be charging at least $175 an hour if you want to stay in business

also makes a guy realize why the turnover at the yellow steemer is so high. it's nothing they are particularly doing wrong, it's just the nature of things

this is a hard business. as i age i keep considering branching out into HVAC or real estate. you just can't realistically do this forever on your own.

lastly, i read a comment about carpet cleaning isn't that hard, not like shingling a roof. well. i've done both and really....per hour, the roofing is less calories expended. when you have a urine job are you pulling carpet? replacing pad? working in a 120deg townhouse on the 3rd level, bending over to spot areas? the ONLY job while roofing that's truly much harder is the poor SOB who has to pack shinigles if you don't have rooftop delivery. that guy....really does have one of the worst jobs you can ask for

Great post.

 

[cleanserite]

Recently I hired a guy. He was 28, 6'2 and 220lbs. He worked in construction for years but was looking for a change. His resume was great and his attitude was positive. Seemed like perfect fit. However after 2 days he came to me and said "Rob this is too hard if work. I'm going to have to quit". I looked at him like really?

He's not the first strong looking guy I've met who felt the same. It's just this guy did contraction and that to me seems like hard labor. Heck I personally did 10 areas of carpet, pet treatment and then sold her on her tile and grout yesterday for 1350.00. Yes it took me 7 straight hours of work but I was still able to do another job afterwards. So my question is twofold. Was he just a pansy or is carpet cleaning really hard labor?

Not with a Everest lol

 

[longkenn]

Recently I hired a guy. He was 28, 6'2 and 220lbs. He worked in construction for years but was looking for a change. His resume was great and his attitude was positive. Seemed like perfect fit. However after 2 days he came to me and said "Rob this is too hard if work. I'm going to have to quit". I looked at him like really?

He's not the first strong looking guy I've met who felt the same. It's just this guy did contraction and that to me seems like hard labor. Heck I personally did 10 areas of carpet, pet treatment and then sold her on her tile and grout yesterday for 1350.00. Yes it took me 7 straight hours of work but I was still able to do another job afterwards. So my question is twofold. Was he just a pansy or is carpet cleaning really hard labor?

I had the same thing happen. When I cracked my egg (skull fracture) I hired a guy to be a helper for my helper that stepped in as a lead tech. The guy I hired wanted temporary work, was recommended by a friend, was as strong as an ox and said he was not afraid of hard work. I hired the guy and he quit within 3 hours. My tech said that he gave him all the easy stuff to do. Carpet cleaning is hard work but you are mostly working inside where the climate is controlled and in most cases is not too much to deal with. I guess that it is just not for everyone.