Steam Carpet Cleaning vs. Low Moisture Carpet Cleaning

Steam Cleaning/Hot Water Extraction (HWE) vs Very Low Moisture (VLM)

By John Geurkink

In the hands of an experienced, knowledgeable cleaner both methods, HWE (hot water extraction) and OP/VLM (oscillating pad or very low moisture) do a great job of cleaning the majority of carpets. However, each method has advantages and disadvantages.

Determining which method is "best" really depends how one values "best" and what your business goals are.

Some of the factors that cleaners consider when judging what is best for them are:

1. Quality of cleaning

2. Speed of cleaning

3. Initial investment

4. Convenience and environmental factors

5. Quality of cleaning Writing in favor of OP/VLM cleaning

Both methods clean and rinse, but there is a substantial difference in the amount of water used, OP using far less liquid.

While HWE uses strong suction to remove dirt and liquid, OP uses agitation and absorption to remove it. Because there is far less water used in OP cleaning, it would be a rare occurrence if a carpet didn't dry in an hour or less, making this method much more customer friendly.

HWE is much better at removing large bulk soils and contaminates quickly.

Aside from "bulk solids," OP is superior in most other situations, because the agitation raises the fibers in the carpet.

When the carpet is vacuumed after cleaning, a substantial amount of additional dirt is released because it has been loosened by the agitation.

Additionally, because OP uses far less water, there are fewer "wick-back" problems. Carpets cleaned by OP tend to stay cleaner for a longer period of time and look "brighter."

Our carpet cleaning company, Kentucky's Finest Carpet Cleaning, has for years been cleaning many state buildings.

They have been so impressed with our methods that the state now requires the use of OP equipment on most of their bid forms.

On commercial carpets OP has the clear advantage, Speed of cleaning.

Set-up and tear-down is much faster using OP, making small jobs affordable for homeowner and profitable for the OP cleaner.

Depending on the OP machine used, residential carpets can be cleaned at the rate of 400 to 900 square feet per hour, while one can clean commercial carpet from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet per hour. This means larger jobs can be much more profitable.

OP's speed on "maintenance cleaning" of commercial carpets gives the OP cleaner a clear competitive advantage in attracting jobs by allowing a lower bid price that can still be profitable and provide superior cleaning results — you don't have to do a bad, rush job to make a profit!

Initial investment.

Hands down, OP is far less expensive to purchase and the vehicle required to haul the equipment can be much smaller and less expensive.

OP equipment requires much less maintenance, has far fewer parts to repair and maintain which makes it more efficient on a time-invested basis and less costly to operate.

Convenience and environmental factors

HWE brings a whole list of potential problems or difficulties to the professional cleaner. OP has far fewer convenience and environmental negative issues. In cold climates, care must be taken to keep HWE equipment from freezing, unless you use portable equipment and leave it in commercial buildings.

1. The area to be cleaned must be within the reach of the length of hose available.

2. Doors must remain partially open for hose access, if using truckmounts. This can be a problem with pets running outside or rodents running inside. It also can be a security issue, particularly in commercial cleaning when the work is done after hours.

3. There is a noise issue with some HWE equipment in quiet neighborhoods.

4. OP cleaning products are environmentally safe and bio-degradable, which aids in acquiring government contracts and attracts a growing number of environmentally aware consumers.

5. Fuel prices are at a fearful rate and may go much higher. Using OP, a cleaner can use a more fuel-efficient vehicle and save even more fuel by not having to run the truckmount or the heater. This also allows the OP cleaner to be more price competitive (or more profitable) when bidding on a job.

Now, I know that a HWE cleaner isn't going to sell his expensive truckmount equipment that he is making payments on and buy OP equipment, but there are many jobs where having an OP machine will make his life easier, his work more efficient and the customer happier.

OP will augment the HWE cleaner's capabilities by:

1. Increasing ability to do jobs at a distance from the truck.

2. Take jobs where security of pets or property is an issue.

3. Take small jobs that, because of set-up/tear-down time, would otherwise be unprofitable.

When OP equipment is added to a HWE cleaner's "tool bag," one can achieve the very highest level of carpet cleaning services.

Pre-scrubbing cleaning products into the carpet not only releases and suspends soils, but also makes rinsing with HWE so much easier and quicker. This "dual-method" cleaning requires much less water while post-padding with cotton pads speeds drying and removes a remarkable amount of additional soil.

Some people have asked me: "John, why don't you use HWE more than you do?"

The answer really is simple. I see my mission as ensuring that OP is not only capable of doing stand-alone work, but capable of doing it very good.

It is incumbent on us to provide our customers with the tools to help make their businesses successful.

The addition of new, specialized cleaning products has made real advances in the last few years, and will continue.

We have created many OP cleaning products and accessories to enable our customers to clean residential and commercial carpet, wood, grout and tile, VCT, vinyl, brick and concrete.

With carpet installs growing smaller and smaller each year, it is imperative that a business look into the future and prepare themselves to clean all types of flooring materials and OP is doing just that.

John Geurkink runs Kentucky's Finest Carpet Care in Winchester, KY and is partner in Carpet Cleaning Systems, an equipment manufacturing company for low moisture cleaning. He has been using the OP system since 1974. He can be reached through his website, www.ccsop.com.

DATA SOURCE: CMMONLINE.COM

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