Just where do all those fuzzies come from when the challenger is in action. Is it worn carpet fiber that was buried deep in the rug due to foot traffic, and is now getting aggitated out?.. Or, is the process of the machine rubbing some of the fiber off. Or both? Is this normal? What would you say to a customer who asks about it? Also- what is tip bloom? Thanks for always responding. I just want to understand all aspects of this process.. Thanks Rich..

great questions Rich

i dunno much, but i'll offer what i can. just last week i was wondering about those "fuzzies". i was thinking, are they the tips of the tuft bundles that get shaved off? or just staple fibers being pulled up?

i did a higher quality thick plush earlier last week and boy, those fuzzies were EVERYWHERE! i was getting nervous. i noticed that in cleaning around 500 sq.ft of this stuff, that i had to empty my vacuum's dustcup 3 times from pre-vac'ing and 2 times from post-vac'ing. these ppl did not use their vacuum much. the pads came up dark brown.

then later in the week, i cleaned a newer, cheaper plush and not 1 fuzzy came up. the cotton pads were hardly soiled at all and my dustcup was about 1/2 full with both the pre and post-vac. i used the same cleaning solution for both jobs.

this tells me that it has alot to do with the regularity of the client's vacuuming.

what i plan on telling a client if/when they ask about it, is that when i used to do Hot Water Extraction (HWE), my recovery tank always had LOTS of stable fibers / "fuzzies" in it after the completion of a job. anyone who HWE's knows this to be true. well. with this Very Low Moisture (VLM) system, there is no extraction via a wand and hoses, only cotton pads followed by a post-vacuum. the post-vac takes care of those fuzzies same as the wand and hoses do for HWE.

as far as Tip Bloom goes, i recommend you use the Search feature up top and search it, also goto the ICS forum and search it there : http://www.i-boards.com/ics/default.asp

or the VLM forum : http://www.prowww.com/lmcca/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi

it is a MUST for OP'ers to know about Tip Bloom in my opinion. it's very simple to avoid, and if you don't know what you're doing and just running your Challenger with dry pads alot over the same area for instance, you could be buying a new carpet.

it's nothing to be scared of, just read up on it and use common sense. just like someone who doesn't know how a car works. if they let the oil run out of the engine, they'll be buying a new one quick. but once you know how to care for your engine by adding oil, it's pretty simple...it's not gonna keep you from driving right?

hope that helps some, interested to see what others advise as well --- Derek.