Hello, I have been contemplating getting into the carpet cleaning biz for a couple years, after researching different methods I am pretty sure this op machine is the way to go, but there seems to be alot of people trash talking vlm methods, that they don't clean deep, and carpet manufactures don't recommend them, do customers ever bring this up? and if so how do you address this?

Also I would like to hear from a few people who have bought marks start up package, how are you doing? Thankyou,

Hey Andy,
Go for it! I bought marks start up package about two years ago. I only do this on a limited part time basis at this time. But it is growing! You will hear a lot of talk about which method but this is a great way to get a feel for the business. I have never had a customer question my system. Once you show the customer a very dirty pad they are sold! VLM cleaning works and HWE cleaning works Both systems have advantages and disadvantages Alot of great BB with tons of information and you will see that there is a lot of great people will be happy to share ton of knowledge with you.
Good Luck
Steve

Hi Andy
Thanks for visiting, and for considering the Drysdale's/Challenger package. Perhaps the best way to get a handle on a system or piece of equipment is to hear what its users have to say. The Challenger Forum here has info on a lot of subjects, including how owners feel about their Challengers and this method of cleaning carpets. To save you from having to read each & every thread, I've listed here, in reverse chronological order, a number of people's comments. Just read them over, then decide for yourself.
THREAD TITLE DATE
Challenger Jan 21 '06
Truck mount or not Jan 19 '06
Think I'm buying a Challenger Dec 22 '05
New machine Dec 21 '05
Comparison results Nov 24 '05
Tile & grout cleaning...Challenger Nov 16 '05
Padcapped with Challenger Oct 26 '05
Challenger down under Oct 16 '05
Nice site....... Sep 19 '05
Thank yous' Jul 26 '05
Love my Challenger Mark Jul 14 '05
Challenger! Jul 9 '05
Former carpet cleaner impressed
with Challenger Jul 9 '05
Seein is believin Apr 26 '05
I love my Challenger May 19 '05
Another profitable use for
your Challenger Feb 16 '05
1 year anniversary Feb 10 '05
Tile & grout cleaning Feb 8 '05
Cleaning upholstery Jan 17 '04
Thanks Mark Dec 30 '05
First $$$$ Nov 24 '04
First impressions Nov 10 '04
Followup on 1st encap job Oct 12 '04
Info Aug 30 '04
Contemplating Aug 21 '04
You can succeed too Jun 21 '04
Marketing tips Jun 19 '04
First time Apr 3 '04

Thanks Mark , and Steve

hiyas Andy, welcome :)

i am a "regular" on all the various forums and see the slamming of VLM (and sometimes HWE) daily. 1 person who's reports and tips i respect recently posted that while he prefers to HWE because he owns a TM already, he said that the Clients NEVER care which method he uses. well that's partially true, he actually posted that his Clients PREFER OP because the increased drytimes.

the carpets can get JUST as clean with both methods, but OP does it at a fraction of the cost (a nice side benefit). wickbacks are less of a concern with OP across the board. i'm not slamming HWE, these are just my findings. i still plan to use HWE for some upholstery cleaning - i'm going to be buying a small portable spotting machine in the coming months.

i was in the same situation as you about 12 months ago. i researched ALL the OP and VLM machines/methods out there, and the Challenger was the right one for me. i love this machine.

hit us up with any other questions.

take care --- Derek.

Thanks for the reply derek, I know your active on a lot of cc forums,I have read a lot of your posts, and I am glad to know that potential custemers don't have a bias against vlm, that was my main concern in trying to decide what method to use, But has there ever been a test done to prove that op cleans deep?

Deep cleaning has never been tested satisfactorily in a scientific manner by neutral testers. "Deep cleaning" is also one of those terms than gets interpreted in any number of ways. OP machines, using limited moisture, scrub the carpet fibers from the top down. How far down? Pretty far down, but it's hard to measure things like this. HWE methods inject water or a water/detergent mix down to the base of the carpet, but the higher the pressure of the machine, the more soil is pushed down into the backing. The HWE cleaner get callbacks from the customer when, after the dryout period, soil begins to reappear on the carpet, such as in traffic lanes, or where spots & stains were present. THis is due to what is called wicking, in which the evaporation of the water in the carpet pulls soil out of the carpet base up the fibers.

Hello,Andy I started my business about 6 month's ago
I use to be a steam cleaner,Iwould not go back to steam cleaning I did 1500 last week and 3 o 6 clients were referrals,Mark is a great person to do business A+++ guy to do business with.if you need any advise shoot me a email. sorry fot typo's

Derek you should look at picking up a used VS Espirit for upholstery cleaning, this thing does an incredible job and also works well for stairs on residential jobs, and for small area rugs.

It is also low moisture and encapsulation based so a good compliment to your method for flooring.

I have a portable spotting machine also but I'm hesitant to use this on upholstery because it still cranks out quite a bit of H20. I use it mainly for rinsing out solvents or spot cleaning on carpets because it takes 30 secs to plug in and go, vs 10 mins to unload the Espirit, hook up the hoses, add detergents, etc.

thanx for the info Bill :)

i have researched the Esprit on the various forums, and while i am sure it does an outstanding job, the one negative i heard was the cleaning head was a little on the heavy and "unwieldy" side. i have tennis elbow pretty good in my right arm and i felt a cleaning head like that would make matters worse.

i ordered a spotting machine today, hopefully it will work out well for me.

thanx tho Bill

--- Derek.

Yes Derek, the power head on the Espirit is a lot heavier than the upholstery tool on a spotting machine, though I never considered it particularly hard to wield. But then again, I don't have tennis elbow. It comes with a separate attachable side handle which I believe some use so that they can guide it with 2 hands, but I've got pretty beefy hands so I never bothered to attach it.

I saw a hand tool in the Jon Don catalog last night for abour $450 that might provide adequate agitation on stairs or possibly for upholstery. Don't recall if it dispensed solution or was simply a powered brush, but have heard of some VLM guys using tools similar to auto buffers for this purpose.

Good luck with all!

thanx for the insight Bill!

yes my fragile frame can't handle tools like that

take care --- D.