I am now onboard with OP. I have a possible gig at a local restaurant that has CGD and the onwer has used his portable to 'clean' for years. I hit about 100 sq ft yesterday and I used terry pads and synthetic (I use encap products) and both sides of every pad was T-R-A-S-H-E-D. I assume I should use HWE if I have it....I do. I have a Mytee portable...but do I need to? is there a method, a soap...anything else I can try before HWE? Do some of you do OP only and get good results from neglected carpets such as these?
I've tried several restaurants and now have a "just say no" policy to restaurants... These are the toughies. Some on the encap board have said they pre-spray with punch at 12 oz/gal, go over it, then spray again with releasit ds at 6 oz/gal and go over it again. I tried that in one and didn't do much for me, but I don't have a cimex.
I would think since you have a porty that the best thing for you would be to pre-spray with punch at 12 oz/gal, then go over it with your porty. Then spray with releasit ds and go over it with you op machine. That should do well for you, but charge for the extra step.
Dealing with restaurants is usually a losing proposition. Many restaurants are marginally successful, and therefore defer maintenance until things are really bad. Then, because funds are short, they look for the cheapest service available. Then they get upset because this low-priced service doesn't begin to remedy their failure to properly maintain their premises. The carpeted areas which are close to the kitchen are often literally choked with a hardened combination of grease & soil, which can be removed if you are willing to spray & scrub, spray & scrub, for long periods of time. Encapping alone in areas like this, in my experience, won't be an adequate cleaning method. You can OP these areas clean - eventually! - but you'll go through a LOT of cotton pads, which will never wash very clean again. HWE is such areas will result in literally a pond of water down in the base of the carpet, which translates into extensive wicking (resoiling) within a few days. TRy using a wringer bucket with an electric, bucket-type, heater immersed in it. Remove the hot, wet cotton pads with either tongs or rubber gloves, put them down very wet, then scrub like crazy while they still have some heat in them. Alternate with dry pads so as not to overwet the carpet. A steam vapor machine can also be useful in these "extremis" conditions to soften up the hardened grease/soil materia somewhat.
I am with Grant on this, The only way I would do a restaurant again is if they agreed to monthly cleanings. Or I would charge double for a 1 time cleaning.
