Okay, I might should set this up;
I am on three forum boards for VLM CC'ing. I read evey post on every one. Lately, a bruhaha has been birthed over OP'ing residential carpets. I must assume the author(s) of these posts are TM owners and migjht even be hard core against pading resi carpets. But I am only assuming. anyway,

A thread came up about the tuffts and fuzzies left behind sometimes after Op'ing...

I posted there about the bottom line. so, I will here too because i only want to provide awesome service and great results for my custy's. so...can we or can we NOT OP residnetial carpet and feel secure we are NOt damaging the carpet(s).
Please...PLEASE provide some details.

Phil, first point about fuzz, I have herd many a hwe operators say that these fuzzies end up in there waist water, the diff with OP is that they can be seen floteing atop the carpet after cleaning, during post vac they are removed.
The fear of carpet damage with op is over exagerated,
Yes it is possable but verry unlikly if you know what you are doing.When I first got my Challenger I tip bloomed the heck out of my carpet. Why? because I had no idiea what I was doing. I had no warrning, or training on how to avoid this. So I posted on this board and ccs, and found out what I did wrong. I presprayed way to light, and ran my pads way to dry, my carpet was completly dry about 10 minuts after I finished. That was the big mistake I made, I never made that mistake again. Also Some carpets are more delicate than others , But with glad pads or thinones, and a little caution you will be ok, I have done lots of Friezie carpets and never a problem. I do wish there was a better training vidieo from challenger , the one I got was verry uninformitave, They pretty much just said push the challenger back and forth like a vac, and that was about it, for the most part I had to teach my self how to use the op properly to avoid damaging carpet. I recomend spend a lot of time reserching the CCS board and asking questions there, alot of old pro's on that board! Exellent supply is a great board, but for OP specific topics or questioins go to CCS, you will get better info, IN MY HUMBLE OPINION. P.S please excuse my poor spelling!

Andy, how do you do the Friezie, I have not run across one yet. What do you do?

Joe there is a ton of frieze carpet in my area, it makes me sick. I would never use a cotton pad on it, I like to use thinones with encap.I spray the pad with my pre spray to makes sure it is good and wet to reduce friction, I have also used glad pads with a glider with no problems. I move the machiene quickly , and slow it down over the soiled spots like trafic lanes. I think it is better to do one slow pass than 2 or 3 fast ones. I don't like these carpets but I am not afraid of them any more.

To Andy
One of the differences between buying just a package of equipment & supplies, and buying a franchise, is since you pay the franchise program so much $$$, they can afford to go into great detail teaching you, holding your hand, etc. I think you just have to make your choice up front, and deal with the weaknesses of whichever system (franchise vs. equipment only) you have bought into.
I have also heard the complaints of some who had high expectations of the level of assistance they would receive in return for paying big up-front franchise fees along with a percentage of their gross income.

ON the other hand, you may have a point. While I could have chosen to sell just the equipment & supplies necessary to start a c.c. business, I felt it might be more useful to the buyer to add on, for a modest price, training materials and back-up support elements (such as this Forum). In this way my Challenger buyers can not only obtain more detailed technical info right up front, they also get some real world guidance on what it takes to start up and maintain a successful small business.

It would be good if you could mention any comparable equipment manufacturers who provide what you consider a model of technical direction in the operation of their machines under a wide variety of conditions.
I would look at this material, and engage Lee & Chris Watson in discussions of how Challenger might upgrade what it offers its customers in this area.

Mark, I get the impression that you were a bit offended by my post. I didn't intend to be offensive to you or the Watson's. They provide great service, and both you and them have been a big help to me. That being said, the point I was trying to make to Phil is that there is some learning required in order to aviod damaging carpet, I have read many posts on different boards about tip bloom. In almost every instance it was when some one first got there machiene and did there own carpets LOL. With some practice and learning from other Op users on this and other forums it is no longer an issiue for most pepole. That is why I said the damage issiue with OP is way over exagerated, It is not a huge problem. But for someone new it is a concern. I simply feel that it would be nice if there were some sort of instuction on how to avoid this up front, I am not talking about hand holding here. And I did not just buy equipment, I bought training vidieo and your training manual. But don't read me wrong I found your manual verry helpfull in alot of ways, and if I had to do all over again I would still have bought your pakage.