Hey guys, I've run into this challenge a couple times here in Pittsburgh. An amazing amount of dirt/dust has accumulated around the baseboards and under doorways (possibly due to dirty ductwork?). Its obviously tough to get the challenger up against the baseboards with any weight on the cloth there, but I even struggled with the stairtool and adding Spot n Boost to the regular cleaning solution. Any particular solution or tricks out there?

I use a Cyclone from vacaway but most of the time if its really bad..I will tell client that the only way to remove them is by hand scrubbing all the edges and i will charge extra and cause im green and have to use a stronger cleaner most of my clients refuse so makes it easy..Most steam cleaning companys cant get to the edge either..

Yup. "Filtration lines". I also charge extra to hand scrub the edges and under doorways.

I usually point them out if they are bad and explain that it will be an extra $10 to $20 per room if they want me to work hard on them. I use the vacaway Spot-n-boost Green, which works pretty well along with a long narrow grout brush from Home Depot.

If there are just a few moderate filtration lines for the whole job, I just scrub without saying anything.

I once cleaned a house that had been shut up and unoccupied for four years with the heat on! Filtration lines like crazy! They were 1 inch wide with occaisonal long fingers coming out into the room. I was brand new in the business and did them for free!!! It took five hours to do three rooms and a hall. If I could do that job over, I would clearly spell out an extra $20 for each space and pass on the job if I didn't get it.

I have yet to find any single product or process that I can count on being 100% effective every time. Cyclone sometimes. My steam vapor machine sometimes. Maybe both. I will first do a limited area, then ask the customer to come and have a look. I tell them my rate is a minimum of $1.50 per linear foot, but possibly more, if they want me to proceed. A few do; most don't.