Do you Vacuum?

AC...not saying your right or wrong...you make a good point BUT how would you feel if your competition gave a quote on a nice job prior to you and he vacuums?.....are you going to tell the microscope story? lol I say this serious and I really dont mean anything other than what im asking. I personally think vacuuming most of the time is for show .....many do help in my opinion.

From what I've read vacuuming doesn't seem to be something to do for those who are just concentrated on making money by doing high volume (makes since, it takes extra time to do that right),......... like 5-7 jobs a day. I'm just the opposite, bring in the same amount, working less usually, but doing the best job possible. A lot of customers notice that extra effort, and is the reason they've been my customers for years.
They would rather pay me for the best work, and have a person they can trust in their home, than some young kid, with little experience that they don't know.

We all do things different, it's just finny to read how some of us justify it, not pre-vacuuming in this case.

Not to throw kerosene near the fire, but it has a lot to do with your business plan. If you are shooting for volume, then you are not looking for repeat customers for the most part. Under that plan, speed and efficiency is the key to success with vacuuming being a time killer.

I've found that unless you work a large market, volume will put you out of business in a couple of years. Small markets and even medium markets rely on repeat customers and referrals and doing things like vacuuming help make that happen.

If I didn't vacuum, use yard sticks, door seals, drop cloths, wall huggers, booties, etc., I would be shut down in a couple of years as the franchises move into my area.

I do all those crazy things and it has kept me in control of my area for the last 7 years and counting. Some things are just for show, but the show is what keeps the phone ringing.

Rob...you have a way with words! or maybe you just put a lot of good thought into your replies. Thats very true about business plans. You guys help me stay focused on mine!...I have a plan but keep trying to revert to the one I know oh so well. FOCUS!

Since you don't keep track and too lazy to re-read the thread from page 1 here it is Devon, I don't vacuum and yes I do volume and I work in a large market, but I also have many repeat customers and they admitted that we get the carpets cleaner and it tends to stay clean longer than other carpet cleaner they have used in the past, I am not bragging, just stating facts from my end.
I do notice that there is one or two jobs that could use some vacuuming because there is a wicking issues which we always go back and re clean, but they are minimal, like once every few months.
I have 1 full timer and a couple part timer, that's 4 families mouth to feed and I have to run my business the way I see it to be profitable and pre vacuuming is just taking too much time, my customer has to pay an extra $ 0.10 - $ 0.15 / Sq ft if they want me to vacuum which is going to increase the price by 25 - 30 % it's not going to work out well because I will lose many customers if I do that.
I have tested in my own home by pre vacuuming before cleaning and without pre vacuuming and the results are the same, the carpets also stays clean about the same amount of time before the next cleaning is due.
Everyone works differently, every area is different, every home is different, every lifestyle is different, carpet cleaning is NOT a one size fits all. The only exception to this is a CGD on a concrete slab without padding, that's for sure will need a good pre vac, don't ask me how I know
Bottom line is whatever floats your boat

Devon07 wrote:Rob...you have a way with words! or maybe you just put a lot of good thought into your replies. Thats very true about business plans. You guys help me stay focused on mine!...I have a plan but keep trying to revert to the one I know oh so well. FOCUS!

Thats why he's Moderator Devon he has a unique ability to see all angles and put his thoughts and conclusions into a post. He has always been the voice of reason on the forum as well. If you notice he as a lot more reputation points than anyone else here.

But personally I don;t like him very much

dp1 wrote:Since you don't keep track and too lazy to re-read the thread from page 1 here it is Devon, I don't vacuum and yes I do volume and I work in a large market, but I also have many repeat customers and they admitted that we get the carpets cleaner and it tends to stay clean longer than other carpet cleaner they have used in the past, I am not bragging, just stating facts from my end.
I do notice that there is one or two jobs that could use some vacuuming because there is a wicking issues which we always go back and re clean, but they are minimal, like once every few months.
I have 1 full timer and a couple part timer, that's 4 families mouth to feed and I have to run my business the way I see it to be profitable and pre vacuuming is just taking too much time, my customer has to pay an extra $ 0.10 - $ 0.15 / Sq ft if they want me to vacuum which is going to increase the price by 25 - 30 % it's not going to work out well because I will lose many customers if I do that.
I have tested in my own home by pre vacuuming before cleaning and without pre vacuuming and the results are the same, the carpets also stays clean about the same amount of time before the next cleaning is due.
Everyone works differently, every area is different, every home is different, every lifestyle is different, carpet cleaning is NOT a one size fits all. The only exception to this is a CGD on a concrete slab without padding, that's for sure will need a good pre vac, don't ask me how I know
Bottom line is whatever floats your boat

Tell it like it is DP. Only you know what best for your business

The fact that we are here talking shop and willing to continue to learn from each other makes us all winners at what we do.
Ahh damm I have to use this EMO

Devon07 wrote:Rob...you have a way with words!

I believe you're correct, and the same reason when I was talking to Mo on the phone the other night, I said to him, "ROb is the voice of reason on the forum". He can always see things from ways others don't seem to, and puts it into words like nun of the rest of us do.

ROB 4 President!!

Devon07 wrote:AC...not saying your right or wrong...you make a good point BUT how would you feel if your competition gave a quote on a nice job prior to you and he vacuums?.....are you going to tell the microscope story? lol   I say this serious and I really dont mean anything other than what im asking. I personally think vacuuming most of the time is for show .....many do help in my opinion.  

I almost never quote a job that doesnt go with our services,    we quote over the phone and most are not shopping around at that point.      We get the majority of our business from angies list and have over 350 perfect As,    many of which are regular repeat customers.  

Ive never had to tell the microscope story...      try for yourself,      microscopes are cheap you can find a decent one for under 10bucks with an led light.

you can see soap residue,   dirt,    all kinds of stuff

also carpet looks cool up that close

I truly believe and have proved it to myself that unless there is extreme hair or a massive amount of dust from like 10years of no cleaning, then everything is being removed from the carpet.. just fills your filters up faster

we still CRB, which removes a ton of crap

There is a balance  

Volume vs Price.  

you need to find the balance correctly if you want to bring in big money.    

we have found a good spot of relatively high price with higher volume,    about 4 jobs per day...    we come in slightly cheaper than D.A. Burns who charges a lot,     all we ask is if our customers would like to save that extra money to please vacuum before we arrive if its been more than a week or so since last time it was done.


we tell all our customers that we are here to provide what you cannot DIY,     theres no rental machine or home machine that can provide this cleaning


I can make 15-20k/month in this industry,   and it is a very simple service that shouldnt be over thought

I just asked about vacuuming! LMAO I think however you can make a buck its the way to do it....I recall when I didnt and things were fine. I have no bone with anyone at anyway they do things......I just dont want to be the guy who is bidding against someone who vacs and I lose.....maybe not always but it just feel right.

By the way...I took a job today! I weakend. took me an hour and a half with drive time and did $165. pays for the rib eyes on the grill today.

I honestly didnt know the vac topic was this touchy....I use the vac as a sales tool ....it feels like extra cleaning to me and it is...it cost more for me to do it. Im not in the volume game. I used to be and it was awesome!

ACpower1 wrote:


I almost never quote a job that doesnt go with our services,    we quote over the phone and most are not shopping around at that point.      We get the majority of our business from angies list and have over 350 perfect As,    many of which are regular repeat customers.  

Those AL customers are great, aren't they!?!.......I've yet to have one even ask me for a price of the phone. And better yet, they don't grind or balk at the price I give them, once I'm there.

Now Yelp customers, that's usually a whole neither story!

I pre-vac for one additional reason. My back. I use a hole glide and don't want to stop every three seconds, remove the hose, bend over and suck up debris that doesn't get sucked up. Standing upright and pushing a vacuum is much easier.

+1^^

ya the AL customers are just easy to deal with, we get some from our landing pages/websites and it almost feels weird having to prove yourself and gain their trust because they have never seen a review on your company.


One tip for using AL is get each and every single customers email, and feed it into a program like constant contact, house call pro, razor sync etc

take them off of Angies List, otherwise after a certain amount of time AL will start emailing them about carpet cleaning again.

Being a house cleaner specialist in Canada, I have used various vacuum cleaner for my clients and the best one I would suggest is Electrolux Precision Brushroll. It makes my work pretty fast and it pulls jammed items from the brush,into the bin with the single press of a lever.

Do let me know if you have used any other which has better features then the suggested one.

I prefer the bissell clean view.    

I own a Kirby g4,   g3,    sanitaire sc99,   oreck commercial,   and have used several expensive dysons.  


Side by side the bissell clean view ($80 brand new btw)   cleans better than 3 vacs on that list hands down and just as good as the other ones listed.  


It has a very impressive amount of suction for its price,    once its about 4-5 months old I just donate it or throw it away and buy a new one.



One very important point I forgot to make about the whole pre vac thing, I personally dont believe in the cross contamination that happens when using the same vac on different peoples homes. I would hate to vac a house with fleas then go use it on another persons home who has no fleas.

This is something I have communicated to many of my customers and they understand completely. The steam cleaning equipment is self sterilizing for the most part

The cross-contamination is always a valid point, but is that the real reason or is it just an excuse for not wanting to vacuum?

Hotels are using the same vacuum in every single room of the building without cross-contamination concerns. As a cleaner, we will be forcing high-heat water through the fabrics after vacuuming, so what ever was tracked in will be sucked out in the next step.

If cross-contamination was the real issue, then do you always wear booties, gloves, and keep all equipment outside? Wouldn't the exterior of the hoses still be contaminated or the wall protectors, etc?

Proper care of the vacuum is important and common sense should prevent you from taking a flea ridden vacuum into the next customer's home, but it isn't a good enough reason to me to avoid the vacuum step.

There are legit reasons not to vacuum (mostly monetary) and I don't throw stones at those that do not, but I think it is still a valuable step in the cleaning process.

Its part of it Rob, also very much validates it to the customers lol


When your in landscaping you have to understand that people with nice lawns will literally kill you if you mow someones lawn that has mass weeds then try and use the same mower on their nice zoysia grass.

The outside of hoses, corner guards, our moving blankets we protect floors with, our huggers they all dont concern me.

The vacuum is picking up a lot of fleas and their eggs in any home that has them, they get caught in the brush roll, and I know for sure no matter how on point a cleaner is... nobody cleans their vacuum enough.

Id say 90% of carpet cleaners have disgusting vacuums even if they are emptying the bags and cleaning filters.


Doesnt take more than 2 weeks with any vac for it to be gross, and who honestly here can say they take the entire thing apart and clean it out weekly?

And dont be mistaken and think I never pre vac,   in fact I pre vac'd an entire 12 room home today.  

its certain situations where it is needed,   like today they had drywall dust all over the place...  Im not going to just soak that in pre spray.  

or if its a home with really long haired pets,  an old person that died and has 2inches of dust where all the furniture was...       but I do charge for it.    


also we crb as part of our regular cleaning,   so I feel the pre vac is overkill at that point.        If you saw what 90% of my customers homes look like you might agree with me.


these are clean homes, not section 8

I get your point and your success is testimony that your approach is definitely working. I just can't get past the concerns over the vacuum transferring fleas, but nothing else.

If you did end up vacuuming a flea-contaminated home, the eggs would also be in that CRB and in the van....which would quickly get on you and all of these things are entering the next home.

I envy you being able to clean just really clean homes, but if that is the case, where would these fleas come from.....wouldn't the house before it also be a very clean upscale home or is there a gap in the market where you get a trashed home now and again? Why not use 2 vacuums and keep the quality of homes separated?

We are both stubborn.....and we both have a valid set of points, I believe. It is working for you, so I have no chance of changing your mind. Keep knocking them out, sounds like you are having a very good year.

no I know what u mean, I would have to charge a lot to pre vac and still keep our process we have.

which means I would get some good jobs but that kind of pricing you loose a lot of volume.


We only do mostly 2-3 jobs per day per truck, I like to keep everyone happy and not over worked also no sitting in traffic.

Lovin the CRB!

Rob, Im sure a transfer could happen but I promise you if anyone would know, it would be me....I can find one single flea in a house...I would rather have a spider bite! I have denied carpet jobs with fleas....address the problem then call me. Im very sure I have never transferred fleas....I have never had them in the van and I do clean between every job when it comes to the vac....and now CRB....if fleas are a problem I will find them prior to inspecting! I dont worry about the TM....so, with me short of allergic to them I hunt them frequently...like daily! I have seen and found them over the years but I address them. If someone just vacs and doesn't care from job to job....I think its still low to transfer.

I inspect when arrival first happens
I inspect during vacuum/CRB
I inspect debri in vac and CRB prior to cleaning as I clean vac
I pay close attention as we all do when cleaning
Most of all.....when looking for fleas, all the above is just to be safe....I will get a flea bite withing a minute or two of entry to the home....its always on my ankle...everytime. Where white socks and watch them land!

I think if on most jobs we added in a pre vac,   that isnt a fast once over job and actually did a good slow job it would cause a price increase of about 20% or more. Plus the time it takes to actually clean and maintain the vacuums, because I will not bring any vac into a customers home that stinks. In fact I cant even stand the idea of bringing in a slightly dirty vacuum and I know what it takes to really clean these things.

Ive spent over an hr cleaning a single vac before, removing the brush roll and cleaning all around inside the head. CRB cleans much easier 

also much of the time very little would show up in the canister,     sometimes a lot for sure..    but most jobs a very minimal amount that I feel is easily removed with a quality extraction.  


we have a coit franchise here that actually has a great rep,    they run about 50 vans plus around 15 superior restoration trucks   and they absolutely do not pre vac.    


same as us they ask that the areas are vacuumed the night before they arrive.



With the CRB we scrub out the carpet, it pulls out tons of crap and then before it leaves the last room the brushes are removed, hose cuffed, sprayed down with wand then hose cuffed and replaced... then it goes back to the van nice and clean.

I would like to actually see a real test of pre vac vs just crb dig and then extraction....  

I think you guys would be very surprised,    all that small particle stuff clumps up with the sticky pre treat into balls of shed..    then 12 flow wand running smoking hot temps flushes out the rest.  

carpet just isnt that deep, if you run 600psi then I see a problem with stuff getting forced into the backing.

maybe over a 20 year period of this there is a noticeable difference but carpet is cheap these days, its not 90s nylon anymore

just my opinion,    I dont argue this to sound like a dick but I actually like to argue some things because thats how you learn more and become better at your business.