Airpath who has one?

Thinking about coughing up the bucks to buy one. Who loves, hates and can't live without one of these things?

I love mine. it defiantly had some weight to it though.
I think one of those and either two dripods or that bran new small small blower would be prefect

I've been using the airpath since it was released and although it is heavy, it is a great tool. One will fit between the seats nicely if you are short on space and they can dry a room by the time you get the second room clean under favorable conditions.

A trick that I use is to buy a bunch of small display flags and mount them onto a coaster. Then set them out about 10 feet from the airpath and watch the flags flap in the wind. My customers have been amazed by that cheap demonstration.

Dripods will put out a lot of air for their size, but the Airpath is by far the best air mover out there. I carry one airpath and an old dri-eaz sahara pro for the hallways and never need more. Not cheap, but worth the money...last one I saw was $485 new about 3 days ago.

excellent idea mil

1 airpath 4 dripods on my truck.

My father carries 1 airpath. I have a lot of extra space in the sprinter so I carry 3 airpaths and 1 blower. They come in handy when I'm doing commercial work and need to dry transition areas between carpet and tile.

I had two, but sold them. With extra care I can leave the carpets just as dry without the hassle. I found them awkward to carry and use on each job.

Bill is correct, they are awkward to carry and you can dry stroke to the same results.  What it does do is impress a client by showing them something they have never seen and that makes you look all the more professional.

The first time that I used one was on a large home for a young couple who were first time home owners.  The house had belonged to an elderly man who was bedridden and left a ton of vomit and other stains on white nylon caarpet....there was a whole path from the bed to bath.

It took a lot of flushing and despite dry strokes, it was still pretty wet.  The couple wanted to move in that night, but was worried about their antique furniture sitting on damp carpet.  I pulled out the airpath and let it go to work while I cleaned the kitchen tile.

By the time I was done with the tile, the house was dry to the touch.  The best part was that the lady's father came by with a truck bed full of box fans while I was loading up.  Turned out that he was a retired cleaner and was expecting the place to be very wet.  He was very impressed with the airpath and asked for a dozen business cards...half of which turned into hirings over the next 2 months.

Let's face it, we could all clean carpet with a bucket and brush and it would look good.  What all the tools do is make it easier, faster, or more impressive to the client.  An airpath, rotary, etc. are all part of standing out from the other cleaners and create that professional appearence...but it does suck carrying an airpath.  

For me it's a battle between the airpath and two dripods. Right now I carry snail fans and I hate bringing them in. To heavy and easy to bonk into walls and they don't fit well in the truck. I think the pods would be easy to carry in and out but they lack the power and wow factor of the big airpath. Also the bigger rooms r usually the ones that i want dry asap because those are the dirty ones I'm trying to avoid wicking in and most of the time I don't have time to be moving around a bunch of little fans.

After reading my own argument I think the airpath is a go. Maybe get a few dry pods down the road too.

Thx guys for ur input.

I just impress them with striking looks!  

Milspec is right they do impress.

I also hated how they left dents in the carpet that would not rake out.

I have one dripod if I need it I will throw it out. I also has two snail fans in the van too. You guys charging extra for this service?

I don't charge extra for the speed drying as it is as much a benefit to me as it is to them by preventing call-backs for wicking.

As for the dimples, stick a slider under the wheels. I bought these really crappy "seen on tv" sliders at Walgreens at $5 for 6 of them. They are only about a 3 inch slider and they are useless at the task, but works great under the airpath wheels.

I don't mean to downplay the value of the pods, they do put out a good flow of air, but I prefer to use the stronger airpath to really move that air.

The slider is a really good tip.

I have 3 airpaths, 4 air pods, one sahara and 2 flex from B-Air. The airpaths are for large rooms, pods for small ones, the sahara for long hallways and the flexs for stairs or to cool us down when we clean upholstery (also, when we are doing stairs). But I also have a helper to take them off and on the truck. To prevent dimples we use the large sliders on the airpaths and on the pods the glossy plastic 4x4 chips that Joe sells do the trick.

Yep I have the older version of the airpath and it is very awkward to carry but it works. I don't keep it on the truck anymore just because of the fact that it's a pain in the ass to carry in and out. I'll bring it if I think that I'll need it.

Flash Back Friday

I'm gonna try and pick some old topics that have got lost in the pile due to the FREAK posting phenomena.

Let's turn this topic up a notch and throw in this question.

Do you use fans to speed dry? What kind, and how many do you implement?

I have 3 airpaths but I only use them on certain jobs. Like cleaning commercial hallways that transition to hard surfaces. They also allow me to clean restaurants at a descent time ( like 6am ) so they can open for lunch. When drying a restaurant I'll leave them and pick them up later that day. It's the only reason I'll do restaurants because I'm not going out at midnight anymore.

I don't have an airpath but I do use the dripods. I just used them to dry 2 14x20 rooms in about an hour with 2 per room.

I have two blowers and one dripod on the van. I will pull one out every now and then but mostly don't use them. I do dry strokes though

Well I bought one from Joe after starting this thread and have been bringing her in almost every house since my regular air movers are now resting at home. Gotta say I love/hate the thing. Here is my review.

Love the amazing fast dry times. The area underneath is dry in 3-5 mins. Most rooms are totally dry in 30-45 mins. Smaller rooms even faster. Awsome. Also love the way the customer reacts to the unit. The load roar. The wind. They know that this is no Home Depot fan and they greatly appreciate it.

Like the wheels. Would like to see some screw in carpet sliders instead to reduce the idents on the carpet and the wheels im sure will be broken in a few months anyway with daily use. It would also allow the air to move more smoothly past the legs instead of runnning into the wheels.

Hate the weight and size, but I find it equally as annoying to carry in airmovers. The benefit to the airpath being that you can carry it to your side and fit through a doorway fairly smoothly.

Hate the lack of cord storage. I know your supposed to thread the cord through the unit. Who has time for that!? Heck even a POS vacuum has a quick place to wrap a cord with a little toggle for quick release. Geez.

I also bought a dripod to get a good feel for those as well. If it was all I had I would be pleased. However next to the airpath the dripod is a children's toy. Handy to have for a quick spot drying but no where near the power to dry or impress.

In conclusion (assuming you have the room in your van) if your at all concerned about dry times or making a positive impression on clients, this is a must own. Keeping in mind a groomer comes hand and hand with this behemoth.

Nice review and I agree with all of it. Love the performance, but hate the carry.

I use one for residentials along with a dri-eaz sahara for the halls.

On commercial, it can be all 4 of them...when space allows.

I have one and use it every time

Raffy put in the classified section it will be easier to find if someone is looking to buy one in the future

ok Mo........

I got ya Raffy. It's posted in classified now. I will delete our post after a few hours. Thanks for the listing.