Hey forgot about this cool tool from ICE

http://urbanfloorcare.com/

just going through my stuff, and stumbled across this...

looked to be pretty nice for a few things...

AHHhhhhh Yes, we had fun with this one several months ago, didn't we?!>!?!       

http://www.thecleanerslounge.com/t287-the-hot-rod-handle

That's thing destroy any professional look your company had in about two seconds.

Makes me feel really dumb. They have a website selling something and I don't.

I would love to see the type of guy that buys that thing.

They got a picture of him. He looks really professional. Who can be serious cleaning caroet with that thing in their hand. Lol

Just goes to show you that people will buy 'crap' if you give them the chance.

the VLM only guys all got big woodies over this little thing

I can see the guys making their own out of broom handles and duct tape

this might be fine for waxing my box truck with

ODIN wrote:the VLM only guys all got big woodies over this little thing

I can see the guys making their own out of broom handles and duct tape

this might be fine for waxing my box truck with

On another board, this already happened. It was done to poke fun at the guy who owns the company. A universal "that's completely ridiculous" was sounded.

The tool would be fine if it was made with a handle for stair. What custy could take you serious if you used this in their house to scrub floor or tile?

Usually anything with the word "urban" in it is sketchy, at best.

Guys,

First of all I'd like to say that I was completely unaware that the video and website for the tool got posted here. I didn't jump in here and try to start pitching it to you guys. I made that mistake on another board but got hammered for it. Lesson learned.

I was invited here to see your responses by Doug Payne.

So here's my story.

I own and operate a 5 truck carpet and upholstery cleaning business in Orange County, Ca. We do the basics, Carpet, Upholstery and T&G. Been in business since 2000.

About 2 years ago I called another local cleaner out to my home to clean my carpets, just to see what I could learn. I was impressed that they pre-scrubbed the carpet with a CRB machine and It didn't really need it. I decided I wanted to pre-scrub every job but I didn't want to fork out the money to equip all the trucks with CRB machines.

Coinciding with that my son was laid off from his job as an electrical technician (an education for which I paid dearly).

So rather than allow my son to lapse into depression I hired him (for peanuts) to work around the shop. I put him to work experimenting with other scrubbers. BTW I own 7, 17" 175rpm machines but they are too big and too much hassle to use in every home. We use them on our commercial jobs. The first thing we tried was the Oreck Orbiter. It worked just o.k. but I disliked the vibration and the cumbersome maneuverability.

So believe it or not I bought a brand new professional model Orbiter and my son proceeded to tear it apart. We figured that if we could fix the handle in the proper position (by design it floats up and down freely) then it might "swing" or propel itself like the big rotary machines. Well in order to achieve this we found it necessary to remove the motor from the housing so that we could run a bolt through each arm of the handle through the casing and fix it in place. The bottom line is it worked fine. We increased the mobility but it just didn't scrub that well (I have a video of the re-configured Orecks if anyone wants to see)

I won't bore you with the many experiments with other machines we tried. One corner of my shop is a "bone yard" of "Frankenstein" machines. And remember none of this was with the intention of selling a machine to other cleaners.

Please note, I didn't just watch a video and look at pictures of other machines (which some are doing with my invention) before I excluded them. I actually purchased them (used ones when available) and handled them and tested them, and re-worked them.

Don't ask me how we stumbled across the idea of the Hot-Rod Handle it really did just kind of morph into what it is. But I can tell you this, it's been field tested for over a year and a half by multiple trucks and crews. The guys love using them. It makes their job easier and they much prefer it to anything else we've found including the Oreck.

I really regret making the video because I think it over sells the tool as a replacement for a big 175 machine. It's not that.

It's meant mainly for residential settings that are too crowded and hard to access with the big machines(our business is almost completely residential).

I could go on and on but just let me address a couple of specific objections to the tool.

"The motor will burn out"
We've been using them in the field every day for over a year and a half and none have burned out. However, we do offer a 1 year warranty on the motor.

"It doesn't look professional"
I promise you the video and pictures don't do it justice. They look really slick in person. Several of our carpet cleaning customers have purchased them because they were drawn to them by the look. We brought them to the ICE show and let everyone who wanted to try it out. We sold 30 of them and took orders for more.

"Not good for stairs"
Actually it works great on stairs. It wasn't made to be specifically a stair scrubber but when we come to the stairs a simple change in hand position works just fine.

"It's a piece of crap"
It's all cut and weld construction with CNC milling on the handle and precision punch press for the adjustable forks, with powder coating through out. The welds are all smooth and solid. We offer a 2 year warranty on the handle.

"It's too light"
This is just not the case but as shown in the video additional weight can be added, no problem. The motor handles it. But if your still in doubt the handle can be purchased separately and a higher end motor can be used.

What kills me about all of the critiques is that everyone who has seen it in person and used it loves it. I've proven it for a year and a half in my own business, my employees and customers love it.

Some other thoughts;

For scrubbing tile and grout;
We have a different brush than is shown in the video. It's not oriented vertically like the one in the video (that's a concept that really didn't pan out). That said the tool works amazingly well for scrubbing grout lines.

For polishing stone;
The guys at Stone Pro have purchased and sold several of them. I have spoken to the end users. They are using them in tight spaces like bathroom and for edging and stairs. They add weight and the machine performs perfectly. Some are even using it on vertical surfaces such as showers and stone monuments.

I guess I would just ask that until you see one in real life at a show or wherever and get a chance to demo it (as Doug Payne did, and I assume his posting was sincere) please just keep an open mind.

Thanks for reading

Bill

Well Bill. I would encourage you to through that thing into a floater loaner program of your own. This board is created for you the cleaner. You have just as much opportunity to work your mo Jo here. Nice description I. The development if your product. 

So it's up to you to promote it here. Make believers of a bunch is skeptical jack asses. 

Welcome to The Cleaners Lounge.

Fair enough.

Who is a respected member of the board that might be willing to give it a trial run?

I would suggest looking to the top 100 post me members is a good start. Mo will get in touch with ya to open a distributor forum that will sponsor your loaner floater program. Once Mo get ya a forum open. From there post a thread of your product and ask for interested members.  I would guess that this will open more uses for your tool getting it in the hands of real cleaners. Thanks again for coming here to promote your tool.

Sorry I got here late to the topic. My first reaction to it was just like everyone else, "what were you thinking". It isn't the concept that generated the reaction as there is a market for small scrubbers (Stepson, Micro-orbot, Cyclo), but the look and desire to use it over a large area is what lost me.

A scrubber that can get behind and beneath objects is a winner, so maybe this would be valuable in areas where others cannot go, but I can't see it being valuable over a large open area....just not enough surface area on the pad.

I appreciate you coming on and telling your story and for your creativity in trying to fill a niche as well as help your son...I respect both. If you want to get the board's feedback on your creation, I think you will find some honest members willing to do it.

When I started cleaning, I was taught the old shoe scrubbing method on spots, so any tool beyond the sz 14 Nike looks more professional. I think the main objection to your tool is the handle of the grinder...it makes it too recognizeable to many as a grinder. I was turned off by the "stepson" for the same reason, it looks just like my car buffer so why the big price tag? Why wouldn't the customer scoff at my use of a shop tool as well?

With a shorter handle, or an adjustable length one anyway, it could make for a good stair scrubber. The micro-orbot sure did, so why not your tool?

Some of us aren't that good looking, so we have to impress with our charm and performance. Your tool has the same problem, it would have to win over people with its performance and charm, but that doesn't mean that it can't. It just needs an opportunity to prove itself. Even I managed to date a celebrity in my younger days, so anything is possible....a loaner might be worth it to you.

Thanks for the response.

Just a guess but the size 14s probably got you that date. Kidding

SixShooter wrote:Thanks for the response.

Just a guess but the size 14s probably got you that date. Kidding

You fit in well here at the lounge   

Holy smokes.....embarrassed by this bunch to say the least....

Well duh you dont use it on the WHOLE FREAKING CARPET....

its a nitch tool like so many others out there....

remembered talking to the guy at the event, he was a good and as far as I could tell GENUINE type of guy....

Hey I am 1 of the first people to rip on something...THAT I HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF!!!!

no knowledge...shut the hell up....

embarrassed

Ryan S wrote:I would suggest looking to the top 100 post me members is a good start. Mo will get in touch with ya to open a distributor forum that will sponsor your loaner floater program. Once Mo get ya a forum open. From there post a thread of your product and ask for interested members.  I would guess that this will open more uses for your tool getting it in the hands of real cleaners. Thanks again for coming here to promote your tool.

Will do and Thank you,

Welcome to TCL Bill!

I appreciate anybody who builds and tinkers with stuff. I do it a lot myself. I'm working on a lot of projects to improve VLM cleaning. Lots of trial and error and "what was I thinking?" moments.

If the videos and pictures don't do it justice, I'd be quick about removing them.

Floorguy wrote:Holy smokes.....embarrassed by this bunch to say the least....

Well duh you dont use it on the WHOLE FREAKING CARPET....

its a nitch tool like so many others out there....

remembered talking to the guy at the event, he was a good and as far as I could tell GENUINE type of guy....

Hey I am 1 of the first people to rip on something...THAT I HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF!!!!

no knowledge...shut the hell up....

embarrassed

Thanks for that.

I'm sure these are genuine guys here also and wrong though they be, I'm sure these were for the most part honest reactions to images of a tool they saw on the internet. So they are concerns I need to overcome.

Thanks again

REALCLEAN wrote:Welcome to TCL Bill!  

I appreciate anybody who builds and tinkers with stuff.  I do it a lot myself.  I'm working on a lot of projects to improve VLM cleaning. Lots of trial and error and "what was I thinking?" moments.

If the videos and pictures don't do it justice, I'd be quick about removing them.

Thanks, I probably will

Floorguy wrote:Holy smokes.....embarrassed by this bunch to say the least....

Well duh you dont use it on the WHOLE FREAKING CARPET....

its a nitch tool like so many others out there....

remembered talking to the guy at the event, he was a good and as far as I could tell GENUINE type of guy....

Hey I am 1 of the first people to rip on something...THAT I HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF!!!!

no knowledge...shut the hell up....

embarrassed

To be fair, you saw it in person and spoke with the inventor. The rest of the board only have the video and it shows it scrubbing an open room, so it is understandable to draw that conclusion on a cursory review. I agree, it looks like a niche tool that has some merit and creates a curiosity as to its performance...might have many converts after trial.

I still think it would be great for us box truck owners to wax the rigs with with out having to use a ladder

What's going on Six Shooter welcome. You're one of the few vendors I didn't talk to at ICE there was always somebody checking out that tool.

I would like to invite you come hang out with me, Davey, DP at one our sponsors warehouse in Garden Grove the 14th of March at 10:00AM. Brings your scrubber so that we can take it for a test drive.

http://www.thecleanerslounge.com/t748-lounging-at-caltool

Great idea Mo, that is an excellent group to review that tool.