Drapery cleaning

I got a call from an old friend a couple of days ago who now manages the bowling center and theater at Kaneohe Marine Corps base. Along with the carpet, he asked for a bid on nearly five hundred theater seats and the floor to ceiling velvet drapes. We've done a lot of drapery cleaning over the years but never any like these. They're about twenty feet high and cover all four walls. They have fairly heavy dust hanging on them but no spots. I figure the only way is with rolling scaffolding and a back pack vacuum. (Vacuuming only)Have any of you guys done a job like this? I'm at a loss on what to bid. I can only guestimate the time involved. Also what are you guys charging for theater seats?

I would only be guessing on the drapes so figure a floor to ceiling time per foot of width. Then multiply that by how many linear feet there is and then add the cost of renting a scafold for how many days you'll need it for. Now double that number because that is going to suck and you want to get paid very well for it.

As for the seats tell him one price to hit it and quit it. Then give him the real price to go over them until truly clean.

I would tell them you can do the math and figure the cost based on linear feet like Ken said, but tell them its an irregular job and that its only an estimate..


With big landscape construction projects all estimates are generally within 15-20%, this is normal with most every company.

just quote a bit high and make sure they understand its an estimate and not a set in stone price

Most theaters around here have built-n vacuum systems with ports in the walls. We dust these drapes with very long poles and connect to the vacuum system. It really isn't that bad if they have that kind of set up.

If they don't, it might be a little difficult as you really don't want to try and use ladders. A rented scissor lift would the better option, but that adds to the cost quite a bit. Still, if they are willing to absorb that cost, they rent by the day.

As for the seats, I know that theater and have sat in those seats on many occasions. The hardest part of most theater seats is cleaning the grease off the head rests from people's hair, but Marines don't have hair and no hair gel is allowed, so that part should be easier.

Still, seats are tough to get really clean. They get hammered with body oils, sweat, soda, popcorn oils, candies, and some things we will not mention. They are mostly polyolefins and will hold onto oil like a rich man holds his wallet. Truth is, you may never be able to get the stains out of them.

Plan on spending about a minute per chair and move on or else you will have to bid probably much higher than they will be willing to pay. If you want the day to end well, charge $6-8 per seat, educate them that the stains may not come out, and work in teams. Charge less and you will never want to clean a theater again.

Oh, and just something to consider. Those seats came from the factory with a fire retardant which you are supposed to reapply after a wet cleaning. If they had a fire, the Fire Marshall will inspect those seats and could hold the place liable.....and maybe you as well.

I have yet to have a theater owner pay to reapply the fire retardant, but I have always made them aware of it in the bidding process and sign that they have elected not to apply the retardant to cover my butt.

Hell, I don't even know if the retardant is even expensive....nobody ever tells me that they want it applied.

Interesting......

How the heck would the fire marshal be able to test to see if the flame retardant was on there?

Put a match to it, and see how long it takes to ignite?

Davey Cracker wrote:Interesting......

How the heck would the fire marshal be able to test to see if the flame retardant was on there?

Put a match to it, and see how long it takes to ignite?

A lot of carpet pads have fire retardant applied as well, but how they test for it I don't know. It might actually be a burn test like we do to test fibers.

Ive done theater curtains before....We cleaned with mineral spirits I believe and used a scissor lift. Took us every bit of 8 hrs to do them, they looked amazing and we couldn't miss an inch or it was noticeable! They didnt want to replace them and really hoped a cleaning would do the trick...it did and we charged $2500 as I recall and it was 20 years ago. We also cleaned every seat as they were restoring this old theater and took every seat out for us to clean in the light of day....amazing job! they did put new carpet though. (one reason seats came out)

The curtains will need two guys on the lift....dont forget to safety harness up!

Seats we charged $6 ea back 20 years ago and they reclined a bit and had padded arms. We had two levels, up stairs and down stairs. This is Where ole Blake Shelton started!

Thanks for the input. I like the idea of long tubes connected to a vacuum on the floor. I think they'll be happy with a dry vacuuming. I've cleaned with OMS in the past and hate to work all day in a mask. I think one guy on the ground and another on a low scaffold should be able to handle the pipe. Looking into the cost and availability.

If you run into some staining, sandwich the fabric between 2 soot sponges and rub lightly....works as good as the OMS without the smell.

The scissor lift will be well worth the money!....the tube sounds not so good to me, possibly cost you on time with the little control you will have. A dry Vacuum doesn't mean cleaning to me....it may be all they need though. Good luck.

Yes, we had masks and used some air movers to get fresh air in and out. We realized the scissor lift was the best move we made.

If those drapes are like I remember them, they are covered in a blanket of dust. A dry vacuum could make it look great in comparison without needing to go any farther.....you will find out soon enough.

Will they let you "walk down" the job and test out things to formulate the attack plan? Maybe dry vac a section to see what the potential would be in advance?