ncca December 2014 - January 2015

The official journal of the National Carpet Cleaners Association

newslink

Dry Soil Extraction

Good Customer Advice

Features:

Drying Times

Contents

03

04

04

06

08

12

14

16

18

19

20

21

22

26

28

From the Editor - notice of membership

renewals 2015/16

New NCCA President is elected at the

General Meeting this year

NCCA achieves ISO 9001:2008

certification

Consumer technical enquiries

Practice, practice, practice

REMEMBER... ‘Big Brother’ may be

watching!

Dry soil extraction

It’s that time of year again!

A wake-up call

The best way to build your business?

The changing face of floor care

Damage to wood floors when cleaning

soft furnishings

Drying times

Good customer advice

You can never learn too much

Published monthly by:

The National Carpet Cleaners Association,62c London Road, Oadby, Leicestershire, LE2 5DH.Tel: 0116 271 9550E-mail: admin@ncca.co.ukWebsite: www.ncca.co.uk

Nicky Law

Keith Robertson

Nikki Law

Paul Pearce

Glyn Charnock

Martin Johns

Keith Robertson

Denise Pitt

Editor

Editor in Chief

Design Editor

President/Admin Director

Technical Director

Company Secretary/1st Vice President/Training Director

Corporate Director/2nd Vice President

Membership Director

Marketing Director

Co-opted Franchise Director

Nigel Lay

Allan Simmons

www.facebook.com/NCCAFloorCarewww.twitter.com/NCCA_floorcare_

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Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Association or it’s officers or members. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the statements within this publication, we cannot accept responsibility for any errors, or omissions, or matters arising from any clerical or printing errors, and whilst every care is taken of manuscripts and photographs submitted to us, we can accept no responsibility for any loss or damage.

©Carpet Cleaners Association Ltd 1994 (Trading as the National Carpet Cleaners Association). No part of this Newsletter may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Carpet Cleaners Association Ltd.

From the Editor - notice of membership renewals 2015/16

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embership renewal documents for M 2015/2016 will be sent on April 1st 2015

and due for payment by May 1st 2015.

As stated in The Articles of Association: “Any

Member wishing to resign from the Company shall

give 60 clear days' notice of his intended

resignation in writing to the Secretary and at the

expiry of such notice shall cease to be a member,

but in default of giving such notice, at least 60

clear days before the expiry of the current year,

such member shall be liable to pay the

subscription for the ensuing year”.

If you are experiencing difficulties or considering

not renewing your membership please contact us.

We never like to hear that a member has decided

they no longer plan to be part of the NCCA, and

we would like to work with you to do all we can to

assist.

This year we introduced a Direct Debit service

through a company called GoCardless, this has

proven to be very popular with nearly 20% of the

membership choosing this method of payment.

The advantage of using Direct Debit is that once it

has been set up, the facility will remain in place

unless it is cancelled, taking the worry out of

remembering to pay subscription fees. We will

write to you at the end of each membership year

reminding you of your renewal and that payments

will be deducted automatically via Direct Debit.

You can choose to spread the payment of your

subscription fees over a number of months (a

maximum of six) or in one single payment. If you

do not wish to renew your membership for the

coming year, notice must be put

in writing to the Company

Secretary before the 31st

January. Please note, this item is

legally enforceable.

At the General Meeting, held on

November 29th, it was agreed to

increase the membership fees to £225 + VAT, in

line with inflation. However, due to the increasing

popularity among the members to use Direct

Debit, it was proposed and agreed that a reduced

fee of £220 + VAT be offered to all members who

already use this facility or who sign up by 1st May;

it was also agreed that the 1% GoCardless fee

could be waived. For any member signing up to

Direct Debit after the 1st May, they will still benefit

from the reduced fee, but will incur the 1% fee.

Other requirements of your renewal are a

completed Health & Safety declaration form and

proof of insurance; we will again be accepting

Public Liability schedules that clearly state that

they include either Treatment Risk or Products

Liability. To aid in swift processing of your renewal,

please make sure you send all the correct required

documentation.

All members who have not yet completed a full

year of membership will still be receiving a

subscription invoice sent on April 1st. The fee will

have been reduced in respect of how long you

have been a member. Payment of this invoice will

bring your renewal in line with the rest of the

membership and your renewal year will run from

April to April from then on.

Nicky LawNewslink Editor

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Achieving ISO 2001:2008

certification was a condition

of the NCCA being awarded

TrustMark Scheme Operator

status (and gaining our own

'Carpet and Upholstery

Cleaners' category on the

TrustMark website) earlier

this year.

We are delighted to

announce that, following an assessment by an

independent organisation in November, the NCCA

has now been awarded this much coveted

accreditation.

ISO 9001:2008 is an internationally recognised

prestigious award for quality - a standard by

which a company's Quality Management System

can be evaluated. Gaining ISO certification is

something we are particularly proud of as it

demonstrates our commitment to quality,

traceability and continual improvement. With

only 3% of UK businesses holding this certificate,

we have been proved to be

at the forefront of quality

and care in the services we

provide to both Association

members and to the public.

Upon earning the ISO

9001:2008 certification,

NCCA President, Nigel Lay,

commented “We have

worked very hard on gaining

accreditation through ISO. We were very keen

from the outset to ensure that the ISO framework

was used to bring genuine value to the

Association, rather than focusing on the

accreditation for accreditation's sake. Providing a

quality service to our members, the public, and

the industry as a whole, is a key priority for the

Association. ISO certification is a significant

milestone in our commitment to continual

improvement and shows just how far we'll go to

ensure high standards of service. We are

extremely proud of what we have achieved.”

At the NCCA General Meeting, on Saturday 29th

November, a new NCCA President was elected.

Nigel Lay, who has spent several years on the

NCCA Board working hard as Events Director

(organising the Carpet Cleaners Carnival) as well

as working very closely with the NCCA office in an

administrative capacity, has now been awarded

the much coveted and extremely prestigious

position of NCCA President. Congratulations

Nigel!

New NCCA President is elected at the General Meeting this year

NCCA achieves ISO 9001:2008 certification

Paul Pearce awarding Nigel Lay therole of NCCA President

newslink page 6

CCA Board Directors are often required

to answer a multitude of technical

queries from both NCCA members, Nnon-members and the public.

Every enquiry gets our full attention and are a

joy to receive because they get us thinking. We

don't know all the answers but will (hopefully)

point everyone in the right direction.

Over the years I must have answered more

than a thousand technical enquiries by phone,

text or e-mail and they come in all shapes and

sizes, from shrinking carpets to animal accidents

and everything in between.

With consumer enquiries we always recommend

that they use an NCCA member company for

professional rectification of the problem and

direct them to the NCCA website for a member

in their area. However, first of all we usually offer

some advice. You may wonder why we give

advice in the first place. Well, people ask

questions, and unfortunately many really want to

try and correct the problem themselves. Most of

the time, however, having listened to their issues

and provided some advice, we insist on

professional cleaning as the only option.

Below I have included three enquiries I have

personally received (via email), together with my

replies. As you will see, some of the emails I

receive are quite hard to interpret (Question 2 is

a prime example of this). You may not agree with

my advice, but often the consumer does not

offer any further information so the detective in

me has to come into play (thank goodness for

CSI!).

“Could you tell me what would

remove a drop of silver nitrate out of a carpet

please?”

“Silver nitrate can be used in

medicines, hobbies such as photography, and

many other things. Many years ago I had my

own dark room and so know what silver nitrate

can do. The problem is that trying to remove it

from soft furnishings is not an easy task. If your

carpet is a protein fibre, such as wool or an acid

died nylon, then it will be harder to remove as it

has an affinity to these items”.

I then supplied a simple 'how to' process with

the relevant information on it. I also advised that

any solutions should be tested in an

inconspicuous area, to see the reaction, and

specified that the solution should not be over

applied because of possible de-lamination of

tufted carpets. This consumer reported back to

me with a success and a “thank you" and

followed this up by calling an NCCA member to

carry out an overall clean.

“I have purchased a Wooltec carpet

which is situated throughout each carpeted

room downstairs, up the stairs and on the

landing. I have the more superior one, which

Question 1:

Question 2:

My reply:

Paul PearceConsumer technical enquiries

Pa

Stains on carpetgot fake tan on the carpet, which is very upsetting because the carpet

ul

newslinkpage 7

was laid eighteen months ago and I was very

pleased with it to start with. Unfortunately this

carpet now has stains all over it, which seem to

just appear, and I can't get rid of them. It looks

awful! There are only two of us in the house and

we are not messy people and take pride in our

home. With our previous carpets just a quick

spot clean was all that was needed. I have tried

the fizzy water and go stargazing which takes the

stain out but it comes back again, we would

welcome your advice please.” (Yes, I was

particularly confused by that last sentence too!).

“First of all, I am struggling to

understand the use of 'fizzy water' or actually

know what 'stargazing' is in relation to carpet

spotting. Could you please explain? Quite often

there are a few reasons why a stain returns. The

first reason is because the item that caused the

stain has not been properly removed and is

therefore collecting more soil. Secondly, it could

be that the cleaning solution itself is attracting

more soil. Thirdly it could be that, if the stain/soil

hasn’t been rinsed properly, the product applied

can wick/evaporate to the surface bringing with

it residues of the staining item. You are also

probably wondering why your lifetime stain

warranty carpet keeps staining? The truth is that

all carpets will get soiled from time to time and

they will need professional cleaning to remove

embedded soils. This way the stains will be

totally removed from the carpet. I hope this

makes sense. I am going to send you a Wooltec

aftercare guide for your records. You will note

that one of the recommendations is that the

carpet is professionally cleaned every eighteen to

twenty four months”.

This consumer explained that 'stargazing' was a

My reply:

typing error and was advised by the retailer to use

'fizzy water' and thanked me for the detailed info.

“How do you get graphite/metal

shavings from a door lock that was opened for

maintenance and consequently dropped metal or

graphite filings onto the carpet which I cannot

hoover up?”

“It is difficult trying to visualise the

situation, because if it is metal shavings then a pair

of tweezers might be the best option. However if it

is a greasy type soil, and you wish to attempt

removal yourself, then I can provide you with

information on how to do this that would be close

to the process I would use myself (I then adapt the

first aid procedures from the NCCA website and

make it specific to the situation). Of course the

best advice I can give you would be to call in an

NCCA professional carpet cleaner to carry out the

work, especially if it was caused by a contractor as

it could be down to them to foot the bill. Details at

http://www.ncca.co.uk/membershipdirectory.php”

This consumer came back to me to say how

impressed he was with the Association and also the

NCCA member who visited his home to rectify the

problem.

We receive these types of questions on a regular

basis from consumers, members, non-member

carpet cleaners… even from the States! It is amazing

how the web is used for just about everything

because most people will use the internet during

their breaks at work, or even whilst working, as well

as through the night. It is just so easy to get

information. With some of the queries I receive, I

have to source care leaflets from manufacturers, or

maybe even have to source the information myself

from scratch, to actually be able to provide a reply. It

all takes time but it's worth it. We are here to help.

Question 3:

My reply:

newslink page 8

Keith RobertsonPractice, practice, practice

f you have chosen stone

polishing as one of the niches I for your business, you will

have gradually built up experience

in how different stones react and

how you deal with them.

It is also likely that when you

started out you were taught a

specific method of achieving a

high shine.

For those of you, who came into

the industry from a commercial

cleaning background, it may have

been that your initial experience

was gained from crystallising or

vitrifying or possibly from the use of diamond or

abrasive coated or impregnated cleaning pads.

Some of you, however, will have been introduced

to stone polishing by attending an industry

training course built around a specific system

which you then purchased for future use.

Over a period of time, no doubt, you will have

found there are limits to the overall success of

the systems you are introduced to. Much of the

time they give you the results you expect, but not

always.

Along the way you also come to realise that

different customers have different expectations,

and different budgets, and so have to consider

less time consuming methods which will fit these

situations.

Some of the large non-woven floor pad systems

are beneficial to contract cleaners as they can be

used daily and, over a period of days, different

grades can be introduced to gradually improve the

floors appearance. However, although practical

and cost effective where there is daily access, they

are probably not going to provide the result that

you are required to obtain if you are attempting to

achieve a finished result in one visit.

There are, of course, a number of manufacturers

and suppliers of different types of pads, so it

would be logical to experiment to find which work

more effectively and suit you. It may be that you

find the combined use of coated pads, followed by

polishing powders or crystallisation, will achieve

what is required. On the other hand you might

Italian stone polisherswith hand-wheels

newslinkpage 9

choose a combination of honing and polishing

powders on their own to remove small scratches

and polish the surface to an acceptable finish.

Each different method may work better or more

successfully on some floors than others. Some

marbles can be notoriously difficult to polish and

respond best to specialist machines using

diamond discs.

Even here there are discussions as to whether

the single disc heavy duty machines, normally

used in the UK or the US, really produce the same

quality of finish as a traditional Italian machine

equipped with a hand wheel to ensure perfect

levelling.

It is logical that there are limitations to most

treatment methods and there are both excellent

and poor quality products on the market, which is

not always reflected in the price you pay.

If you haven't yet invested in a complete range of

products and equipment it is even more

important to get to know what you can achieve on

different stones. It would be wise to take before

and after photographs and keep a notebook of

your results.

From time to time you may scratch your head

and wonder just why you can't quite obtain the

same excellent result on one floor as other

previous similar floors where you have been

satisfied. For instance, perhaps you’ve come

across Crema Marfil that, despite your best

efforts, still had a hint of haziness you had not

experienced before.

One reason could be that the stone was not the

'real deal.' Crema Marfil, marketed as a marble

but technically a limestone, is cut out of a range of

hills not far from Alicante in Spain. One I was

working on had a few tiles that I found difficult to

polish to the finish I wanted; it turned out these

had been cut in an Italian quarry,

sold as Crema Marfil but not

genuine Crema Marfil. Since then I

have encountered supposed Crema

Marfil from Spain, Turkey and China.

This can happen time after time.

Very often it doesn't matter to the

stone finisher, as the final result is

quite acceptable, but sometimes it

can prove to be quite time wasting.

Earlier this year I decided to

purchase some 300mm Carrara

Continued on next pageCrema Marfil flooring

newslink page 10

marble tiles for a shower room and, mindful of

the issues I have just mentioned, I checked a

number of wholesalers until I settled on one in

North London who had a good reputation. I

considered it worth my while to collect them

from London and take them home.

It is also not unusual for large stone suppliers to

make up their own names for stone. Sometimes

this allows them to purchase similar stones from

different sources. This may not be noticed when

the floor is first laid but can lead to complaints

from the customer further down the line.

The more you study stone the more you will

recognise the differences, which should allow

you to explain to the customer that different

stone, finished by different producers in different

countries, may well not perform equally simply

because it has been given a uniform name.

Before you start to refinish the floor you should

make it very clear that, although you can return

the floor to a new condition, this does not mean

that it will wear equally in the future.

What are the lessons you should learn?

ŸFirst, never give up learning about stone.

ŸSecond, do not presume that what you have

been told is true.

ŸThird, do not over promise if you haven't at the

very least completed a sample.

ŸFourth, practice at home or in the workshop.

ŸAsk customers for a spare tile when carrying

out the survey.

ŸDevelop a relationship with a stone supplier

which will allow access to waste material which

you can take away to practice on.

You can never practice too much. To become a

‘specialist’ rather than a ‘general practitioner’

takes practice, practice, practice.

Continued from previous page

Member referral report

Since publishing a referral statistics report in the last issue of Newslink there have been

107 recommendations for full members provided by the NCCA. This number is made up of 44 referrals from the NCCA office, 62 potential customers contacting members

direct through the website and 1 referral to a member without an email address, which has

been tracked by the office.

TrustMark StatisticsGreat news for TrustMark members! During

November the category of Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners on the TrustMark website was searched almost 8000 times. 'Click throughs' to members’ details are now averaging over 5000 per month

and, since its launch in April this year, this category has been searched (in total) over 41,000

times!

How to apply for TrustMark membershipTrustMark membership within the Carpet and

Upholstery Cleaners category is ONLY available to NCCA members (to see joining criteria go to

‘Benefits and Schemes’ in the Members’ Area of the NCCA website).

If you would like to apply to become a TrustMark member please ring the NCCA office on 0116 271 9550 or email: admin@ncca.co.uk

Chemspec Europe, Tong Park, Otley Road, Baildon, West Yorkshire, BD17 7QD. Tel: 01274 597333 Fax: 01274 597444 E-mail: Website:info@chemspec-europe.com www.chemspec-europe.com

Going Going - Gone!Dye Gone offers a unique new package and application device to remove the severest of dye stains including: coffee, tea, wine, hair dyes, paints, candle colours etc.

*pre-test carefully and rinseout after stain is removedwith cold water.

No need to mix - just spray - wait and the stain is gone.*

BEFORE AFTER

Say

goodbye

to stains!

Wishing all NCCA Members a happy and profitable New Year!

newslink page 12

ust before you all get to thinking that I am J becoming completely delusional with the title

of my article this month, let me explain. Years

before the popular TV series ever began, a

gentleman called George Orwell wrote an

excellent novel called 1984. Big Brother was

originally a fictional character within this book -

the dictator of Oceania, a totalitarian state where

the ruling party wielded total power over the

inhabitants.

In the society that Orwell describes, everyone is

under complete surveillance by the authorities,

mainly by telescreens, and the people are

constantly reminded of this by the phrase 'Big

Brother is watching you'.

The question is, do you ever feel like Big Brother

is watching you? CCTV cameras are everywhere

these days, there are 650 in the Highcross

shopping centre in Leicester alone! Then there's

the dashboard cameras becoming very popular in

cars, the cyclists head cameras and many more. I

remember Paul Pearce telling me of the time he

was working in a supermarket and the security

man telling him how cameras targeted every

cashpoint, to the extent they could listen in to the

conversations that were taking place there!

On my allotment site we occasionally suffer

vandalism both from two-legged creatures and

badgers. I am now actually thinking about

purchasing an infra-red battery operated camera

to see just who, or what, the culprits are. Looking

on various internet websites I have already

discovered a wide variety of covert cameras that

are available at very reasonable prices.

Derek Bolton (Honorary Member)

REMEMBER... ‘Big Brother’ may be watching!

Here’s howit works...

No power cordsmeans no installation

page 13 newslink

Anyway, I digress. The point I am coming to is that

Big Brother may also be watching you… while you

are at work!

It is true that a picture tells a story, just look at

the one below.

A few years ago I happened to be vacuuming a

lounge carpet, prior to cleaning, when on moving

a chair I discovered a ten pence piece beneath it.

Nothing unusual about that

you may say. I totally agree, but

then I found another under the

other chair and yet another

under the settee. This is when

the penny (or should I say ten

pennies) suddenly dropped… I

was being checked up on to see

if I moved all the items of furniture in the room

during the clean! By the end of the job I had quite

a collection which I left piled up on a coffee table;

I do have to admit to feeling a wee bit peeved at

the customers distrust in me.

I have heard of some customers who have had a

series of security cameras installed throughout

their home, so that they can see what is going on

(using their mobile phone) when they are away

from the house. Think about this…. you could be

working away on a customer's carpet or three

piece suite oblivious to the fact that they (Big

Brother) may be watching what you are up to.

It is really sad that some customers have

become so distrusting but, having said that, the

unfortunate truth is that not all workmen are

totally honest. There have been several instances,

over the years, when stories of dishonesty by

people in our profession have been passed on to

me.

Imagine my dismay when I was told a story

recently (by one of the delegates on a training

course) of an incident that occurred when the

delegate went out for the day with a local carpet

cleaner for some on-the-job experience.

Apparently he arrived early and

was waiting for his mentor to

finish getting ready for the day.

Whilst waiting he perused the

client's extensive DVD collection.

He commented on the collection

to his mentor when he arrived,

who then shockingly confessed

that he took (stole) one from every house he went

to that had a large collection of DVD's, adding the

glib comment “They won't miss just the one”.

After hearing this story you can understand why

some people would want to install cameras in

their home.

The NCCA strapline 'Service with Integrity' is as

relevant today as it was when it thought of all

those years ago back in 1968. You should bear in

mind that there could be the cameras in any of

the houses you are working in. I am not

suggesting for one minute that any of you would

even think about stealing items from a client's

home. However I have heard tales, over the years,

of cleaners who have done other things they

really shouldn't have been doing in a customer's

home. You may want to spare your blushes.

This is what I foundunderneath all the upholstery

©Derek Bolton

newslink page 14

uring the last year or so, I

have spoken to several

colleagues who have been Dhaving problems with mud-like

streaking when cleaning carpets.

One of them, not an NCCA

member, couldn't understand why

the power of his all-singing, all-

dancing, fire-breathing truckmount

couldn’t remove this mud easily.

Dry Soil Extraction, which is an

integral part of all of our carpet

cleaning systems, is much, much

more than just pre-vacuuming a

carpet. It is also more than just

'running over the carpet with a

hoover'.

First the problem. Mr or Mrs

Customer will typically vacuum the

carpets once, or maybe twice, a week. The visible

soil or litter is removed quite quickly; other

particulate soils are not visible so no attempt is

made to remove them. Whether or not the

customer uses the correct type of properly

maintained vacuum cleaner is another issue

entirely.

When the carpet cleaner arrives, he encounters a

carpet with several years' worth of deep-down,

trodden-in, non-soluble, dry particulate soils.

Is a 'quick whizz' with a Dyson enough to remove

this? Definitely not!

Our front line of attack will be a thorough process

of dry soil extraction with a commercial grade

vacuum cleaner, preferably with twin motors.

Steady or slow passes both forward and

backwards over the same area, executed in East-

West and North-South directions is usually

sufficient on most residential carpets. But not

always.

Parting the carpet pile, and looking down into

the foundation/backing, you can often see

accumulated soils in high traffic areas. To remove

these soils, extra steps may be required.

The easiest way to enhance the performance of

your vacuum cleaner is simply to use a pile brush.

Bear in mind that a scrubbing action is not

required or desirable on some carpets; merely

Ken WainwrightDry soil extraction

A good commercial gradevacuum cleaner is needed for

thorough dry soil extraction

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Diary Dates 2015

NCCA COURSES

Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning

23rd - 24th January

20th - 21st March

22nd - 23rd May

10th - 11th July

18th - 19th September

20th - 21st November

Advanced Spot & Stain Removal

20th February

26th June

9th October

Health & Safety for the Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner

19th February

8th October

All above courses held at NSPCC Training Centre,

Leicester unless otherwise stated. Visit:

www.ncca.co.uk for booking forms and further

details.

IICRC COURSES (HERTFORDSHIRE)

Carpet Cleaning Technician and Upholstery &

Fabric Cleaning Technician with Paul Pearce

2015 courses to be arranged

Held at Alltec Network, Royston,

Hertfordshire. Tel: 01763 208222

IICRC COURSES (SURREY)

Carpet Cleaning Technician with Adam Jankowski

24th - 25th March

10th - 11th September

Upholstery & Fabric Cleaning Technician with

Adam Jankowski

31st March - 1st April

25th - 26th November

Held at National Flood School,

Surrey. Tel: 01252 821185

Visit: www.iicrc.org for further details on all

IICRC Training Courses.

place the brush head on the carpet and slowly push

the brush forward. This action will open the pile and

also disturb the impacted soil, making subsequent

vacuuming more effective.

The next level up is to use a CRB (contra rotating

brush) machine. These are typically used for dry-

compound carpet cleaning.

Using a suitable stiffness of brush (I use the softest

grade for most applications) simply brush the dry

carpet East-West and North-South as and where

required. Remember that being dry, there is no

lubrication for the carpet yarn, so care must be taken

not to damage the pile.

The standard, or medium grade of brush, is what I

would use on most commercial low profile carpets

and I reserve the stiffest grade of all for use on

Flotex.

Be aware that when dry brushing a carpet,

whether by hand or with a machine, significant

amounts of dust can be created. You may need to

wear a dust mask and the dust can also settle on

other furnishings and fittings. Stock items in an

office or shop can also be spoiled.

Finally, all of the above can be superfluous if you

have a pile-lifter.

To those amongst us who treat dry soil extraction

as being a boring time waster, it is worth

remembering that not only can this process remove

more soil than the wet extraction part of the system,

it also opens and lifts the pile, making our pre-

treatments more effective. This in turn leads to less

water being used for rinsing, leading to quicker

drying carpets and less water being carried and

'dumped' from a portable extractor. Rather than

wasting it, it can actually save time!

again!It’s that time of year

Ken Wainwright

he run up to Christmas is traditionally the

busiest time of year for the majority of us T who service the residential sector of our

industry. It feels as though every home in the

country needs to be spick and span in readiness

for visitors over the festive season.

The months following the holidays can be a lot

quieter. However, there is an area of our

businesses that will remain strong, certainly

through January. I'm talking about stain removal.

With the home being so busy, and people being

in the party mood, there always seems to be a lot

more spillages through Christmas and the New

Year: red wine, white wine, soft drinks, tea, coffee

and animal stains to name but a few. Then we

have the homeowners who still insist on dressing

the bottom of the Christmas tree with brightly

coloured crepe paper which duly bleeds its dye

into the carpet!

You may be well stocked and prepared for the

pre-Christmas rush, but are you prepared for the

post-Christmas disasters? Many of our suppliers

will be closed during the holiday period, some for

up to two weeks. Do you have sufficient stock of

stain removers to see you through this period? If

you use generic products such as Hydrogen

Peroxide, is your supply fresh? This is important

as, especially after being opened a few times,

Hydrogen Peroxide reduces rapidly in its

effectiveness.

If stain removal isn't a significant part of your

business and, especially if you haven't attended a

specialist spot and stain treatment and removal

course in a while, it may be wise to brush up on

your skills before they are needed. Open a bottle

of red wine and pour some onto a preferably

wool and nylon carpet sample. Leave it for a few

days. You can repeat this exercise with as many

staining products as you choose. Any remaining

wine should be consumed at your earliest

convenience! When you've sobered up, read

through your NCCA Carpet and Upholstery

Cleaning Manual to refresh your memory of stain

removal procedures and techniques. Now

practice your skills on the samples until you have

them perfected.

You should now be well prepared and confident

in your abilities to deal with most of the disasters

that the festive season can throw at you.

Protecting your equipment in the colder weather

Now onto a slightly different subject... have you

got yourself prepared for winter this year?

Freezing nights and frosty conditions can play

havoc with our equipment and I have heard many

reports from colleagues who have been caught

out with frozen water pumps, trigger valves etc.

on their cleaning machines.

Personally, I have made a habit of draining water

pumps, hoses and tool valves at the end of the

day during winter; this will reduce the risk of

being caught out by the unexpected.

It is also wise to watch the weather forecast

EVERY day. For very cold weather, either heat

and/or insulate your van well or unload sensitive

equipment to a warmer place overnight. If you

don't work weekends, remember that Jack Frost

often does!

It also makes good sense to stock spare valves

and quick connectors for your tools. A day or two

waiting for spares to arrive through the post could

be a day or two's lost earnings.

Many of our cleaning solutions and other

chemicals are sensitive to freezing conditions too.

Expensive carpet protectors, in particular, can be

ruined by even a light frost, so check all of your

products' labels or contact your supplier for

advice.

newslink page 18

ecently, whilst cleaning carpet, I noticed a

dark shadow in the corner of my right eye. I Rwas particularly busy with a number of bookings

to go to that week so I dismissed it as something

that would probably right itself in a day or two. A

few days later I woke up and found my eyesight in

my right eye had

deteriorated noticeably. I got

myself down A&E where it

was diagnosed as a detached

retina and I was booked in

for surgery two days later to

restore the sight in my right

eye.

The reason I am writing

this article is that I believe

that moving very heavy

furniture, not to mention pulling heavy machines

up numerous flights of stairs in buildings with no

lifts, may have been a contributing factor to my

having had this problem, which has resulted in me

being unable to work whilst I wait for my vision to

improve after surgery.

Whilst recuperating I have decided to make

some long overdue changes to how I want to work

in the future. I want make my business about

cleaning and restoring carpets and upholstery, not

risking my health and energy straining to move

heavy items of furniture.

The vast majority of the many customers I have

worked for over the years have gone out of their

way to make the work easier (and safer) by

emptying those drawers and units that need to be

moved and removing heavy mattresses from beds

etc. However, there are some clients who just

don't seem to appreciate the risks to our health

and safety. I have found myself straining to move

king size beds with heavy mattress, complete with

side drawers packed with items, and even

furniture piled on top of the

bed just for good measure,

plus wardrobes and cabinets

packed with items.

Even if my detached retina

was not the result of the

many times I have strained

moving such items, I am

sure that if I continue to do

these things I am likely to

injure myself in some other

way (at some point) and could find myself unable

to continue earning a living doing the work I enjoy.

In view of this I have now amended my terms

and conditions to state that, whilst I am prepared

to move furniture where required, I will only do

this where units have been emptied, drawers

removed and heavy mattresses removed from

beds etc. I also reserve the right to refuse to move

items of furniture which are still heavy, or

unstable, if I believe there may still be a risk of

injury to myself or damage to the item if moved.

Going back to the importance of our looking

after our eyesight, I now always carry a bottle of

eye wash with me as well as making sure I wear

protective goggles when using powerful spotters

or solvent chemicals.

Anthony George (A.G Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning)A wake-up call

Continual lifting of heavy furniturecan cause long-term health problems

David CokerThe best way to build your business?

page 19 newslink

hat would you say is the best way to build

your brand, retain your clients, get repeat Wbusiness and generate referrals? Arguably it could

be said that a regular newsletter to existing clients

would be it.

Often a carpet cleaner will spend £30 - £50 or

even more to 'buy' a new

customer. How so? Well, the

cost of a new customer is the

cost of an advert or flyer, for

example, divided by the

number of jobs done. So an

advert that costs £100 and

brings in three jobs has cost

you around £33 for each new

customer.

If your newly acquired

customers are happy with the work you have

done, stopping there and not following this up

with continued contact afterwards would simply

be 'leaving money on the table'. After all, you have

invested money to acquire your new customers so

it makes sense for you to look after those

investments.

So… what is the cost of designing and sending a

regular newsletter? Well, let's suppose that you

send an A4 double-sided newsletter (that you print

yourself) to your client base every month. The cost

per issue including a current 2nd class stamp

would be around 60p per customer (or £7.20 per

year). That's considerably LESS than the cost of

acquisition. In fact, you could send a newsletter in

this way every month for about FIVE years to equal

the cost of acquiring the customer in the first

place.

What's more, if your minimum charge was a

modest £72, you could send them a newsletter for

TEN years and still break even, even if they only

used you again ONCE at the end of that ten years.

And just imagine what would

happen in the meantime...

1) Each contact in your client base

would have been reminded over

100 times about your service. No

more would customers say “I need

my carpet cleaning again but I just

can't remember the name of the

company I used”.

2) If your newsletter is interesting

and of value to your customers,

they may pass it along to friends or relatives. In

fact, just seeing your newsletter can prompt

friends to ask what it's all about, perhaps leading

to a conversation about the need for having their

carpets cleaned. And, of course, your name will be

on hand to pass on.

3) A regular newsletter has the potential to affect

how clients and prospects think about your

business (i.e. an expert). And that's very powerful!

4) Newsletters also get in 'under the radar'. They

are not perceived as a 'sales pitch' and can

therefore be used to educate and inform your

customers about other services without the usual

resistance to a ‘sales message’.

That's why I currently send a monthly newsletter

to around 750 of my clients every year. It works!

newslink page 20

The changing face of floor care Terry Guilford (The Ultimate Floor Sanding Co.)

hen I started my

career in floor W care you had

two options, 1) take a punt on

some equipment, advertise

and chance your arm or, 2) buy

a franchise. If you took the first

option you would probably

have made a lot of expensive

mistakes and a few enemies; if

you took the latter you would

have made fewer mistakes and

only one enemy, your bank

manager.

Nowadays, thanks to the

huge amount of training courses out there, you

can have the best of both worlds, all the help and

advice of a franchise and all the freedom that

comes with being an independent.

So what should you do with that freedom? Well

again, in the bad old days, a carpet cleaner just

cleaned carpets, a floor sander just sanded

wooden floors... and the stone cleaning guy? Well

they were rarer than unicorn do dah anyway.

When I branched out from carpet cleaning I

honestly thought that it would be an uphill battle

to convince clients (whose carpets I had cleaned)

that I could now fit and sand their wooden floors.

What took me by complete surprise was the fact

that clients trusted ME (it is difficult to believe isn't

it?!); they bought into the fact that I was quality

focused and assumed that if I said I could do it,

then I could! Since starting our UK floor sanding

network I have spoken to many carpet cleaners

about the opportunities out there; many have

rebranded as floor care experts and are really

feeling the benefits… in other words my

experience wasn't a one off, the client buys YOU

not the machines or brand.

By carefully choosing who you do business with

you can benefit from a mass of expertise

accumulated over many years. The best suppliers

work closely with their customers, which means

it's rare your problem has never been seen by

them before. There is no longer any reason to take

a chance on your machine choice (nothing worse

than making a large capital outlay only to find

page 21 newslink

you've bought 'a lemon'). A quality supplier wants

your long term business not just a quick buck, so

it's in his interest that your business succeeds. A

good friend of mine has an expression for this

mutually beneficial relationship, he calls it

‘Progress Through Partnership’ and he has it on his

business card.

The opportunities with wood flooring are huge

and growing. Over 10,000 square metres of wood

flooring is fitted in the UK EVERY DAY! As most of

this flooring is pre-finished, the client has no

experience of floor sanding until their floor is

worn, scratched or just tired looking; so who are

they going to ask about maintaining it... the guy

who maintains all their other floor surfaces, that's

who! A very successful carpet cleaner recently told

me “I am fed up with cleaning clients' carpets and

having to say I can't do the £500 worth of floor

sanding they require when they ask me about it”.

If the thought of floor sanding scares the hell out

of you, what about learning how to maintain wood

flooring using the tools you already have? Just like

every other floor surface, wood benefits from

regular maintenance and this market is woefully

under-served.

So, whatever branch of floor care you are

currently skilled in, if you want to progress your

business there has never been a better time to

diversify. There are opportunities out there not

just in wood but also stone and vinyl. January and

February are great months to broaden your

horizons, so why not book yourself on a training

course.

Damage to wood floors when cleaning soft furnishings

Over recent years, with the addition of

wood and laminate flooring to peoples'

homes, an increasing number of claims

have arisen in the following areas:

1. Overspray damage - caused by

insufficient covering of the floor around the

item being cleaned, allowing overspray of

either water or chemicals to settle. To avoid

this, always use a protective drop sheet.

2. Container damage - damage occurring

when bottles containing chemical products,

or buckets containing products/water, have

been placed directly onto the floor and the

product has dripped down the sides of the

container. Some form of protection for

cleaning products to stand on should

always be used.

3. Scratched laminate - damage occurring

when furniture is moved to enable cleaning

to be carried out. Ensure that furniture is

moved with care, lifting instead of dragging

where possible.

4. Heat damage - wood flooring can easily

be damaged by the heat generated by

cleaning machines. On good quality floors

the heat can damage the sealant/varnish

and on cheap laminates the heat can cause

the veneer to bubble and warp. Some form

of protection for the machine to stand on

should always be used.

newslink page 22

t the NCCA General Meeting, on Saturday

29th November, I gave a presentation on A Reducing Drying Times. There was a lively

and wide ranging discussion on the subject and I

thought those members who were unable to

attend might like a summary of the presentation

and discussion.

There are many reasons why keeping drying

times to a minimum is so important:

1) CUSTOMER SATISFACTION - Clients with carpets

or upholstery that stays wet for too long won't be

happy or recommend you.

2) PROFESSIONALISM - How professional do you

appear if you leave items wet for too long?

3) PREVENTION OF BROWNING/WICKING - Leaving

cellulosic fibres over-wet can cause cellulosic

browning and stains can wick back on some

carpets.

4) HEALTH AND SAFETY - Wet carpets are a slip

hazard, especially on stairs and adjacent to hard

floors. Reducing drying times shortens the hazard

duration.

5) INDOOR AIR QUALITY - Keeping moisture levels

in clients' homes down when cleaning helps

maintain indoor air quality.

6) MOULD PREVENTION - Mould spores will

germinate in damp conditions in twelve to twenty

four hours so if drying times are greater than

twelve hours mould growth will occur.

7) DRYER IS CLEANER - Finally, is the water left in a

carpet any cleaner than that in the extraction tank

of your machine? No. The dryer you leave a

Glyn CharnockDrying times

carpet, the cleaner it will be... provided you have

rinsed it sufficiently.

So how do we achieve rapid drying times?

Drying is the process of evaporation, defined as

'The change of state of a substance from a liquid

to a gas'. Molecules of water are in constant

motion so they have kinetic energy (movement

energy). The average kinetic energy of the

molecules is the temperature of the liquid. The

faster they are moving, the hotter it is. These

molecules are constantly bumping in to each

other, exchanging energy. When a molecule gains

enough energy it will 'escape' from the surface of

the water and become a gas.

As molecules with high energy escape, the average

energy of the liquid reduces so the temperature of

the liquid falls. This is why water cools a surface as

it evaporates.

The molecules trying to escape from the water

to become a gas exert pressure against the

liquid/gas interface, known as the Vapour Pressure

(VP). The hotter the liquid, the greater the VP and

page 23 newslink

the faster the liquid will evaporate. The graph of

VP against temperature for water looks like this;

When the temperature of the water reaches

100°C, the VP is equal to air pressure, around 760

mmHg (Torr), so water becomes a gas in the body

of liquid, forming bubbles, so the water boils.

Realistically, we are only dealing with room

temperatures of 10°C (empty house no heating in

winter) to 25°C (heating wound up just for us to

clean or high summer). Within this range of

temperatures, the relationship between VP and

temperature is roughly linear - double the

temperature and you double the VP so double the

rate of evaporation. So if a carpet takes 10 hours to

dry at 10°C it will take 5 hours to dry at 20°C.

Simple really.

So all we need to do to dry carpets is heat things

up, right? Well not quite. Humidity, ventilation, air

movement, surface area and fibre type all affect

the evaporation rate and hence the drying time

just as much as the temperature.

Humidity is the amount of water present as a gas

in air. It is expressed as Relative Humidity (RH).

This is the percentage of the total amount of

water air can hold at a given temperature. If RH

reaches 100% outside, it rains. Water returns to

liquid form in the air and falls as raindrops. If RH

reaches 100% indoors, water returns to liquid

form as fast as it evaporates, so nothing will dry

and evaporation stops.

At 10°C, 1 cubic meter of air can hold 9.4 grams

(9.4 millilitres) of water (not much when you think

about it). At 20°C 1m³ of air can hold 17.3 grams of

water, almost double. So temperature and RH are

directly linked. If air contains 5 g/m³ water, at 10°C

it has a RH of about 55%. If the same air is heated

to 20°C, the RH falls to about 33%, increasing the

rate of evaporation of any liquid water in the room

by 40%, even if the water in the carpet doesn't

warm up at all. If the water increases in

temperature as well (which it will if the air in the

room is heated), this increase in water

temperature will double the VP, halving the drying

time, plus 40% for RH 40% x 50% = 20%, so actual

drying time will decrease by 50% plus 20% = 70%.

So, a carpet which would take 10 hours to dry at

10°C will take just 3 hours to dry at 20°C. We can

reduce RH using dehumidifiers to remove water

vapour from the air but this takes time so isn't the

best method of drying carpets and upholstery.

Ventilation is a balancing act between

temperature and RH. If we introduce fresh air

from outside we are likely to reduce the

temperature in the room, reducing evaporation

Continued on next page

newslink page 24

rate, but we also reduce RH, increasing

evaporation rate. So, if it is raining outside, (RH is

100%), keeping the windows shut and warming

the room will speed drying more than opening

the windows.

Air movement has a number of effects on

evaporation rate. Firstly, it reduces air pressure,

increasing evaporation rate as the air isn't

pressing on the water as hard, allowing more

water molecules to escape from the liquid

surface. It also removes the escaping water

molecules, keeping RH at the surface of the liquid

down and allowing more molecules to escape.

This is something we can do really quickly so is a

more effective means of drying carpets quickly

than dehumidifiers.

The greater the surface area of the water, the

more likely it is for molecules to escape. In a

carpet, the surface area is increased as the water

coats the fibres, but only the tips of the fibres

allow evaporation, as the RH between the fibres

reaches 100% pretty quickly. If we can disturb the

carpet fibres and release the saturated air

between the fibres, for example by brushing the

carpet, drying will speed up. Grooming doesn't

just make the carpet look better, it speeds drying.

Finally, fibre type affects drying rates. Natural

fibres absorb water into the structure of the fibre.

To get this water out, it has to travel through the

fibre to the tips to escape, so drying is slow. With

synthetic fibres the water sits on the surface of

the fibre more, so can climb to the tips of the

fibres and evaporate more readily.

At the General Meeting, we then put the theory in

to practice. We talked about how to reduce the

amount of water we put into the carpet in the first

place, including pre-spray quantities and rinse

pressures, followed by how to get it back out

again, including hose length, vacuum motor

configuration in machines, choice of wand,

wanding techniques and much more. Then we

discussed post-clean methods for speeding drying

including air movers of different types and kit like

air cushions.

We also performed a test with three wands, a

standard wand, one with glides fitted, and an

Evolution wand. Using the same technique (one

wet pass followed by two dry passes), there was a

difference in moisture content which was obvious

just by touching the carpet, but we were a little

more scientific and used a moisture meter. We

repeated the measurements after lunch and the

results were interesting, but you had to be there.

I'm not going to tell you what we found, that's

what you miss when you don't go to the NCCA

General Meeting!

Continued from previous page

Wet underlay following aparticularly poor DIY clean, exactlythe sort of thing we want to avoid!

newslink page 26

n our work as cleaners of carpets and

upholstery, and possibly office cleaning and fire Iand flood restoration, an important aspect of our

service is to provide good sound advice to our

clients.

Manufacturers of carpets and

upholstery frequently provide care

pamphlets with their products but

these may not reach the consumer

and, if they do, they will probably

be filed away and forgotten.

Our client's attention should be

drawn to the fact that keeping soil

matter outside of the home and

workplace will inevitably serve to

maintain floor coverings in a

cleaner condition and extend their

life.

Here are a few common soiling problems, and

general suggestions on how to avoid these issues,

which can be recommended to your client

(however, bear in mind that ALL installations will

require a detailed study prior to cleaning and you

may find that, in some situations, the provision of a

more specific and detailed list of recommendations

is required):

1) Soiling/dust control mats should be placed

outside and directly inside the entrance doors of

both domestic and commercial buildings to prevent

soil matter being carried into the building from

outside.

2) Abrasive and sticky substances from spillages

occurring inside a building can be carried by foot

traffic to other areas of flooring causing premature

wear and soiling. The strategic placement of

appropriate matting next to interior doorways will

reduce the chance of soil being tracked from one

area to another.

3) In offices a high level of staining is caused by

spillages from over-filled mugs and

cups which are carried dripping to

desks, particularly when the

member of staff stops for a chat on

the way. Recommend the use of

trays and saucers and under-filled

containers.

4) In the home, small side tables

placed near to settees and chairs

will make it unnecessary to balance

food and drink on ones knees and

should reduce the possibility of

staining. Suggest the use of half-

filled bowls for crisps and nuts.

5) Emphasise the need for the correct and

immediate procedure in dealing with spillages of

liquids and sticky foods. All too often the desire to

save the feelings of a guest, who has spilt a glass of

red wine, results in a permanent stain.

6) Animal stains should be treated as a matter of

urgency using appropriate spotting materials and

procedures.

7) Attention should also be paid to the condition of

the installation. Recommend that carpets that are

inadequately anchored be re-fitted by a

professional fitter. Similarly, carpets possessing

'fullness and rucking' should be re-stretched to

avoid the delamination of secondary backings and

premature wear.

The owner of an item of furniture or floor

covering, which retains a good condition and

Cecil Aigin (Honorary Member)Good customer advice

Matting placedinside and outsideentrance areas canhelp to control soiling

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+ Worldwide Cleaning Support:

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appearance for long periods, is more likely to

spend money on its maintenance than on a carpet

that 'uglies out' soon after purchase and cleaning.

NCCA members are committed to carry out a

comprehensive and professional service. The

provision of sound advice, tactfully delivered, is a

major element of that commitment and will pay

dividends in enhancing the image of the member

and the long term relationship with a client.

newslink page 28

y wife Jackie and I recently attended

a rug cleaning course at the M premises of one of NCCA's

Corporate Member companies. I had previously

undergone training in rug cleaning some years

ago but unfortunately Jackie hadn't come with

me, which looking back I regretted. That's how I

ended up doing another similar course… because

I know from experience that when Jackie and I do

our training together we each pick up on different

ideas and information which, when combined, is

extremely beneficial to our business.

The two-day, hands-on course we attended was

instructed by Paul Pearce and covered rug

identification and cleaning as well as the different

types of problems encountered with rugs.

The day started with an introduction, including

the history of rugs, countries of origin, designs

and styles, constructions, dyeing techniques, fibre

identification (including burn and chemical tests)

and foundations and backings.

Next we moved on to pre-clean inspections,

obviously a hugely important part of any cleaning

process. Paul brought along loads of sample rugs

and we looked at identification, specific

conditions to inspect and document, how to

perform a colour-fastness test, condition reports

and how to brief your customer with what you

have found during your inspection.

We then moved onto the cleaning process.

Firstly we looked at the many challenges that rug

cleaning can present to us, such as shading,

yellowing, streaking, colour bleed/dye migration,

fungal/insect damage, browning, delamination,

water damage and mould contamination. We

then focussed on the various methods of

cleaning, including dry soil removal techniques

(beating), on-location versus in-plant procedures,

specific methods such as submersion cleaning

(portable rug washing kit), how to use spotting

treatments for stains and how to clean rug

fringes.

Lastly we covered drying methods and then

took at a look at the ‘finishing’ process, which

included grooming, protector application, final

Ray Austin (Ray and Jackie Austin)

You can never learn too much

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©Ja

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Au

stin

inspection, wrapping, storage and delivery.

Some people do not give due consideration to

things like grooming, wrapping and careful

storage, preferring to rush things through at the

end of the process. However, these things are all

actually a very important part of the whole rug

cleaning operation.

I’d like to finish up by saying what an excellent

day Jackie and I had. The course provided us

with lots of valuable information and ideas and

we were well looked after. It was also great to

meet up with fellow professionals and bounce

ideas off each other… DEFINITELY

recommended.

Why not write for Newslink?

Contributions to Newslink from readers are

always welcome, as are suggestions and new

ideas.

So.... if you fancy expanding your repertoire,

why not put 'pen to paper' and add 'author of

published article' to your skillset. Don't worry

if you feel your writing skills are not up to the

job, as all articles undergo an editing process

before they are included. What we need from

you is the knowledge and stories you

undoubtedly have.

Contributions can be regular, or simply a

one-off, it's entirely up to you.

We endeavour to publish all editorial

received and all contributions will, of course,

display your name as the author.

If you feel you'd like to send something in, or

have an idea, don't be shy, just give Nicky in

the office a ring on 0116 271 9550 or email:

nicky@ncca.co.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.

Email addresses

The NCCA are increasingly contacting

members via email to circulate relevant

Association information. As such, it is MORE

IMPORTANT THAN EVER that we have your

current email address logged on our database.

If you change your email address at any

point, could we ask that you please notify us

immediately so we are able to update your

details. This will ensure that you do not miss

any important information circulated by us.

To inform us of any changes, please email:

admin@ncca.co.uk or phone the NCCA office

on: 0116 271 9550.

page 29 newslink

Items for sale

newslink page 30

BUSINESS FOR SALESmall, long-established, reputable working carpet, upholstery and soft furnishings cleaning company.

Essex based. Owner Operator retiring. To be sold as a complete package only. Mobile HWE and dry

cleaning system. Domestic and commercial clients. Genuine interested parties only please to call 07903

497298 and leave details.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALEProchem 250 ft vacuum hoses for truck mount - £150.00. Chemspec hose reel for truck mount

plastic - £200. Prochem sadle tank for truckmount 227 litre/60 gallons - £250.00. Contact

aquadriinfo@btconnect.com for further information or contact Andy on: 07970 544806.

BUSINESS FOR SALESmall long-established reputable NCCA registered working business, specialising carpet, upholstery and hard floor cleaning. Northumberland based

owner/operator retiring. To be sold as a complete package only. Sign written 55 plate Iveco Daily van

with fitted Prochem Blazer Truck Mount. High pressure and extraction hose reels complete with

hoses, including wands, hard floor surface spinner 3 turbo dryers fans, 4 dehumidifiers, MMs Plus, Sebo

vac and duo, Rotary scrubber, plus lots of other equipment and chemicals. Plus a fully SEO website. Genuine interested parties only please. Call 01670

787185.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALEAshbys Sensei Carpet cleaning machine with dry cleaning facility, comes with dry clean hose and curtain hand tool and hose bag - £800.00. Dry

fusion rotary machine with drive board - £600.00. Power flite 500psi twin vac carpet cleaning

machine, only used as back up, two years old - £1400.00. Esprit Von Schrader upholstery machine still under warranty only used 5 times - £2500.00.

Ashbys power brush - £300.00. Ashbys spotting machine with hose and hand tool - £300.00. Ashbys V2 steam attachment only used twice - £300.00. All

Items plus VAT. If interested please call Peter on 07866 905 424, or 0208 850 2085, or Email:

peterscarpetcare@aol.co.ukBuyer collects from south east London.

TRUCKMOUNTBanclene truckmount complete with base unit,

stainless steel 80 gallon recovery tank, 100 gallon solution tank, 150 feet of vaccuum/solution hoses, floor, stair and various upholstery hand tools, inline

heater and misc parts etc. The van has been sold separately. Selling due to retirement and will

consider the highest offer. Call Derek at Aquamaster on 01845 537640 - mobile 07976

218304 or email: derek@aquamaster-yorkshire.co.uk

COMMERCIAL VACUUM CLEANERSebo BS 36 Comfort commercial vacuum cleaner

for sale. Excellent condition apart from a few scratches - hardly used. Includes three

attachments: dusting brush, upholstery tool & crevice tool - hardly used. Also 9 new waste bags and instructions. Excellent buy for £175.00 ono.

Collection only. Contact Andrew on 07730 203008.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE - IDEAL FOR NEW BUSINESS

Everything you need to start carpet cleaning, including: Ashbys Ninja adjustable up to 400psi with Dry Cleaning Functionality built in, 2 x25m vacuum hoses, 1 x silencer hose, 1 x wand, 1 x

upholstery tool, 1 x dry cleaning solvent tool. Sebo Duo agitator. Sebo Vacuum BS36. 1.5hp blower dryer. Truvox high speed buffer. Prochem Stain Removal kit. 2 x 6 litres pressure sprayers. 1 x 1

litre upholstery/spot sprayer. 1 x vinyl mat for Ninja and 1 terrapaulin sheet. Huge array of chemicals

including: Prochem Power Burst, Defoamer, Prochem Pre Spray Gold, Prochem Natural Carpet Cleaner, Ashby's supreme Anti Grease, Prochem Browning prescription, Prochem Fabric and Fibre Rinse, Ashby's Extra Fresh, Prochem Odour Fresh. Box of other bits including: shoe covers, brushes, polystyrene pads, measuring jugs, dry compound.

All in excellent condition. Selling as my second business is consuming all of my time. Selling for

£1950. Contact Richard on 07903 841534.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE3 Ozone plates 4'' x 6'' to fit Jetazone 600 ozone generator - £15.00 for the 3, plus £5.00 p & p. Please phone Pete Collins on 07885 804560.

Items for sale

newslinkpage 31

EQUIPMENT FOR SALEAirflex Storm 800psi, Solution hose 25ft(high

pressure), 25ft x 1.5" vacuum hose with 1.5" cuff fitted at each end, Westpak 4" stainless steel

hand/detailer tool with splash guard, 6" stair tool, Upholstery Pro Sapphire Hand Tool, HOST Reliant

agitator, Sebo BS36 upright vacuum cleaner, Dri-Eaz Air Mover Sahara E 3 speed, Magma heater 1313, Assorted horse hair brushes, Furniture Foam Snap Blocks x 360, Orion 6L Sprayer with nozzle set, 10 Litre Bucket x 2, Carpet Sliders x 8, pH Test Paper, Corner guard, Hose hook, Pumptec Powersprayer

BOM, Mesh hose bag. Assorted cleaning chemicals - some opened. Bereavement forces sale. Cost:

£4500 ONO (Bought as new in 2013 for £7500). All items used a maximum of 5 times so in 'as new'

condition. Please contact Jamie Edmonds at: Jledmunds@hotmail.co.uk. Tel: 07795 546037.

Items located in North Cornwall.

VAN & TRUCK MOUNT + EQUIPMENTVAN: Fiat Ducato 35 Multijet LWB / Only 3,200 Miles

/ Taxed April 2015 / Ply Lined / Linex Coated / Shelving. TRUCK MOUNT: Phoenix 570i / Only 91 Hours / LPG Gas Conversion / All Tanks Hoses &

Reels / Water Softener/Filter. EQUIPMENT: Evolution Wand / Pre Sprayer / Carpet Rack / Stair

Tool / Upholstery Tool / Ramp / Von Schrader Esprit Dry Cleaner. Genuine enquiries only please. Mobile:

07775 507227. Email: re_nulife@btinternet.com

VACANCY & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYExperienced full time Carpet and Floor Care

Technician required. Own van and equipment an advantage but not essential. Good business

incentive package (profit share or buy in). Area coverage M4 corridor from Bristol to London. Apply by email to glynn.norcutt@gnccontractservices.com

(with full CV, etc.) or telephone: 01672 871882 or mobile: 07831 172743.

MACHINERY FOR SALE CFR Paramount 1000 PSI machine - delivering 1000

pressure per square inch. 95 litre recycling tank, great for commercial and domestic work £600.00

o.n.o. Contact davidkendall40@aol.com for further information or phone David on 07768 667824 or

01277 824546.

TOOL AND CHEMICALS FOR SALEOne 5.4kg tub of host powder (unopened). Retails at

around £29 - only £12. Also Kleenrite curtain cleaning tool - £25.00. Contact Lester Gale

(oxfordshire) 07949 207777.

FREE CLEANFAX MAGAZINESAndrew Hoyland, of carpet cleaning company

Freshclean in Cheshire, is offering 75 FREE Cleanfax magazines (ranging from 1998 up to 2005) to

anyone who can come and pick them up. They are a few years old but still full of very useful information

for carpet cleaners. He lives in Lowton near Warrington. If interested please call Andrew on:

07973 399903 or email: hoylandandrew@hotmail.co.uk

EQUIPMENT FOR SALEVictor Sprite 12" Rotory Machine. Used once. Was

£855 - Accept £450. Collect from Coventry. Tel 02476 620444.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALEHOST freestyle (dry carpet cleaning system) VGC -

£1800... NO OFFERS. ASHBY'S NINJA 2X3 VAC 130psi (water heater needs fixing). Also included: 2 jet

wands, separate v2 steam kit, 2x hoses, 2x bags, 2x carpet rakes, Kleenrite upholstery tool, Prochem

power brush, 2x stair tools, 1x curtain tool. Excellent back-up machine, all can be used again after

servicing - £950 o.n.o. TURBO air mover Sahara Pro - £85 o.n.o. Dowding & Plummer contrator400

carpet/floor scrubber/polisher (slow speed - 105 rpm approx.) including buckets with stand and mops

and pads (also including a wet/dry vac). All can be used again after servicing - £450. Call Jon on 07736

512527 up to 8pm. Based in West Midlands.

The Association advises that all goods are checked to be in a satisfactory condition, and comply to electrical

and health and safety standards, etc.

It is recommended that equipment serial numbers should be checked to ensure the seller is the legitimate

owner.

The Association accepts no responsibility or liability arising from any transaction or dispute between the

buyer and seller.

Christmas Word search

49 Christmas related words have all been hidden in the grid below. You can find the words by looking

diagonally, forward, backward, up, and down.

See if you can find them.

Find these words

just

for fun!

BLITZER GOLD SACREDCANDLES GOODWILL SALESCARDS HOLY SLEDCEDAR ICICLES SLEIGHCELEBRATE LIGHTS SNOWBALLSCHRISTMAS TREE MERRY SPIRITCROWDS MIRACLE ST NICKDECORATIONS NOEL STARDONKEY NORTH POLE STICKERSELVES PARADES STOCKING STUFFERSEXCITED PINE STOCKINGSFAMILY REUNION POINSETTIA TOYSFESTIVAL PRESENTS TRAFFICFROSTY RED GREEN WASSAILINGGIFT BOXES REINDEER WRAPPING PAPERGIFTS RIBBON GINGERBREADMAN RUDOLPH