In this issue:

Missed the last issue? You can read it in full here…

Remember Ian Brewer? We last covered his Woking-based venture Clean & Gleam back in September when he was cleaning ancient church floors. Before that, he reported on how he was cleaning yacht club cafés. Now he’s definitely taken the plunge…

Yes, Ian is on the water. The intrepid professional has won the contract to carry out deep cleans on a variety of boats on the Thames in London.

“It’s fantastic – great fun,” he enthuses. “I have now carried out four renovation cleans for a boating leisure company called Riverscapes based at Hampton Court.”

“Natasha and partner Klaus started the business three years ago and now their super cruisers are very popular with visitors to the city from the world over.”

Klaus’s nautical connections are deep-rooted, it seems.

Says Ian: “When I asked him how they got into the boating game, he explained that back in 1918 his grandfather patented the technology that effectively corrected the bulkhead fault that ultimately sealed the fate of the ‘Titanic’.

After that terrible tragedy, it seems he was a man on a mission to ensure it never happened again – spreading his love of boats through the next 2 generations as Klaus’ father was chief engineer on a tanker in the British Merchant Navy and Klaus now has 19 for me to clean!”

Ian’s lined up his favourite Prochem solutions for tackling the little ships’ interiors.

“I’m regularly using Microsan, Multi Pro, Clensan, Crystal Green, Prespray Gold, Liquid Woolsafe, Leather Cleaner, Leather Conditioner and Odour Fresh,” he tells us.

“It’s a wide range but then I’m tackling diverse surfaces and fibres aboard the boats.”

Riverscapes seem mighty impressed with the outcome.

“That’s thanks to Prochem products, my training with them, and consequently a real understanding of product application,” says Ian.

Natasha takes up the story from their side of things: “we were looking for a carpet and upholstery cleaner local to our boats in Hampton Court.  We had five different companies come over and give us a quote: all of them seemed negative and unenthusiastic about the work involved; and then we met Ian.”

Says Natasha: “All we have is over-flowing high praise for this professional. Not only did he do the carpets and upholstery, he has now absolutely deep cleaned four of our boats from top to bottom, inside and out plus he has done my carpets at home!

“Our boats are now sparkling and we intend keeping Ian as a regular.”

www.riverscapes.co.uk

Prochem retains a pole position in the UK cleaning marketplace with roll-out of new as well as tried and tested solutions at this month’s (March) 2019 Cleaning Show at ExCel, London.

Visitors to this major European show can find the Prochem team on Stand G15 and a selection of working machines will also be on the NCCA stand at The Carpet Cleaning Village.

Leading the charge is the latest entry to the company’s premium Endeavor extractor range with a hard floor solution that’s going to be hard to beat.

Riding at the top of the range, this unit boasts a 1000psi Cat induction motor pump, 8.4 inch 2 stage vacuum motor (from the SX9500 Endeavor), vacuum motor float switch, auto fill and auto dump systems.

It generates enough pressure and flow to run the E275 Revolution Tile and Grout tool, while adding a wand will also allow the unit to be used for carpet.

Come the floods, comes Prochem’s new Floodbuster FB50.

This unit is the ideal flood-sucker, capable of taking in waste water and automatically pumping it to a destination of choice.

Its pump exhausts waste liquid through a 1 ½ inch hose and can handle solids of 1 inch in diameter if required.

Finally, a useful add-on to a very popular smaller machine: the Galaxy AX500 now has the ability to heat its own water via the AC3001 Heat ‘N’ Run upgrade.

Complementing the newcomers on show will be a selection of Prochem’s most popular cleaning machines such as the Polaris 800, the go-to midrange walk-behind unit for those large areas and corridors, incorporating a cylindrical brush for carpet pile agitation, twin 2-stage vacuum motors and a 120 psi pump.

Also on display will be the SX2100 Steempro Powermax; an established favourite with most carpet cleaners, its reliable 150psi induction pump and twin 3-stage vacuums give all the performance that is required, for professional carpet and upholstery cleaning.

On a smaller scale but no less potent, the walk-behind Fivestar has become the darling of care home cleaning and features a single 2-stage vacuum, 85 psi pump and rotary brush for carpet pile agitation.

And for those tighter-still areas, there’s the Bravo Spotter – Prochem’s small spotting machine with a 50-60 psi pump and 2-stage vacuum motor, rounding off a truly comprehensive cleaning technology offer at The Cleaning Show, all on one stand.

For many cleaning professionals, Prochem stands for specialism as well as quality.

Rounding off this year’s technology releases showing on Stand G15 will be wide range of speciality spotting stain and removal products including Citrus Gel, Stain Pro, Coffee Stain Remover and Ink Solv.

Prochem Europe has freshened up its web site.

The new-look site at www.prochem.co.uk is modelled on the company’s dedicated news resource at www.prochemcleaningnews.com

It is optimised for mobile phones and tablets, and features an enhanced online sales shop.

Says sales manager Phil Jones: “the internet never stops developing and we felt the time had come to seize on more of the new marketing opportunities it offers.

“This site complements its news sister site, making the journey from one to the other cleaner and easier. It’s also been optimised for mobile use and integrated with our social media activity.”

The site also hosts news, distributor information and locations, safety data sheets, manuals and more.

Another key feature is the new e-commerce facility.

“It’s basically easier to navigate and buy from. Now anyone unable to get to a Prochem distributor can source our products simply and quickly using the most up-to-date secure logistics and payment systems,” says Phil.

Prochem Europe’s new 2019 catalogue is hosted on the site, as are up-to-date prices.

“It’s as good a place as any to start!” says Phil.

More at prochem.co.uk/catalogue-price-lists-policies

Also new: the 2019 cleaning technology and solutions catalogue from Prochem Europe is designed for blended use with its latest web site, now with comprehensive e-commerce functionality.

Prochem is a long-standing market leader in floor and surface cleaning. New to its machines ranges this year come four truck-mounted extractor models in the Legend GT 2018, Peak 500, Apex 570 and Everest 870 HP.

Truck mount launches

The latest model Legend GT 2018 builds on this brand’s legacy of price, performance and dependability. The unit now delivers enhanced performance and longer life with single-stage finned tube exhaust heat exchange, a corrosion-resistant aluminium frame, and new oil cooler.

Also for carpets and upholstery, the new Peak 500 features Kawasaki’s liquid-cooled 31 HP engine with digital fuel injection and enough heat and vacuum to run two 4-jet wands. Maximum heat is quickly available and the new generation power unit has low fuel use at only 3.78 L per hour, making it the lowest-cost fuel-efficient machine in its class.

A dual-operator truck mounted carpet, upholstery and hard surface cleaning system, the Apex 570 features power from a liquid-cooled Kubota petrol engine to the proven Gardner Denver TriFlowR Rotary Tri-Lobe vacuum blower: the go-to solution for carpets, hard surfaces and flood extraction on larger commercial contracts.

The new Everest 870HP is the culmination of 50 years of Prochem innovative engineering. It is a triple operator truck mounted carpet, upholstery and hard surface cleaning system, which delivers serious power for the most serious cleaning and restoration professionals.

With a Kubota 57 hp 4-cylinder, liquid cooled, fuel-injected engine paired with a Eurus vacuum blower the 870HP delivers truly industry leading power, performance and durability. With 20% more vacuum than any other truckmount, plus the exclusive E-idle system saving up to 23% fuel, the Everest 870HP is the most powerful cleaning unit for carpet cleaning, flood extraction and high pressure cleaning.

Prochem’s Galaxy carpet and upholstery soil extractor can now be fitted with a heat ‘n run in-line heat exchanger and formulation enhancements have also been made to some Prochem chemicals.

Look out for A257-05 Stone & Tile Clean; formerly Stoneclean, its formula now has a milder pH and improved foaming and detergency, making it suitable for use in the multi-surface CR2 machine.

Training in 2019

The 40-page brochure, split almost evenly between machines and chemicals, also takes in details of Prochem Europe’s substantial training courses for the year.

With over 40 years of experience in running professionally recognised courses, its programme covers all of today’s key floor and fabric cleaning disciplines.

Courses individually cover carpet, upholstery and hard floor cleaning as well as stain removal. Each includes face-to-face instruction and step-by-step demonstrations by dedicated Prochem trainers with delegates each receiving a comprehensive reference manual to help put into practice what’s been learned.

Web site upgrade

One key change to the long-standing Prochem Europe annual catalogue is the omission of prices. These have been migrated to the company’s new e-commerce site at www.prochem.co.uk

Says sales manager Phil Jones: “Pricing is always subject to fluctuation in any business. For accuracy and convenience’s sake, we’ve posted all our pricing now on our new web site which now features an uprated e-commerce section covering our entire product line.

For your copy of the new Prochem Europe catalogue, call 020 8974 1515. Can’t wait? View it online via this link …

Prochem’s Powermate 1200 powerwand is up for an Award from Tomorrow’s Cleaning Magazine.  Let’s power it to the top and make it a winner!

It’s easy to vote!

Read about this fabulous bit of kit here and just click on the link at the foot of the page to vote for it.

Or if you know your Powermates, go now to www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TCAwards19 !

Crack on, though … voting ends March 15^th

The Approved Carpet Cleaners Alliance is holding its annual TACCA Day in June and Prochem Europe is going to be there.

The company’s stand will showcase its latest cleaning machines and chemicals as well as host stain removal demonstrations.

TACCA Day takes place on June 1^st at Crewe Alexandra FC’s ground in Crewe.

Formed in March 2011, TACCA is dedicated to raising the public profile of the cleaning profession and helping its members reach more customers.

More at www.tacca.co.uk

Ever had a job just too big for your wet pick-up vacuum cleaner?

Had to keep emptying the pickup bin, or not been able to remove enough of a flood? Had to turn a job down because you don’t have the equipment to deal with a substantial flood?

None of us want to disappoint a customer but there is a solution: it’s all in the perfect package that’s the Prochem Flood Buster FB50.

This unit incorporates a 35 L pick-up tank with a pre-filter to ensure large objects do not make it to the waste liquid tank. The suction is created by a 5.7in vacuum motor through a 25ft 1.5 in hose. The open end of the hose can just be inserted into the flood: the motor is float-switch operated so that it turns off before ingesting any water.

When the FB50 reaches capacity, the float-switch operated waste pump is automatically switched on. This can deal with solids up to 1in. in diameter and move 50 gallons of waste liquid a minute through a 1.5in hose up to 50ft long, which allows waste to be pumped to a nearby drain.

The constant switching of the unit allows it to move waste liquid without having to empty it; and it balances the waste water between sucking up and pumping out automatically.

The Flood Buster FB50 comes with a squeegee head and aluminium wand to allow you to fully dry the surface being worked on.

Now when you’re asked, you’re well placed to bust that flood!

For cleaning professional, Marcus Davis, the secret to a successful contracting business in a very challenging and competitive market is to focus on what the customer wants and craft a solution that looks the part and does the job.

That term ‘professional’ is another keyword in Marcus’s marketing: given he runs The Professional Cleaning Co, it’s all about ‘doing what it says on the van’.

Tunbridge Wells is the base of operation for this small, family-run business. Prochem technology and solutions fuel it.

Marcus has recently taken delivery of a brand new Sapphire 370SS truck mounted extractor, which Prochem’s Chessington technician team installed into his new Renault Traffic.

The Sapphire 370SS delivers maximum performance in half the space. Its new and innovative design  employs trusted components combined with ingenious use of space and heat exchange technology to simplify operation and maintenance and ensure the longest service life at lower cost.

And with only 16″ console width, the 370SS fits into smaller vans.

For Marcus, growing business has all been about scaling things back a bit.

“I’ve reduced the service offer, so that means no more jet washing or tenancy cleans,” he tells us. “Our focus is on doing the most profitable work better than anyone else and being cleverer about it.

“For example, I was using a VW Crafter van before. It was great in that I could cram into it the tech and solutions I needed for a multiple service offer, but was then massively set back by the fact I couldn’t park on the street half the time because of its size.”

Marcus’s revision of what he does comes 10 years after he started in cleaning, working for his neighbour.

“I was working in sales and marketing in London and on being made redundant stopped and had a re-think,” he says.

“So, I started working for my neighbour who was running this business. Four years later I bought it off him. Then I realised I needed to know more about cleaning if I was to be better than the other businesses I was competing with.”

Marcus put himself on Prochem courses. He has attended all of them and his certificates are all uploaded to his web site.

“Training brought me confidence, not least the confidence to slow down, to take matters in hand and be considered about what I was doing,” he says.

“Whereas once upon a time we were just throwing Prochem Power Burst detergent at everything, now I have the knowledge to blend solutions and marry them to technique.”

The Professional Cleaning Co carries out carpet and upholstery cleaning and 90% of its business is residential.

“This is a relatively well-to-do catchment area,” says Marcus, “but consequently there is a lot of competition for this business.

“I previously employed people, now I am a one-man band and have much more control over service.

“I’m registered with the NCCA, Woolsafe and Checkatrade and the website does a good job of getting over my business ethos. I don’t do social media – I don’t like its culture.”

Marcus only buys Prochem.

“I still use Power Burst – it’s a terrific product – and I also rate Fab Clean, which is wonderful on upholstery, Fibresafe Gold, Crystal Green and all of the spotters,” he says.

And the new Sapphire? “One hundred and fifty hours on the clock and it hasn’t missed a beat!”

www.theprofessionalcleaningco.com

Hard floors present fresh challenges to the cleaner. And it’s as often more about the environment, than what’s on the floor.  

Different environments can mean different chemistry required to deal with soiling.  There are various flooring constructions in use and not all are straightforward to clean: studded rubber flooring, for example, is deemed to be chemical-sensitive when it comes to cleaning.

And there are many different types of hard floor environments.

Commercial kitchens are subject to oil, grease and food soiling.

Leisure centres vary in terms of use: café areas present food and drink spills, high density traffic lane soiling, training shoe marks and more.

Swimming pools and changing rooms present lots of limescale and soap build up.

Airports and schools have to cope with foot traffic, rubber from trolleys, case wheels and mud, as well as the obligatory coffee spills etc.

Healthcare is a huge market for hard floors: body fluids, medicine spillages, heavy foot traffic and sanitising issues are day-to-day occurrences in many.

As if this wasn’t quite enough to be getting on with, these areas often operate round the clock, presenting contractors with the problem of finding a time suitable to clean.

There are many hard floors and they all present differing usage issues.

Marble is commonly used in Middle East hotels but is constantly under attack from sand blown or brought in on foot. It’s a problem that would be solved largely by correct entrance matting but then that spoils the aesthetic look of the floor, claim the building owners.

The fact remains that cleaners can v-sweep the area all day and night but once the marble is scratched and dulled, there is time consuming work ahead to put it right.

Hard floors get worked hard. High heels, scuff marks, chewing gum, right down to heavy items being dropped can sometimes render them beyond repair.

It’s worth noting that cleaning is the process of removing soils and dirt; it’s carried out on a systematic basis to help ensure the floor looks good and does its job.

Restoration is repairing.

Most marks or soiling can be removed with the correct methods and products, but not in all cases. Cleaners are not miracle workers.

Prochem offers an extensive range of cleaning machines, equipment, accessories and specialised chemical products for cleaning and maintenance of hard and smooth floors and carpets. What drives customers back to the company is the experience it can share with them.

That ‘shared experience’ comes in the form of training: knowledge, and the confidence to share it, are crucial to explaining to a potential new client what is possible and what is not.

Outlining what is wrong before you start work is acceptable; after the event, you are making excuses.

Tip: Even in this day and age, some buildings do not have sufficient, or sometimes any, entrance matting installed. These are not ‘considerations’, they are necessities, removing a lot of soiling from foot traffic before it gets tracked into the lobby/reception. Be confident; be the expert: recommend your customers ensure they have them installed.

Train now!

Why not find out more about hard floor cleaning right now? The next course is on March 12^th at Prochem’s dedicated training academy in Chessington, Surrey.  Booking now at prochem.co.uk

Check out forthcoming dates for training, from now until summer …

There’s a Two-day Carpet Cleaning course being held April 30^th/May1^st and a One-day Carpet Cleaning course on March 26^th and May 14^th  – both in Chessington.

Need to know more about settee and sofa care? Go for the May 15^th One-Day Upholstery cleaning course.

Plus we have a Hard Floor Cleaning Course taking place on March 12^th, June 25^th, and a Stain Removal Course on March 27^th

Chessington too far south?

No problem. Why not plan ahead? Join the One Day Carpet Cleaning course in Manchester on October 1^st and, for enhanced information about stain removal, this is followed the next day, on October 2^nd, by the One Day Stain Removal course.

All your options online now at prochem.co.uk/training-courses

Don’t forget that Prochem is accredited by WoolSafe and hosts their training courses at its Academy in Chessington.

Ideal for cleaners who have already reached a reasonably high level of competence and experience in cleaning carpets and rugs, this course is an essential reference and resource for those concerned with maintaining residential (domestic) or commercial (contract) wool carpets and rugs, whether they become a WoolSafe-Approved Carpet Care Specialist or not.

The next One Day WoolSafe course will be held on Thursday, 2^nd May, 2019.

Find out more here or call us on 020 8974 1515.

Prochem Europe training courses are now accepted by the IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) as Continuous Education Credit (CEC) courses.

The IICRC is a US based standards and certification body for the cleaning and restoration industry and has a global presence with offices in the UK, Australia and Japan.

There are currently over 59,000 IICRC certified registrants worldwide.

Around 600 in the UK can now add Prochem, not only as one of the UK’s primary training organisations for carpet and upholstery cleaning professionals, but also as one which can provide the credits needed to help maintain IICRC accreditation if they are following the IICRC certification program.

Prochem courses included as IICRC CEC courses include:

• The C1 – One-day carpet cleaning course (7 IICRC CEC’s)
• The C2 – Two-day carpet cleaning course (14 IICRC CEC’s)
• The U1 – One-day upholstery cleaning course (7 IICRC CEC’s)
• The HF1 – One-day hard floor cleaning course (6 IICRC CEC’s)
• The SR1 – One-day stain removal course (7 IICRC CEC’s)
• The WS1 – WoolSafe Fibre Care Specialist course (This course is hosted by Prochem on behalf of The WoolSafe Organisation) (7 IICRC CEC’s).

The IICRC is a non-profit organisation supported in the UK by the NCCA (National Carpet Cleaners Association). The NCCA is one of many trade associations who are shareholders of the IICRC and have a seat on the board of directors.

IICRC certified registrants require 14 CEC’s every four years to retain their IICRC certification, unless they are designated “Master Textile Cleaner”, “Master Water (damage) Restorer” or “Master Fire & Smoke (damage) Restorer”. These designations require 14 CEC’s every 2 years.

One CEC is earned for each hour of training. IICRC CEC’s can only be earned via pre-approved IICRC events. All Prochem courses now earn IICRC CEC’s.

For more information on training courses please visit prochem.co.uk/training-courses or contact Prochem Training Department on 020 8974 1515.

If you are cleaning carpets, you should be cleaning upholstery, too. There are good margins to be had and you are already on site with the customer – so what’s there to lose

Well, reputation for a start. Because measured call-by-call, the highest percentage of enquiries to the Prochem technical line are about upholstery cleaning.

It seems some folk are not always aware of the risks they are taking by not having the facts to hand before they set to work on fancy settees.

Most cleaners are aware of the potential problems that carpets can throw at them: colour bleed, shrinkage, browning and stretching, to name a few.

But too many seem not to be up-to-speed with upholstery’s risks, too.

Similar potential problems encountered in carpet cleaning are also present in fabric cleaning, plus the added risk of distortion to cut-pile velvet fabrics.

Fabric sofas are often of higher value than the carpets they stand on. Damage one and the bill to replace it could be considerably higher than the one you were charging to clean it.

On a Prochem upholstery cleaning course, you can learn how to test for dye bleed, make a shrinkage test, identify possible natural lignin-dye risks, and learn which velvets can be wet-cleaned without issue and those that can only be dry-cleaned.

Know these things, put that knowledge into practice, and you will be best placed to increase prices and profit margins.

Here are some images sent to us by operators that have come a cropper cleaning  upholstery the wrong way …

A sofa, clean perhaps but now also ‘browned off’ … like the customer!

The next One Day Upholstery Cleaning course will be held on Wednesday, 15^th May.  For more information about this and Prochem training courses, visit prochem.co.uk/training-courses

Your questions answered …

Q

Can you help with this upholstery problem? I’m not sure what the fabric is but it looked like velvet and felt like a “skinhead haircut”. Anyway, it’s come out looking like this with all these lines across the fabric and the customer’s not very happy.

A

Unfortunately, this is irreversible. Further investigation revealed the fabric to be a natural cotton, cut pile velvet.

It should have been dry-cleaned. The wet cleaning process you used has caused a pile distortion to the fabric.

Natural velvet fabrics should be dry-cleaned (with no water contact) i.e. with a solvent like Prochem Fine Fabric Solvent Cleaner.

When you do this, there is a basic test which an unsure operator could do to decide between wet or dry cleaning – it’s called the ‘wet test’.

Dip your finger in some water and, finding an inconspicuous area of the fabric, spin your wet finger on the fabric. Then wipe it with the back of your hand, ideally attempting to realign the pile. If the mark is fully removed, it could probably be wet cleaned. If not, then opt for a safer dry cleaning method.

Lastly, book yourself on a Prochem upholstery training course to learn this and many other risk management tests!

Q

I’m on site at a hotel at Heathrow Airport to see if some ink spilt by some unruly children on a wool carpet during a wedding function could be removed. The staff here have tried numerous products to no avail. Can you help?

A

Yes, apply a small amount of Prochem Ink Solv to a cotton bud and hopefully you will get some transfer of the ink to the bud.

Result!

If you do, feed a small amount onto the ink mark and leave for two minutes before rinsing the residue out with Prochem Fibre and Fabric Rinse.

Readers – it worked!

Prochem were later invited to provide carpet care and stain removal products and advice to all the chain’s hotels, and one lucky distributor picked up the entire account!

And don’t forget – you can find more handy advice on cleaning on our web site.

Check out our Technical Help Guides at this link:  prochem.co.uk/cleaning-technical-help-guides