Friday 7 August 2015

Get the most out of your pressure washer

We love the summer here at Crisp and Brite, but let’s face it, there’s just no hiding dirt during the summer months! Before you know it, mud, mildew, pollen, and grass clippings can cover everything in sight – which is where a pressure washer comes in very handy!

Making short work of tough cleaning jobs, a pressure washer is a life saver in busy households. So we’ve written this quick blog to make sure you keep yours in the best condition possible!

Here are our very simple ways to get the most out of your pressure washer....


- Use a pump preservative when storing the machine over the winter to protect the pump against freezing and corrosion.

- Add fuel stabilizer to the gasoline before filling the pressure washer's fuel tank.

- When cleaning vertical surfaces, wash from the bottom up, and rinse from the top down.

- Pressure washer nozzles are usually coded to indicate the thinness and power of their spray. Make sure you know which to use for each job. As a general rule, use the broadest, lowest-pressure nozzle that will deliver adequate cleaning, because using too narrow a nozzle may cut into the surface you're trying to clean.

- Spray in a subtle area to test the nozzle before pressure-washing more visible areas. This way, if you are using too narrow a nozzle or find that you need to improve your technique; at least you won't harm a obvious surface.

- Hold the tip of the pressure-washing nozzle at an angle above the surface you are cleaning and at a distance to prevent damage.

- Be careful to avoid spraying water behind or under vertical surfaces such as lap siding, and into light fixtures, electrical outlets or soffit vents etc.

- Always keep the nozzle in motion to prevent the water cutting into and damaging the surface.

If you’re looking to buy a Pressure Washer you can see our range of fantastic models here. Call us on – 01509 881137 | 07949 403046 - for more information. 

Monday 6 July 2015

Carpet Cleaners Carnival

We will be at the annual Carpet Cleaners Carnival this year! 

There's only three months to go until the next annual Carpet Cleaners Carnival (CCC). 

The event takes place on September 12th, at Wicksteed Park in Kettering - the ideal setting for a great day out! 

Open to everyone, together with their friends, partners and children, the CCC provides an ideal opportunity to network and learn something new as well as have some fun. 


The event includes an exhibition featuring top industry manufacturers, suppliers and advisors from within and outside the Association... and we already have some excellent companies lined up to exhibit this year! 

There will also be a number of seminars held throughout the day. Speakers from a wide range of relevant fields will be giving presentations on a variety of subjects. From the technical aspects of cleaning, to marketing and improving your business, there will be valuable advice from some of the most recognised and well-respected experts in the industry.
 

To see full information on our fellow exhibitors booked so far click here.
Our slot!

Monday 15 June 2015

What’s happening at Chemspec

Here at Crisp & Brite, we supply commercial products to the cleaning industry. One of the brands we specialise in is Chemspec cleaning solutions and products associated with these industry experts.

As experienced suppliers, our knowledge of the cleaning industry enables us to recognise the very best cleaning products and supply them to our clients. Because we specialise in Chemspec products, this blog will offer you their latest Newsletter for you to have a read through...

Chemspec Newsletter
Here at Chemspec Europe at the end of May it is our Financial Year End and we thank our users and customers for making this another successful year.  We hope these Newsletters have been and will continue to be a good technical support and, if there are any topics that you would like to see covered in future issues, we will be very interested to hear from you.

Recently we understand that business for many of you has been picking up and this month we discuss some ways in which you can possibly boost your business and gain more satisfied customers and, we hope, more referrals.

Boosting your Cleaning can boost your business
The most successful carpet and upholstery cleaners are always looking for ways to boost their business and an important part of that is providing really good results.  Some try mixing different products together but this is a risky and often wasteful exercise.  There is, however, one product that will boost a detergent solution with amazing effect but it must be added to the correct base solutions.

Boosting Detergents
Energizer is one of our well established products that will boost the effectiveness of traffic lane cleaners, detergents and some spotters.  It excites the detergent molecule and boosts cleaning by adding oxygen without causing any fading to textiles and does, in fact, brighten the colours.  It should only be added to alkaline products that have a pH of 7 or above as it will neutralize the effects of acidic products like Haitian Cotton Cleaner so cannot be added to that.  So, to offer the best alkaline cleaning ever, add some Energizer to the solution when you clean and you will be amazed at the difference.


Choosing more effective detergents.
The pH of a cleaning product must be correctly selected to suit the fibres being cleaned.  Most Polypropylene and Nylon carpets will benefit from High pH (Alkaline) detergents like Powdered Formula 90 as, for these materials, more neutral or acidic products will require more wetting and more passes of the wand to achieve a lesser result.
More delicate fibres, like wool, can be adversely affected by high pH solutions, so appropriate products like OneClean, with its pH closer to Neutral, will keep the fibres soft and reduce the risk of damage to the stability of the dye colours.
Liquid Formula 90 can satisfy both requirements as its unique buffering qualities allow different dilution levels to significantly vary the pH value.

Improving Spot removal
Whilst a general purpose spot remover, like Professional Spot Lifter, can treat a variety of stains, a large number of spots and stains require the correct, specific products to be used in the right sequence.
To boost your approach to Stain Removal, always have a Professional Spotting Kit which, as well as creating a professional impression, also contains the required range of products needed for the wide variety of spots and stains to be encountered. Some stains need solvent based products, like P.O.G. for Paint, Oil and Grease type stains, others, like food based stains benefit from enzyme products like Liquid Enzyme Spotter and general soiling is often best treated with water based products like Professional Spot Lifter.
An essential part of Spot treatment is to be sure to use the right spotters in the appropriate situation.  Solvent products are far less effective on wet fibres and water based products are less effective on oily or greasy fibres so it pays to understand these issues and treat spots correctly.  A classic example is the need to remove the barrier of sugar and cream from coffee and tea stains with an enzyme product before treating any remaining staining to the fibres with dye removers like DyeGONE and Spray ‘N’ Go.

Stain removal can sometimes be boosted with heat or the use of a poultice and the application of Absorb-a-Stain is a brilliant but simple way to prevent stains like blood or ink from wicking to the surface after treatment appears to be completed.  Absorb-a-Stain is also valuable for body fluid removal.

Another easy way to boost your effectiveness is to always offer Protection to every customer.  Not only does this make your cleaning task easier next time but it is a more profitable use of your time and the material costs are low when using the high dilution possible with our very effective Stainshield products.  Applying Stainshield takes much less time than cleaning but often can be charged at the same price per square metre.

De-foaming
Customers sometimes use shop bought cleaning products and even washing-up liquid which can leave a high foaming residue before seeking a professional service.  Due to popular demand we have now re-introduced Crystal Defoamer which is sprinkled on affected carpets prior to cleaning to prevent machine foaming problems.

There are many ways to boost performance and, as always, knowledge is the key.  Training and study are important and those who strive for ever better results will usually prevail.  Also we are keen to help so please do not hesitate to contact us for assistance at any time.


Thursday 7 May 2015

Grip Soot from Chemspec

Customers tend to favour a company that can handle the cleaning and restoration of not just carpets and soft furnishings but also the hard surfaces in their homes and offices. This is even more true if you happen to have a large open fire in your home. For example, having cleaned the carpets and upholstery in a room with an open fire, it would be useful to be able to then clean the stone or ceramic fireplace or the timber beams that can show the dirt, soot and smoke contamination. In this case, an amazing product called Grip Soot can be used to great effect.

We sell Chemspec products because with over 40 years of experience, they have become market leaders in the provision of Professional Cleaning Products, Carpet Cleaning Equipment, Carpet Cleaning Training Courses and Carpet Cleaning Technical Advice & Aftercare to the Professional Cleaning and Restoration Industries.

A professional low odour latex restorer for most stone, wood and delicate surfaces, Grip Soot is a remarkable product from Chemspec Europe. It is perfect for restoring porous surfaces such as wooden beams or stone lintels that are ingrained with unsightly black soot staining. It is simply painted on to smoke damaged surfaces, left to dry and then peeled off by hand taking any ingrained soot with it.

Simply applied using a disposable brush, Grip Soot creates no spray or dust. The treated surfaces are then left for between 24 and 48 hours, depending upon conditions, before the latex is easily removed, by hand, a little like removing old wallpaper prior to redecorating. As it is a water based product it has no strong smell, unlike early types of latex restorer which used a strong ammoniated formula with a harshly strong smell.

Grip Soot is also excellent at removing environmental pollution and industrial contamination. Conventional cleaning methods are not all that effective in such situations and extreme measures such as high pressure washers or vigorous brushing can cause damage the surface. Even less destructive techniques, likes soda or dry ice blasting, can erode the surface.

Many professional restorers have already used Grip Soot with incredible results! With no mess and strong ammonia smell, Grip Soot can be used this on a variety of surfaces, from delicate limestone to bricks and wood surfaces.

This unique and remarkable product is available from us here. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to call us on - 01509 881137 or 07949 403046 for more information and advice