Big Red, Rusty Blue and Ancient Green Rug Cleaning Equipment

I manage to irritate a few people because I have opinions about Rug Cleaning and Rug Cleaning products and equipment.  I freely admit that Dusty, Tom Greg and all those chemical guys are great guys and I am sure even their mothers like them. While I admit they are nice guys I am not particularly nice and I make no bones about my opinions. I will explain why I feel the way I do. Keep in mind I do not sell equipment or  chemicals. As they say back home, “I got no horse in this race”.

Dusty makes nice equipment. I think he sells it fairly and if I didn't think that, I would say so. I also try not to be a shill for Dusty. He loves his Yorkster but for the life of me I don’t understand it so I do not recommend it. I think some people get confused when I speak about equipment they think I am speaking for Dusty. I have never seen Dusty post anything critical about the Rusty Blue team. I have been critical and when I do I speak for me.

Safe and Effective RugBadge Rug Duster

 My main concerns about Centrum Force are in two parts. Tom & Greg have on their website that you can use tubs to decrease your water consumption over floor or pit washing. I think that is reckless and risky. Tubs are OK but proper rinsing and flushing are crucial. I spoke to Paul Iskyan at Rug Renovating and nobody has more experience with tubs then Paul. He says that he Tub washes 5% to 10% of their total rug volume and that they rinse profusely. I told him about T&G’s claims and Paul said they sounded like guys trying to sell equipment. To be fair Centrum has a secret report proving that their system is safe and effective. But and this is a big BUT the report is secret and they won’t let me see it. I don’t like SECRET REPORTS. Imagine if Chevy had a report proving the Chevy pickup truck was way better than the Ford, do you really think they would keep it secret. I bet they would put it on their website and probably mail a copy to anyone and everyone who would read it. Vice President of the United States  John Nance Garner was once asked what he thought of being VP. Cactus Jack  replied that it was “Not worth a bucket of warm piss”. I feel the same way about Tom & Greg’s secret report. Until they get me a copy and let me read it and check the credentials of the “Testing Lab” I am not buying it.

My other criticism of Blue is rust. I was visiting a plant with a new blue spinner. I looked at the tube and patches of rust were showing. I warned them that they needed to touch that up. They told me they already had and it was back. It was less than one year old. I don’t know what they paid but had to be in the 50 THOUSAND DOLLARS range. For that kind of money there should be no visible tube rust.

I generally like MOR equipment. That being said I do not know anyone living who ever bought any MOR equipment new. My best understanding is that everyone who bought the equipment at Bon Ton, Hagopian, Rug Renovating, etc… is dead and the guys running the plants are mostly 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th generation.  My mentor and friend the late Uncle Jimmy Keshishian bought a complete MOR/Moore plant years ago. Uncle Jimmy is dead but many of you may know his son Mark Keshishian who is active on FaceBook. Jimmy sold his MOR plant shortly after buying it. He found the MOR washer so destructive that he did not feel it was safe for antique rugs. That was Jimmy Keshishian, he was a past president of the Armenian Rug Society, the group that is now RIA and the senior Oriental Rug appraiser for the AAA. Jimmy wrote the exam that AAA appraisers must pass. He was no lightweight in the field. But I also know good men who wash rugs with MOR equipment. 

Personally I like the MOR equipment for dusting, the MOR press for wringing the water out of a rug and I have had good experiences with the MOR drying room and hoist system. If I were setting up a production shop today I would consider MOR if I could get a great deal on good used equipment. I like the roll press but unless it was a lot cheaper I would rather spend the money on a good centrifuge with a stainless steel tube. I have been in Paul Iskyan’s Rug Renovating the highest volume rug washing plant in the USA and maybe the world. Paul uses old MOR equipment but he junked the washer and his crew washes the rugs primarily on a wash floor. I have it on good authority that most of the top MOR operators have work arounds for the MOR washing problems. Rug Renovating also uses large stainless steel tubs for a small percentage of their cleaning. I also have to note that Rug Renovating regularly provides services that are too advanced for most rug washers. I consider those tubs specialty equipment and not something the average washers wants or needs.

So that is the way I see it. If I am off base feel free to call me on it. I will make space available for opposing opinions. As for the colors Rug Badger is Big Red, Centrum Force is Rusty Blue until they fix the tube rust problem  and MOR is an old fashioned solution that I call Ancient Green. The colors are from the color the equipment is painted from the factory.

BTW I reserve and retain all copyright.

I will expand more on this later but for now I will add this to this blog post:

Best of luck to Stephen Dusty Roberts. He is in secret negotiations with a major player in Automated machinery. They want to move in an completely change the parts, service and repair of big equipment such as Moore Plants as well as the other brand name rug cleaning equipment. If you own a MOR you no longer need to go to the characters in Michigan for authentic Moore Replacement parts. You know how expensive parts have gotten these guys will not just beat the new prices but they can often beat the old prices on Moore, Connersville MIRZA and the Cleve-O-Matic.  Resurfacing and replacing Moore compression wringers is no longer a checking account busting nightmare, you can now buy at reasonable prices from men of integrity. Buying Authentic Moore replacement parts should not have to be like shower time in prison. 
Don't let Tom get More out of your Wallet, get More out of your Moore.

Build a Better Spinner and the World Will…

Congratulations to Dusty Roberts on the big increase in equipment sales especially Centrifuge sales.  The new ad campaign featuring a comparison between the Rug Badger spinner and the lesser machines is really drawing interest. But Dusty has a secret weapon in the Spinner Wars, Dusty doesn't just tell people to ask the man who owns one he tells people to ask the guys that own the other brand. Dusty has a growing number of Blue Guys who are telling prospects that they bought the wrong machine.

What I don’t get is why the blue guys don’t focus on making their spinner as good as the Rug Badger.  It would make more sense to fix the rust problems and the speed deficiencies then throwing it all away to focus on reviving the ancient green brand.  Dusty keeps marching into the future while blue looks for business miracles in the past. Did you see their Tumbler, Where are you going with 100 year old technology?

http://www.rugbadger.com/rugrevolutions.html

I think Dusty keeps his eye on the ball and invests back into building better equipment. He believes that R&D is more important that sucking money out of the business to buy mid-life crisis convertibles.

Be sure to read:
Big Red, Rusty Blue and Ancient Green Rug Cleaning Equipment 

Carpet Collector Magazine

Very nice new Oriental Rug magazine in English and German. Carpet Collector is devoted exclusively to antique rugs and textiles. This new magazine is aimed at all fans of this fascinating topic. The editorial spectrum is correspondingly broad: auction reports, book presentations, reports from collectors’ meetings, reports about the important rug collections of major museums,  presentations of exceptional collector’s rugs and essays by international rug experts. www.carpet-collector.com

TYVEK – Better Rug Cleaning Through Science

TYVEK – Better Rug Cleaning Through Science

Dusty Roberts copied me on this and I thought it was to good to throw away. Dusty is a funny guy in that on an intellectual level he likes social media and blogging but on a personal level he will send emails all day and never bother to blog the better ones.

Protecting Fragile Rugs:

If you get a wide roll of TYVEK type of housewrap you can protect weaker rugs and smaller rugs from the RugBadgers Vibro-Straps.

Just cut an oversized piece and lay over the back of the rug or group of small rugs that are for Badgering. Viola, problem solved.

Now there is more you can do with the big roll of TYVEK.

1. Use it to Badger nasty rugs on top of for photo opportunities to put in your brag book/web site etc
2. Use it to wrap rugs for long term storage. Make it policy to always ask all clients if they want any of their rugs wrapped for storage. If they say yes then charge between .35-.55 per square foot of the rugs size to wrap. 
-make sure you take a photo first and print it. Write on the back of the pic the size etc so that 2 months or 20 years later someone will know what this wrapped up rug is. 
-roll on a carpet core to keep it stiff. Get the core from a carpet store bin and cut them 2 feet longer then the rug is wide. 
-Roll the rug up onto the core and tie it securely. 
-Wrap in the TYVEK with the printing on the outside.
-Attach a clear paper sleeve to the outside and put the photo in the sleeve
-use the overhanging core to carry the rug and to hang from a garage/basement ceiling as this will keep vermin/water/bugs out.

Benefits of the TYVEK
-breaths and will not trap moisture
-resists water
-keeps bugs out
-keeps dust off
-looks professional.