Tub Washing or Reckless Tub Washing?

You may also want to visit: Lawsuit over Chlorine and Oriental Rug Washing

For well over a year I have been concerned with the trend towards Tub Washing of Oriental Rugs. Tub washing in its self is not a bad thing in fact in some cases tub washing is a great idea. Paul Iskyan of Rug Renovating the world’s largest rug washing plant uses tub washing for 5 to 10% of his total volume. But one company has been pushing the idea that any size rug plant can load up all their rugs in tubs which they sell and wash all the rugs together. In my surveys 80% or more of all rugs coming in for cleaning have pet contamination primarily dog and cat urine. Tom Monahan of Centrum Force has assured me personally that Tub washing with their chemicals is safe and effective and he has a lab report that proves his claims. But Tom won’t release the report. Now Tom has admitted in a public forum that he uses Dichlor in the bath. Dichlor is a granular pool chemical commonly used to “Shock” a pool or hot tub by turning to Chlorine Bleach in water. This is so shocking (pardon the pun) that it is best if we read what Tom had to say:

Here is exactly what Tom M posted on a discussion board”

“We use Sodium-Dichlor, as do a number of Centrum Force® wash tub owners. A cup or two for 1200 gallons of water. Tests have proved that this is sufficient for our intended purpose. We do not use it purposely to eradicate urine. We remove Urine by using another product. We saturate a rug with U-Turn chemistry, allow at least 30 minute dwell time, and then flush with water using our Centri-Maxx® horizontal centrifuge.

The reason we use granular Sodium-Dichlor in the wash tub has an obvious two fold objective.

1: It provides a barrier of protection in the water to prevent cross contamination of unwanted bacteria while rugs swim together in the tub during a wash cycle.

2: While charging the water for sanitation is accomplished, its properties help in neutralizing floating fugitive dyes releasing from rugs.

This begs another question: What other additive is put into the same water to help manage dye loose in the water from bleeding rugs? Only Wash Tub owners know that "Secret Sauce."

Here is one product we have used:

You can get something like it where pool and spa supplies are sold.” http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showthread.php?265843-Question

When Tom refused to release his secret report I was suspicious but I never imagined anything this devastatingly terrible and blatant. Chlorine is bad for wool. It breaks down the scales and weakens the fibers. Chlorine is regularly used to descale wool in low chlorine concentration baths. This is used to make wool clothing suitable for machine washable clothing. In that case removing the scales is fine for that specific purpose but not for hand-woven Oriental Rugs. It is not just bad for handwoven Oriental Rugs it is very very bad!

By reducing the felting properties of wool the rug becomes more fragile and causes it to wear faster. Additionally removing the scales which allow felting the wool is weaker again accelerating the wear. But that is not all of it. Over time the scales of good untreated wool open and refract light giving the rug what aficionados refer to as jewel tone colors. Without the scales the rug can never reach that pinnacle of beauty that rug owners often wait 50 years to occur. If a rug survives 50 years or more after regular Tom Monahan style tub washing it will never show the beauty that it would have had with proper care and maintenance.

A special plea to Tom Monahan and the Centrum Force® wash tub owners who use Dichlor: Stop! This is wrong, it is bad for the rugs and if you continue to do this reckless practice you should warn your customers that you will co-mingle their rugs with other rugs that may be contaminated with urine, feces, vomit, blood and a host of other problems in a large tub of chlorinated water. 

I hope you enjoyed this review of Tom's article. Comments are welcome and if Tom or his fellow washers find fault with anything I have written they are welcome to contact me and I will post their response here and if I got anything wrong I will correct it.

Oriental Rugs “Fine Art” or Not

I recently had this question posed to me by a Southern California Appraiser. Her customer had extensive water damage from a broken pipe. The insurance company paid the far larger water restoration claim but only allowed $3,000 of $14,000 of the claim for two very fine Tabriz rugs. Their rational was that the rugs were “Fine Art” and the policy had a $3,000 cap on loss of “Fine Art”. I wrote the following opinion and I am quite pleased that the insurance company accepted it and paid the $14,000 claim. I owe part of the credit to a University Professor who forever burnt into my consciousness the phrase; “Words have meaning”. With that in mind here is the letter that prompted the insurance company to pay the full claim (Client information removed).

Hello,

A question has been posed to me: Is a Persian Tabriz rug a work of “Fine Art”? This has been an ongoing question with those who assume that Fine Art means something that is beautiful and I have been dealing with this question going back at least to when I authored the Oriental Rug entry for the Encyclopedia of Modern Asia.1 Since words have meaning I turned to my Oxford Universal Dictionary. 2 “Fine Art” means art that is “the art that is concerned with “the beautiful “or appeals to taste. Often restricted to the arts of design, as painting sculpture, architecture. Hence in sing. one of these arts.” As such Fine Art is an object whose purpose is to be art rather than an object of useful purpose that may or may not be beautiful.

So then the pertinent question is was the Tabriz rugs meant to be, and used as, “Fine Art” or were they made with a useful purpose other than to delight the senses. In this case the rugs were purchased to be floor coverings and were placed in an area where they received foot traffic.  The intent and use shows the rugs to be “Furnishings”. The Oxford Universal Dictionary2 defines Furnishings as “Furniture, fixtures, apparatus, etc…”

Price, value, and inherent beauty have nothing to do with whether something is Fine Art. Therefore a rug made to be a rug and used as a rug is not and cannot be “Fine Art”.

Yours truly,

Barry O’Connell

SeniorFellow Academy of Oriental Rugs

Footnotes:

1. Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Charles Scribners & Sons; 1 edition (November 27, 2002)

2. The Oxford Universal Dictionary. Oxford at the Clarendon Press; 3rd edition (1955)

Tom Sherman's Top Ten Reasons

Here is Tom Sherman at The Olde World Rug Washing Company  with some of the best guys in the business including Bert Presant, Paul Lucas and Craig Jasper

I had a post on FB about why people do what they do and Tom posted his in reply.

Barry here is my top 10 

1. You Control Your Own Destiny

Many entrepreneurs consider themselves "Type-A" personalities, folks that like to take control and make decisions. In other words, owning a business saves them from having to work for anyone else. One reason to own a small business is the ability to direct the culture of your company. When you're in the driver's seat, you are making the decisions on how best to steer your company into the future. This might be overwhelming for some and one must know when and how best to delegate. However, when you are able to make your own decisions about how best to operate day-to-day, this leads to creating a culture, a brand and an organization."

2. You Can Find Your Own Work/Life Balance

One of the most oft-cited benefits of owning your own business is the flexibility that comes with it, whether that be working from wherever you want, setting your own hours, wearing a nightgown or even sitting next to your pet while you work. Just as important, entrepreneurs say that owning their own business lets them set their priorities. 

3. You Choose the People You Work With

When you work for someone else; you rarely get to choose whom you work with. If you don't like your co-workers you'd better start sending our resumes. That's not the case when you own your own business, since you get to make the decisions about who to hire (and fire). "Over the years, I've hired dozens of personal friends, and family members to work with me in different capacities. Why? Because they care about me. Surround yourself with positive people who give you the confidence and optimism you need to keep moving forward. Weed out the people that put out negative vibes. The smaller your organization, the larger choice you have about who you work with."

4. You Take on the Risk – And Reap the Rewards

There's no question that owning your own business is a risky proposition. But, with risk comes reward. Said another way, the better you are at managing risk, the more rewards you can reap. The thing I enjoy most about the company is playing the 'game' of business. It's like combining high stakes poker with the greatest strategy game ever. There are an unlimited number of variables in almost every aspect of the company, and as soon as you think you have things under control in an area, everything changes. Specifically, I like having my own money at risk, then having to live with the consequences of my decisions (good or bad). Like every other great game, the more you play, the better you get. You learn to recognize good opportunities from bad ones. You learn how to look like you are committed to new products, without actually financially committing to it until you have feedback and orders from your customers. You also learn to create exit strategies for bad situations and how to maximize the good ones. The most fun is to work on a project with your team, and overcoming all of the obstacles

5. You Can Challenge Yourself

Some people thrive on the routine of their job – performing the same tasks day after day. As an entrepreneur, you can bet that each day will be filled with new opportunities to challenge yourself, be creative and learn something new. The great thing about owning a small business is I rarely experience the same day twice. Because every day, I learn something new about the act of owning a business. Whether it’s something and Isfahan rug, taxes, about accounting, or the plethora of other things that go into running a rug washing company, I am always fascinated by the parts and pieces of knowledge that I learn every day just to keep the business on track. I could never do it without the SCRT (www.scrt.org), and this rug hub.

7. You Can Get Things Done – Faster

Entrepreneurs as a whole seem to have an allergy to red tape. Rather than wait for approval – or for the guidebook to be written about how to do something – small business owners salivate at the chance to get things done. Most large companies are too busy being big to be proactive. The best that most can do is react quicker than the other big companies when the wave comes at them. My company, on the other hand has the flexibility to be proactive, to run new things up the flagpole and be at the forefront of new products, techniques, or promotional strategies. Never underestimate the ability to truly be proactive.

8. You Can Connect With Your Clients

There are few things that get entrepreneurs as excited as when they get to interact with their customers. Rather than hiding behind a series of automated greetings, small business owners thrive on dealing one-on-one with their best clients – or making the decision to get rid of those customers they don't like. You don't have to deal with customers who are jerks - you can even fire them. Seriously, we did this more than once. The customer is 'always right' and there are some rare instances where that is complete BS!"

9. You Can Give Back to Your Community

Many entrepreneurs love the idea that in building their business, they can give back to the community or communities they operate in the form of the products and services they offer, by donating to charities and especially the ability to create jobs, which is particularly important these days. I take great pride in knowing that I'm solving a problem others have and creating opportunities for people to have jobs that they love. There's nothing more American than that.

10. You Feel Pride in Building Something of Your Own

One of the biggest differences in owning your own company as opposed to working for someone else is the sense of pride you establish in building something of your own. There is nothing like being successful through your own leadership, abilities, ideas and efforts. Not only are there benefits from such self-actualization – you also get to brag about what you do. One really cool thing about owning a small business is that people are interested in you and your story. Not that I have some egomaniacal need to talk about the business or myself all the time, but it's still nice that people are interested.

Tom Sherman is my friend, he is also International President of the SCRT

Society of Cleaning and Restoration Technicians
4402 S. Danville Dr., Abilene, TX 79605
info@SCRT.org | 800-949-4728 | Fax 325-692-1823
http://scrt.org/

Tom also has:
Professional Carpet Systems
905 4th St
Marietta, OH  45740
(740) 374-7401
(888) 317-9849 (fax)
rugmantom@gmail.com
and
 The Olde World Rug Washing Company
287 BF Goodrich Drive
Marietta, OH 45750
(740) 373-3470

Doug’s Rug Spa State College Williamsport Lewisburg Danville

One of the best Oriental Rug Cleaners in the country is in the country in more ways than one is Doug Moerschbacher of Doug’s Rug Spa in Pleasant Gap Pa. A tiny rural town of only 2,800 people Pleasant Gap in an hour west of Williamsport and close to State College. Despite living in a small town Doug has become one of the most technically advanced rug washers in the country. 

Over the last 10 years cleaning fine hand woven area rugs has changed drastically. For years old time cleaners would wash rugs and make the surface look great but the greatest cause of wear is grit in the foundation. Much like pouring sand into your car’s oil the grit and fine particulate matter in the foundation are the real reason why rugs wear out. Doug has added the equipment to remove the grit from you area rug’s foundation. By using the State of The Art Rug Badger Doug is able to do what older style shops could only dream of.

While grit is the main cause of wear the main reason why consumers in America bring their rugs to be washed is Pet Odor and Pet Accidents. These accidents, usually urine contamination, are not a serious problem while it is still damp it becomes more of a problem every day that it sits. It starts in a mildly acidic state but as it dries and ages it turns increasingly alkaline. High Alkalinity can severely damage rugs and even damages the dye that makes your rug so attractive. By oscillating your rug up to 43,000 times per minute Doug is able to break up the damaging urine salt crystals. Then with highly advanced cleaning solution Doug can return the rug to its normal pH range and dissolve the remaining salt crystals. These salt crystals are what off-gasses the nasty Pet Odor smell.  

Moerschbacher is not content to just be good he constantly drives to be the best. Doug recently bought a top of the line Rug Centrifuge. To the best of my knowledge Doug's Rug Spa is the first company in Pennsylvania to add a heavy duty high speed centrifuge to their shop. Without getting too technical the ability to do high speed extraction of water combined with flush rinsing Doug is able to do the best job much faster than any other PA shop. I also see the work Doug puts in on learning the latest technology.

For these and other reasons I am very proud to have Doug Moerschbacher as an associate of the Academy of Oriental Rugs.

Doug's Rug Spa

105 N. Main Street

Pleasant Gap, PA 16823

814-808-5071

Nobody Cares That You Care - RUG Cleaning

“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt

“Nobody Cares That You Care” Barry O’Connell

Teddy Roosevelt was my cousin on my paternal grandmother’s side and a great thinker and a great president. However this quote which is so often bandied about bothers me. I would argue with Cousin Theodore that No one cares how much you care if the truth be told. Maybe in your personal life but I take a colder harsher view of the business world.

So if “Caring” is not the key what do people really care about?

They care about themselves and their needs.

When a customer calls you or stops in they are there for a reason. The reason is that they have a problem. If they believe that you can solve their problem they will give you MONEY and that is a good thing.  If they don’t feel you can solve their problem they will make an excuse and get away from you.

Reasons why people do not call a Rug Cleaning Plant:

·         They are lonely and are looking for a new “caring” friend.

·         Getting a rug professionally cleaned is on their bucket list.

·         They discovered that they have too much money and they picked you at random to share the wealth with.

·         They are conducting Market Research (unless they are in the RugLovers Marketing Program).

So why do they call?

The #1 biggest reason to call a Rug Cleaning Plant for the first time is:

They have a problem and it involves one or more dirty rugs.

They have a problem and they came to you to solve it. But knowing they have a dirty rug is not enough to guarantee that they give you MONEY.  Rug Cleaning is not a hobby for anyone I know. It is a business and the only way to keep the doors open is to provide goods and services in exchange for MONEY.  

The way to get their MONEY is to be their Trusted Problem Solver.

The secret to being a Problem Solver is to ask questions.  You cannot solve their problem until you know what it is. Whether you use the RugLover’s Marketing “Red Print” or not you job is not to give information, it is to get information. Keep in mind anything you say can cost you the sale so why volunteer information. If you talk more than 30% of the time you are out of control. You gain control by asking questions. Keep them talking until you know their problem. Dusty’s Red Print is a simple to use form that guides you through the questions that need to be asked so if you don’t have it, get it. But even without the Red Print you can gain a lot by asking, “What can you tell me about your rug”.  Once they start giving information Shut Up and let them talk. The only thing you should be saying is just enough to keep them talking. 

Even when you learn their problem do not give them information. Giving information is dangerous, what you need to give them is a SOLUTION.  

The prospect generally becomes emotionally engaged in the conversation and with that the objections drop away.  Given a choice between a Caring person and a Caring Person with a Solution to their problem prospects want a Problem Solver

BTW my cousin Theodore also said:

“I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.”Theodore Roosevelt

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