Let the saga begin

[Bill B /bus]

First bus, a 1970 GM4108, was in Macon, GA. Early March 1994, worked that day, 12 hour shift, and then drove the  rental car from Maine to Southbury, CT. Snow changed to ice around the southern Maine border. Instead of 1030 PM meet I didn't get there until after 1 AM. We stopped for coffee and muffin outside Danbury. And we hustled. My friend, since 1963, said "The golden passport was good for max speed."  I went to sleep and woke up hungry about 6 AM and we were in Martinsville, WV. We were in northern Alabama by 4 PM. Stayed with mutual friends there. Left early the next morning for Macon. In Macon by noon. By God, Atlanta traffic was miserable. Transferred money. Turned in rental. About 3PM left with a full tank of fuel, thanks George and  5 gallons of oil for the trip back to Maine. Stopped for fuel twice, no gauge. Added oil each time. Pulled  in the door yard about  2 PM the next afternoon. We had some tools with us. Pliers, tape, VOM, test light, adjustable wrenches etc. Never needed anything. We bought a cheap radio in Alabama and it stayed on the dashboard the entire trip. Only needed batteries twice. I was back at work that evening for another 12 hours. Two weeks later we pulled the engine. Couldn't even save the block due to cracks. As the driver said when we left Macon "Hate to see the ol' girl go. She'll still do over ninety loaded." He was right about the speed, bad engine and all.

Remember this was the days of bag cell phones and no boards to help with problems. The Lord does look out for fools.

Second bus was a lot shorter trip,just from Luke's in NJ to Maine.

That first trip will probably never leave your memory bank.
Bill

[Kevin]

Hey Jordan,

My wife Kathryn's advice is "ditch the carpet". She was raised in Canada and, to hear her tell, there ain't no such thing as carpet. Her contention is that it is nothing more (especially when aged) than a trap for dust and all other forms of evil air-bound particles (doggie dander too, I guess!).

Sounds like good advice from our fellow busnuts regarding a professional shampooing. If that doesn't work, maybe consider an alternate floor covering.

If you can live without carpet (I like the "warmth" of carpet, personally) then perhaps tear it out and go with some sort of flooring such as the newly available faux (or real) hardwood, tile or even linoleum. You must be comfortable and healthy after all!

Also, great story Bill B - What a ride!

Kev

[Dave5Cs]

Jordan:

Nice Coach. I agree with taking out the carpet, If you steam clean it, use the dry method,  wet type can start molds in Plywood under it if you have that and then that is awful to get out. I would say take it out and use wood floor or similar and if you have to have carpet, put in throw rugs and they can be changed from time to time.

Dave

[artvonne]

  Imagine cleaning your blankets and sheets once every year or so with a carpet shampooer while they lay on your bed. Imagine throwing your dirty clothes on the floor and washing them with a carpet shampooer, and leaving them lay there until dry, then wearing them. I hate carpet. Its nasty dirty stuff, and they tell us that it comes right out of the factory filthy. Hard surfaced floors might show dirt faster, but once you sweep it or wash it, you know its clean. I would rather see the dirt and know I can clean it spotless, than have carpet that "looks" clean, but know its truly filthy, and which will remain so as long as its on the floor. At least throw rugs can be washed or dry cleaned. Every time I walk into a new camper or house with new carpet, I think "I love the smell of Formaldehyde and petrochemicals in the morning".

[Ace]

art, its obvious you have been mislead about dirt in carpet and have no clue what your talking about when it comes to carpet!

[kyle4501]

I've designed machines to make carpet & I've been in the mills making carpet.
There are different qualities in carpet.
Sometimes, it is really nasty, sometimes, it isn't so bad.
I don't like walking barefoot on new carpet due to some of the chemistry that is sometimes used (& some of the rashes I've gotten from such).
I know some aren't as sensitive to that - if we all were, there wouldn't be any experienced carpet installers out there.

I've helped remove old carpet from a house that had been regularly cleaned by a service with the van & hoses.
The room was ~22' x 24'. Once the carpet was up, we swept the floor. We got almost half of a 5 gal bucket of sand, dust, & etc. When we started removing the carpet, we had to stop & get dust masks.

My son has bad allergies to animal dander. We use bath mats with the rubber bottom in the places where a cold floor is objectionable & simply run 'em thru the wash when needed.

Textiles will hold dust & dander, so your best bet is to remove them for cleaning - or replacement if they can't be cleaned.

[jordansinthesky]

Wow, what a response.  Remember, I'm a 24 year old skydive pilot.  Dirty carpet doesn't bother me.  Just the dander.  I plan on getting it professionally cleaned.  Thanks for the advice tho lol.

[Jeremy]

  Imagine cleaning your blankets and sheets once every year or so with a carpet shampooer while they lay on your bed. Imagine throwing your dirty clothes on the floor and washing them with a carpet shampooer, and leaving them lay there until dry, then wearing them. I hate carpet. Its nasty dirty stuff

Hardly a fair comparison - unless you habitually walk about on your clothes or bed sheets.

I don't have any particular feelings for-or-against carpets - I wouldn't want a carpet in my kitchen, but then again I wouldn't want a hard floor in my bedroom.

I've always had dogs but had never heard the term 'dander' before - I had to google it to find out what it meant.

Jeremy

[jordansinthesky]

The term dander has haunted me my whole life.  I love animals, but can't spend any real time around them or touch them    People always think it's the hair that is the problem, and try to convince me to stay at their house because their cat is a short hair.  It just doesn't work that way 

[kyle4501]

Jeremy,
A carpet shampooer cleans only one side of the carpet. There is stuff left on the back & it can make problems for those with allergies. We have an old house with hardwood floors everywhere & like it. We use bath mats at bedside for a little comfort on those cold mornings  & they are easy to launder. Seth's allergies are no problem at home, but at any house with carpet, he can tell a big difference.

Jordan,
My son has dander allergies, so I know first hand how ill it can make you. Seth can't spend much time in a house with inside pets.
Good luck getting the dander & etc under control so you can really enjoy your new coach!

[dougyes]

After removing or replacing the carpet and cleaning the whole bus real well, run a Ozone type air purifier for about 5 days. The powerful commercial ones work best. I have a Flair air purifier. It has even removed dead rat odor out of a truck.

[Ace]

For all you carpet haters out there, please keep in mind that ALL carpets are not created equal! It could be that the carpet (probable cause) that is/was used in your conversion was the wrong type. Sure it's warm and fuzzy and the color you or your better half likes but it still could be the WRONG type!
I used a patterned commercial grade and going on 6 years "with a dog" it still looks brand new and it's on the upper set of steps as well. Granted we vacuum before and after each trip but to this day has never been cleaned. I agree I have been in many many homes and taken out carpet that just amazed me at how people could live on it but it comes down to HOW you take care of it and how often! Also don't blame the dog or cat for having an accident when it's your fault fr not training them or letting them out! As for dander? I guess I have THE worst dog (sorry Bud) for shedding but you wouldn't know it in our coach especially on the carpet. The commercial carpet just doesn't show it or the wear from traffic!
So again, although carpet CAN be and IS a dust/dirt magnet, don't knock it for what could be helped by your own maintenance and correct choice for the area!

[kyle4501]

Good quality will make a huge difference for sure & I don't mean to bad mouth all carpet, but after 2 cases of pneumonia with Seth that required hospital intervention & some really expensive monthly meds to manage his allergies, well, I hope you understand my reservations.

My hard wood floors look too good to want to cover them anyways. 

BTW, it is easier to train your dust bunnies when you can see them. 

[artvonne]

art, its obvious you have been mislead about dirt in carpet and have no clue what your talking about when it comes to carpet!

  Ive cleaned carpet proffesionally, ive installed it, and ive torn out a lot of it. Obviously the amount of traffic it recieves, and what kind of traffic it carries plays a big part in how dirty it will get. An elderly couple who take off their shoes at the door will have fairly clean carpet for years. A younger couple, a few kids and/or a dog, no one removing shoes, and it will get nasty in no time. Once its dirty, ikts pretty much going to stay dirty. If you shampoo it, you really just wash the filth deeper into the carpet. The top surface looks better, but the yuck goes to the bottom. Same for vacuums. For every bag of dirt you pull up, some gets beaten down into the nap. Not uncommon to sweep up half a trash can of dirt from an average room after you pull out the carpet. And yes, masks are somethng I have learned to wear the hard way. You really dont want to be breathing that stuff. .

[Ace]

"An elderly couple who take off their shoes at the door will have fairly clean carpet for years. A younger couple, a few kids and/or a dog, no one removing shoes, and it will get nasty in no time."

With this quote you are partially correct. Bare feet and dogs will make the carpet appear dirtier since every person and including animals, skin has oil in it. If you walk bare foot your simply wiping the oil from your feet onto the yarn of the carpet. An animal coat has oil and if they lay in a particular spot, it too will rub off onto the yarn. Now is it the oil from your feet and their coat that makes the carpet dirty? Partially! Oil is a magnet to dirt. It holds what YOU don't remove when vacuming. Example, If your bus leaks oil on the driveway, what do you see if you cut the grass? The grass goes right to that oil spot and stays there. Once the carpet gets oil in the yarn,the same thing happens. It attracts everything, then it slowly gets darker and darker but, what do you do? You go to the store and buy a cleaner.

"Once its dirty, ikts pretty much going to stay dirty. If you shampoo it, you really just wash the filth deeper into the carpet. The top surface looks better, but the yuck goes to the bottom."

MOST ALL over the counter carpet cleaners are you guessed it, OIL based. What does OIL do? It takes the stain and or dirt to the bottom. Looks pretty good for a while but, the carpet yarn is like a candle wick. As you walk on it, it wicks right back to the top and then what do you do? You clean it again, and again and again until it never comes clean. Water based cleaners are the best. It breaks particles loose and brings them to the top for easy removal. Most all commercial cleaners are water based, not oil based. Women especially get caught up in the over the counter junk. It smells pretty, it foams up nice, and it's packaged in a flowery looking can or box. You might as well hand your wife or better half a quart of 40wt and have her pour it on. She is just adding oil and more oil to TRY and get rid of the dirt and or stain/s. That's why people don't like carpet, mainly because they don't know the proper way to care for it.

"Same for vacuums. For every bag of dirt you pull up, some gets beaten down into the nap. Not uncommon to sweep up half a trash can of dirt from an average room after you pull out the carpet."

As for vacuum's? There are good ones and cheap ones. You get what you pay for and with the cheap ones, you don't maintain your carpet very well. Most people, just like you think you have to BEAT the carpet. WRONG! Just because it has what people refer to as a BEATER BRUSH doesn't mean you have to set your vacuum to the lowest possible setting. You set it to just lightly brush the top edge of the yarn. The SUCKING of the vacuum brings out the particles that are trapped below the yarn.

Now keep in mind that we are referring in THIS thread to using carpet in a bus/motorhome where it's not usually used everyday although these procedures SHOULD be used no matter what. As for taking up carpet in a house that has been down 12-15 years? Yes, I too have had to shovel the dirt out but usually in rental homes where the tenants don't own a vacuum but they owned 2-3 dogs. It IS very possible to find this kind of buildup under the carpet but again, NO maintenance! What it boils down to is YOU the owner, being knowledgeable enough to care for what you walk on. It's no different than knowing what to do to your bus to get it road worthy before your next trip. It's simply called maintenance! Don't expect your carpet to care for itself. Just like your dog. You don't expect your dog to let himself out when your not at home. He depends on you for care and your carpet is no different!

Kyle there are certain circumstances where people just CANNOT tolerate dust, dirt or anything related but they do make carpets  hyperalergenic (sp) for such people. Not as many to choose from and they aren't cheap but they have been known to work well. I have installed a lot of them with great results and feedback!

Also I am not trying to sound like an authority here but I have been in this trade for going on 40 years, day in and day out!