Carpet / Tile Cleaning |
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Safe Carpet Maintenance
A successful carpet care program begins before installation, and then continues with routine vacuuming, maintenance cleaning, and periodic restoration efforts. Carpets are both functional and visually appealing. However, the wrong kind of carpet, or one that is poorly installed will require extra maintenance.
Generally you should match the carpet type, texture, and underlayment to its working environment. It is also important to keep carpets away from situations where water, chemicals, or other hard-to-clean materials are used. For example, locker rooms, kitchens, and copy centers are not good places to install carpet.
Daily vacuuming with strong suction, tight filter, rotating brush machines removes up to half or more of the soil that falls onto carpets. How much effort does it take to attain this level of cleaning? Routine vacuuming, with up to four back and forth strokes of the wand across the carpet, is sufficient for low traffic areas. Up to ten wand strokes may be needed at outside doorways and other high traffic areas. Supplemental vacuuming will be needed along walls and carpet edges where soil tends to accumulate.
Another form of prevention comes from reacting immediately to spills and spots before they have time to become semi-permanent stains. However, thorough training in spill clean-up is very important because using the wrong techniques or chemicals can smear the spilled substance or set the spot permanently. It is usually best to start with clear, cold water and blotting cloths, and then move on to try stronger chemicals only if needed.
A special word of caution - carpet spot removal products contain some of the most dangerous chemicals found in carpet care products. Use these products sparingly, and only when wearing gloves and goggles. Provide extra ventilation, and if possible do the work when building occupants are elsewhere. In any case, avoid products that have highly dangerous ingredients such as hydrofluoric acid (rust remover), or tetrachloroethylene (Type 4 spot remover). Source: Janitorial Products Pollution Prevention Project |
