Effective maintenance begins with prevention. Prevention that is, from allowing the carpet to become prematurely dirty. This is achieved by following a few simple steps.
Most importantly is the installation of adequate lengths of an effective barrier mat. In many commercial installations barrier matting is disliked because of its drab, unattractive appearance. However, research has
shown that the installation of around 20-feet will reduce levels of soil being carried further into the building by as much as 92%. Unfortunately, it is not always possible, for both logistical and aesthetic
reasons, to install so much matting. Nevertheless, it may be possible to maximize the space that is available. For example, entrance matting can be placed under revolving doors. People tend to shuffle their feet as they pass through a revolving door and this shuffling results in passive wiping of the soles of the shoes without the person being aware that this is taking place. Barrier mats should be installed in elevators; this prevents street soil from being carried to upper floors of the building. This is particularly important in buildings where the elevators are near to the street and in cities where winters are harsh.
A rapid response to stains pays dividends
Prompt attention to stains is also considered to be a preventative technique as stains are much easier to remove if they are dealt with quickly. When a stain is still wet, as much as 90% may be removed by prompt action, whereas if the stain is dry at least 50% may remain after cleaning. One problem facing the hospitality industry, in particular, is that many stains go unreported and are not discovered by the housekeeping department until several hours later. By increasing staff vigilance a more rapid response and hence more success in removal can be achieved.
Try following these basic rules when dealing with carpet stains:
Blot instead of rubbing. Rubbing the stain may damage the fibers and untwist the yarn.
Become familiar with the proper products to use for certain types of stains. Always use chemicals with the WoolSafe approved logo.
Color and design
The color of the carpet will have a significant influence on how quickly it starts to look dirty. So too will the design.
Muted colors, especially browns, do not reveal soiling very quickly, while vivid colors look dirty much sooner. This needs to be taken into account when fixing maintenance frequencies. It follows that carpets with large amounts of yellow in the
design require higher cleaning frequencies than those in which the colors are duller.
Carpets with a busy, random design are good at hiding spots and stains, since the busyness of the design confuses the eye and diverts the attention away from the stain. (It is useful to bear these two aspects in mind at the planning stage).
What benefit protectors?
On wool and wool-rich carpets, Couristan does not recommend the application of topical treatments. Wool is naturally soil and stain resistant and does not require any additional protection. Furthermore, topical treatments, if applied unevenly or excessively, can result in other problems such as rapid re-soiling or a patchy appearance.
DAILY MAINTENANCE Choose the right vacuum
The most effective method for vacuuming a commercial carpet is to use an upright machine fitted with a brush and/or beater bar. Such machines create a degree of vibration and opening of the pile, especially when the carpet is installed over a pad. The resultant vibration helps lift superficially trapped particles of dirt into the air stream, thereby giving more efficient removal than can be achieved using a canister cleaner. Vacuums should be in good working order with no damage to the skirt, or splits in any hoses. The brush/beater bar should be regularly stripped of hair and other thread-like contamination and the bags should be emptied regularly. The performance of most vacuum cleaners falls off considerably once the bag is more than half full.
Take care at flooring interfaces
In many commercial establishments, especially hotels, carpet abuts marble or other hard flooring materials. Therefore, there is a tendency for the carpet to be
damaged by the rotating head of a floor machine during spray cleaning or burnishing the marble; or to be wet during mopping. In the first case, the cleaning pad may abrade the carpet causing
premature wear, matting or flattening. In the second case, hard floor detergents tend to dry to sticky residues resulting in rapid soiling along the edge of the carpet where contamination has occurred. Some hard floor detergents are also alkaline and may therefore cause bleeding and damage the wool fibers.
Don't ignore old stains
Inevitably not all stains can be dealt with as soon as they arise. Others will be discovered during the routine cleaning operation. In the case of dried in stains, removal will be less successful than dealing with a fresh stain. Nevertheless, the success of removal is still time dependent. The older the stain, the more difficult it will be to remove. For this reason, newly discovered old stains should be dealt with as soon as possible.
INTERIM MAINTENANCE
Interim maintenance is the term applied to cleaning techniques that are intended to achieve superficial cleaning, but not necessarily in-depth cleaning. Sometimes these procedures are also known as “cosmetic cleaning”; a term which is particularly
