10 Tips For Cleaner Commercial Floors

Due to budget cuts, facility managers are trying harder to keep carpets clean and healthy as cost effectively as possible. Carpets absorb matter and moisture, so managers may not realize soiling until it is too late.  By then, damage may have occurred and costly restoration or replacement may be necessary.  However, this can be prevented.

HydraMaster provides the following Ten Ways to Keep Carpets Clean, Healthy, and Lasting Longer:
1. Exterior maintenance.  Building occupants “walk in” the bulk of soil entering a facility.  Much of this comes from sidewalks, parking lots, and outdoor walkways.  These areas should be kept clean throughout the year.

2. Enforce the “Rule of 15.”  At least 15 feet of high-performance matting should be placed at all building entries.  Matting defends a facility from walked in soils and moisture.

3. Vacuum daily.  Vacuuming high traffic areas removes most dry soiling that can damage a carpet’s appearance and health.

4. Pile lifting.  Pile lifting opens carpet fibers and helps improve vacuuming. It should be performed regularly for more effective soil removal.

5. Focus on lower floors.  Keeping lower floor carpets clean helps prevent soiling on upper floor carpeting.

6. On the spot spotting.  Spots should be removed as soon as possible.  Make spotting tools and equipment readily available throughout a facility.

7. Elevators transport people—and soil.  Placing matting inside and outside elevators helps prevent this.

8. Clean carpets where needed.  Place greater concentration where cleaning is needed, on heavy trafficked areas.

9. Use hot water extraction.  Experts say the most effective way to clean carpets is by using hot water extractors.  Further, truckmount systems, because of their added power and heat capabilities, are usually the most effective extraction method.

10. Develop skills and training.  Proper carpet cleaning is a science and know-how is critical. 

“This is a proactive approach to carpet care,” says Wayne Boone, Director of Sales for HydraMaster.  “It can extend the life of carpets while keeping facilities cleaner and healthier.”

Question: Does Professional Carpet Cleaning Shrink Your Carpet?

It's everyone's worse nightmare. You hire someone to clean your carpet and when they're done it's shrunk into a smaller pile. I've dreamed that dream before, and the carpet technician in my dream didn't understand why I was upset. In reality though, this isn't usually a concern in our modern day. Find out why.

Answer: When carpets were made of lots of natural fibers, shrinking was a major concern. Still, most professionals knew how to handle all types of carpets. Today most carpets are made of synthetic materials, reducing the risk of shrinking to almost nothing. It's always a good idea to know your carpet type and the manufacturer's instructions for it.

One thing that could cause minimal shrinkage would be an overly wet carpet after your technician is finished cleaning. Reputable companies and technicians don't allow this to happen. Even so, it's a good idea to check your carpet's wetness before the tech leaves your home. Express concerns if you have them. And be sure to hire a reputable company to clean your carpets.  For most carpets, the risk of shrinking is almost nothing. Hiring a reputable company makes all the difference in your satisfaction, though.

A1 Sparkles Cleaning & Restoration

How To Remove Urine From Carpet

Keep the following items on hand so you will be prepared to handle fresh spills on your carpet:

Neutral dish detergent such as Dawn®

Spotter such as our free life time replacement Spot Out® and Enzyme product for urine stains

Clean Rags, Small Scrub Brush, and Bottled/Purified Water

Hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) for browning stains; isopropyl alcohol for inks or other colored stains

A Wet/dry vac is great to have as well.

THE 8 STEPS TO REMOVING CARPET SPOTS, AND PET URINE.

1. Act fast. The key any successful spot removal is extracting it from the fibers as quickly as possible. Don't use hot water on a fresh stain. Heat will set most stains.
2. Blot as much of the spill as possible and remove any solids. For large spills use a wet/dry vac. Work from the outside in.
3. Carefully apply cool purified or bottled water to the stain, do not over saturate. Blot, gently pressing a clean towel into the carpet pile in the stained area to remove as much moisture a possible. Start your blotting on the outside edges of the stain.
4. Apply appropriate spotter, and wait. Let the product do its job! At this time you may want to slightly agitate the carpet fibers. After at least 5 minutes began blotting, working from the outside perimeter of the stain, moving inward. If no spotter is available use dish detergent diluted at 30:1
5. To prevent re-soiling extract spotters with purified water; blot the area dry paying special attention the edges. This is a step is critical step, because you do not want to leave and chemical residue in the carpet fibers.
6. To remove any remaining moisture, place several towels over the spot, weight them down, and leave it there overnight.
7. When the carpet is dry, vacuum the pile using multiple passes.
8. If you can still see the stain, call your professional carpet cleaning company.

It is not unusual for stains to sometimes reappear after spot-cleaning. This occurs for two primary reasons.

1. Chemical Residue - When spotting and even with some professional carpet cleaners, some residue remains in the carpet, causing rapid re-soiling. If this happens repeat step 5.
2. Wicking occurs when a liquid has been spilled on the carpet (usually a large quantity) and cleaning attempts remove only the stain and liquid from the carpet fibers. Liquid still remains in the carpet backing or padding. Through capillary action, the stain can "wick" back up into the carpet fibers.

Residual re-soiling occurs if staining substances or cleaning products are left in the carpet and attract soil.

These stains are not permanent and typically can be removed by simply repeating these steps. Here are some additional suggestions:

Avoid over wetting the carpet backing during spot-cleaning and rising. Blotting to remove excess moisture reduces the occurrence of wicking stains.

Use a "wet-vac" to extract liquid from the area if possible. Paper toweling placed over the cleaned area and weight with a color-fast object will help absorb resurfacing stains. Use of fans to decrease the drying time will also help.

Carpet Cleaning Tips

A1 Sparkles Natural Carpet Cleaning