Carpet and rugs are important acoustically and present
a feeling of warmth and luxury. Maintenance has changed
considerably over the last years.
While the very attractive specialty floors are becoming
more and more popular, carpet still covers more space in most
facilities than any other flooring.
The reasons are obvious. Acoustically, there is no better
buffer for sound than thick, soft floor-covering. The costs
for product and installation are more appealing than most
of the woods and stones. Maintenance, over the long haul,
is a better budget bet. Although carpeting demands more
frequent cleaning, wood or stone restoration is prohibitively
expensive.
Carpet may be installed using one of three different methods.
The glued down method whereby the carpeting is glued directly
to the concrete flooring with special adhesives: the sturdiest
installation method and the one which adds to the carpet
life since the backing is not subjected to the strain of
the pressure from footfalls, as is the carpet installed
over pad. Carpet may be "kicked in" ...installed,
over pad, with tack-stripping. The benefits of this installation
is the ease with which this carpeting may be repaired, restretched
or, in the case of water damage, pulled up, pad removed,
carpet dried and cleaned and then, reinstalled. The third
method of installation is "double-stick", ...the
carpet is glued to the pad which has been glued to the concrete.
It's a tidy method of installation and looks great when
initially installed. Many of these installations stand up
well to the test of time. There are, unfortunately, a good
number of these installations that, because of faulty glue,
or as a result of subjecting the carpeting to rolling heavy
objects, the glue disintegrates and bubbles occur between
the carpet and the pad. Reinstallation is problematic because
the carpet and pad remain glued in areas which will cause
the pad to rip or the carpet to delaminate. Seam repair
is frequent with this type of installation.
Cleaning the carpet, regardless of the type of installation,
is best accomplished with a system utilizing a limited amount
of liquid. The carpet will react more positively to low
moisture because this avoids shrinkage, stretching, deterioration
of the pad, opening of seams and the development of mold
spores. A method which utilizes a chemical that leaves little
or no residue is another important consideration, since
residues gum up (or pack) the fiber, promote resoiling and
advance wear.
95% of the soil in the carpet, rather than spills, is the
soil you can't see. This soil is in the form of small particles
that work their way down to the base of the fiber and, as
feet grind on this soil...like sandpaper...the soil wears
away at the fiber, wearing away the carpet.
The most effective solution to this problem is the power
pile lifter. This piece of equipment acts as a vacuum with
five to seven times the vacuum strength of a commercial
vacuum, agitating the carpet fiber with a beater brush which
is three times larger than that on a commercial vacuum,
separating and aerating the fibers to facilitate the removal
of unseen soil. The carpet will last longer with no residues,
no introduction of copious amounts of liquid and no packing.
It was not that many years ago that up to sixty gallons
of water was used to clean one thousand square feet of carpet.
The results were disastrous, leading to premature replacement
of carpet because the carpet uglied out instead of wearing
out. Those systems included hot water extraction or "steam"
cleaning. Then there was the dry foam method which introduced
the foam of soap, which, when it dried, left sticky residues
that promoted recoiling. The only way to remove the soap
was with extraction which visited the same problems as a
result of too much water.
Many of the carpet manufacturers recommend "dry"
cleaning methods. These systems utilize a carrier (either
ground corn cobs or powder) permeated with solvent. While
introducing little liquid to the carpet fibers, these systems
introduce the carrier to the carpet...products that eventually
build up in the carpet fiber, thereby changing the carpet
color in time.
There has recently been introduced to the dry cleaning
process, a new piece of equipment that will beat in the
carrier and solvent, and simultaneously remove the residue.
This high-powered vacuum has greatly improved the effectiveness
of this cleaning method.
The bonnet system, when used correctly, has proved to be
the least offensive of the cleaning methods with one caveat.
It is important to keep the soap level, in the chemicals
used, to an absolute minimum. If possible the cleaner should
strive for soap free chemicals to avoid the deposits of
residues that will promote resoiling.
The manner in which the chemical is delivered to the carpet
is important, too. If the chemical is sprayed on, in a fine
mist, the carpet will dry in a half hour or less. If the
chemical is applied in tubing that saturates the bonnet,
the carpet does not clean properly. The saturated pad cannot
absorb soil because the fibers are already full of chemical.
This system does the job by moving the chemical and the
soil around to other parts of the carpet. Drying time may
be as long as eight hours.
The pad, while referred to as a bonnet, is somewhat different
from the bonnets as originally used in the system. The pad
is a combination of nylon, rayon and cotton.
The chemical used should be soap-free and is applied only
through a sprayer head to minimize the amount of liquid
introduced to the carpet fibers. The chemical is heavier
than water and creeps down the fiber to the base of the
carpet, but not beyond. In encircling the fiber, it breaks
down any soil that may adhere to the fiber and emulsifies
the soil so that the soil and chemical become one.
The pad, as it turns, builds a heat of about 75 to 85 degrees.
Just enough to enhance a capillary attraction of the soil
(and chemical) up and out of the carpet to the pad. The
pad, itself, builds a static charge that locks the soil
and chemical in the pad so that the soil is not redeposited
to other areas of carpeting but is, instead, removed from
the facility while still attached to the pad. The static
charge is not transmitted to the carpet but remains in the
pad.
This method of carpet cleaning is the least problematic.
It produces the cleanest carpet while avoiding the most
detrimental aspects of other methods of carpet cleaning.
Carpet manufacturers have recommended that cleaning carpet,
in general, can be overdone. We couldn't agree more. The
areas that are in need of cleaning, high traffic and high
image areas that are subjected to spills and ground-in soil,
will look unsightly unless cleaned frequently.
However, a program of intensive power pile lifting, edging
and spot cleaning should make up the majority of services
performed, to help extend the life of the carpet and keep
the carpet looking good. Spot-cleaning must be performed
to remove spills and other soils that are apparent. Thorough
cleaning of the traffic areas should be performed on a program
sufficient to avoid soil build up. Cleaning of non-traffic
areas should be reserved for “as needed.” This
kind of scheduling guarantees the best of both worlds. Carpeting
that looks good over a longer period of time.
