How to Clean Carpet
Carpets and rugs are certainly the most common type of flooring in common areas of condominium complexes and office buildings. Hence the importance of knowing as much as possible about this type of flooring and its maintenance.
Although they are available in many forms, made from different fibers and constructed according to different weaving methods, carpets are usually cleaned using the same methods.
To facilitate carpet cleaning, we propose a serie of articles which will be exclusively published and distributed via the magazine Copropriété PLUS. Today’s article will discuss the fundamentals or parameters of cleaning, parameters that apply to carpets and other types of flooring. But first, a little reminder about the cleaning steps.
We’ve already talked about the importance of following 5 common steps in any professional carpet care program. These steps are:
- Dirt confinement: prevent dirt from entering a facility, using carpets at the entrance of buildings;
- Vacuum Cleaner: Regular maintenance program to remove dry debris using a CRI approved vacuum cleaner;
- Stain Removal: using recognized and professional techniques;
- Periodic cleaning: maintenance program to enhance the appearance of carpets;
- Restoration: deep cleaning to remove encrusted residues and soils.
Any cleaning consists of 4 parameters that make up what is known as the Sinner Circle. These parameters influence the cleaning results and facilitate the removal of particles, bacteria and other soils from the surfaces on which they rest:
- The physicochemical conditions of water such as pH, temperature, presence of minerals and alkalinity that influence the behavior of detergents and disinfectants and the results of cleaning;
- The mechanical action (rubbing), which mixes fibers and suspend the soils and organisms and eliminate them, increasing the effectiveness of the chemical action;
- The chemical action for which the choice of method and product depends on the nature of the soil or microorganism and the fragility of the surface;
- The contact time, which is the time it takes for a disinfectant to inactivate an organism or a detergent to put the soil in suspension.
In the case of carpet cleaning, a slight modification is introduced with respect to the first factor, water, with is replaced by heat.
With carpet cleaning, heat plays a key role since it stimulates molecules that dislodge more easily and facilitates the suspension of soil. Several techniques (topic discussed in the next article) use the heat at the base of the cleaning process to improve the results.
Remember that although carpets and rugs are not all identical, one must follow the same principles and professional cleaning techniques to achieve superior results and maintain the quality and increase the life of these surfaces. In the next article, we will discuss carpet cleaning techniques and tools.