Carpet Restoration, Somerset

OPTION 1

Water Extraction

Commercial carpeting represents a significant capital investment and as such deserves competent maintenance. Regular maintenance and periodic cleaning will increase the life span of a carpet and greatly contribute to retaining its good appearance.

There is a difference between cleaning and maintenance:

Maintenance planning
The importance of proper planning of a maintenance program for carpeting cannot be overemphasized. The maintenance plan should take into account foot traffic frequencies and patterns, desired appearance levels in different areas of the building, personnel responsible for the maintenance, available equipment and cleaning costs.

Carpet maintenance usually consists of four categories:

Preventative maintenance
The more carpets soil, the more difficult and expensive it becomes to clean them. By taking preventative measures such as the installation of adequate lengths of entrance mats, vacuum with an upright vacuum cleaner (SEBO)and by good housekeeping - e.g. by preventing spillages and by putting mats in lifts and in front of drink dispensing machines, the rate at which carpets soil is reduced. Where spillages are likely to occur frequently, choose busy patterns and muted colours to disguise the appearance of stains.

Regular or Routine Maintenance
This comprises vacuum (suction) cleaning of all regularly trafficked areas and spot removal, usually carried out on a daily basis. Extra care must be taken of the most heavily used areas, including entrance mats. Areas of minimal use can be vacuum cleaned at a lower frequency, for instance twice weekly.

Spills should be given attention as soon as possible - the older the stain, the more difficult it is to remove. Spot removal kits containing all the tools to tackle spills likely to occur must be available to maintenance personnel trained in their use and with access to the kits at all times. It is important to check that the chemicals in the kits are compatible with the carpet installed.

Interim maintenance
Used to brighten the appearance of the carpeting by removing surface dirt and freshening the appearance of the carpet. This procedure does not necessarily remove much of the deep-seated soil in the pile. It can be accomplished by techniques such as the crystallization/encapsulation method, or by 'bonnet' cleaning. Effective vacuuming after the carpet has dried is essential to prevent a build-up of unwanted chemicals.

Periodic (wet) cleaning
With all wet cleaning techniques avoid over-wetting the carpet as this will greatly lengthen the drying time and may cause problems with shrinkage and discolouration of the pile. Brushing of the pile should also be kept to a minimum, especially with some carpet constructions.

Before wet cleaning, the carpet pile is usually treated with a pile lifter, a twin-motor vacuum cleaner with a large cylindrical brush and powerful suction action. This opens up the pile and removes embedded grit normally left behind by vacuuming.

Spray extraction cleaning injects a detergent solution into the carpet pile, immediately followed by an integral wet pick-up system. The amount of solution sprayed into or onto the carpet pile varies greatly between machine models and makes. This affects both the efficiency of the "flushing" out of the dirt and the chance of inadvertently over-wetting the carpet.

Cleaning efficiency can be improved by pre-spraying the carpet with the low foam shampoo 10 minutes prior to spray extraction (with water only), and by the use of rotating or oscillating brushes in the floor "wand" of the machine.

Recommended maintenance program
The level of maintenance required for a given location within a building depends on the severity of the traffic and the type of soiling that occurs. Most buildings can be divided into four categories: light, medium, heavy and extra heavy soiling. These in turn will require corresponding levels of maintenance. Suggested maintenance programs for the different soiling categories are given in the Table below.