Carpet is an excellent flooring option for public and commercial places. It provides freedom and flexibility in design and customization, thereby improving a facility’s appearance. Its acoustic properties aid in noise reduction. It improves indoor air quality (IAQ) by collecting pollutants, dust, allergens, and poisons and trapping them in its fibers. It is also cost-effective. An excellent commercial carpet in Dubai has a 10- to 30-year life expectancy and will remain in good condition if properly maintained.
When you ask cleaning and maintenance experts what the most common mistakes are with carpet care, some of the answers are unanimous: Not cleaning often enough. Using the incorrect equipment. Excessive water consumption. Using improper cleaning products, particularly to cure stains, Cleaning too forcefully. Cleaning personnel were not properly trained. Are there any others?
Get with a program
Experts agree that carpeting necessitates a thorough and planned cleaning procedure. The Carpets Dubai, the trade body for the carpet industry, defines the five essential processes for keeping carpets clean and maintained as soil prevention, routine cleaning, spot and spill removal, interim maintenance, and deep cleaning. The facility’s requirements must determine the frequency of these steps.
However, adhering to a set timeline is not necessarily the end solution
Our management team has worked together to establish a carpet care program that consists of routine, interim, and restorative maintenance.
Carpets in Dubai claims that soil avoidance, a crucial first step toward effective carpet cleaning, keeps dirt and toxins out of the facilities and off the carpets. He accomplishes this by installing strategic matting programs at building entrances.
Keeping the outside from coming inside is critical to the process. A strong walk-off mat program is the first line of defense. Keeping those mats clean will allow us to capture as much of the outside (sand, dirt, etc.) as possible at the door.
After implementing a matting program, routine cleaning is the next step in ensuring its effectiveness. Essentially, this involves regular vacuuming. The CRI recommends that departments develop and adhere to a consistent vacuuming schedule that includes all carpeted surfaces.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” explains Uresti. “Having established vacuuming and carpet cleaning frequencies and schedules for your facilities is critical to making sure that you are utilizing your labor properly and protecting the carpet in your buildings.”
Beyond the routine
Vacuuming on a regular basis—daily for high-traffic areas, less frequently for low-traffic areas, under or behind furniture, etc.—should be part of an established cleaning program, but spills (beverages, food) and tracked-in contaminants in bad weather (mud and salt) require immediate attention. You must immediately clean up spills in areas that can cause stains and carpet damage.
The technicians should check for spills and new stains as part of their daily vacuuming routine. Upon discovery, the technicians can promptly implement the appropriate cleaning treatment.
Interim maintenance is the next step in CRI’s five basic steps to effective carpet care. This is the step between regular vacuuming and deep cleaning. You should also perform interim maintenance on a regular basis, such as monthly or quarterly, to maintain the carpet’s acceptable appearance.
This process can help extend the carpet’s life by removing dry soil more frequently. It is also a process that is regarded as prone to error.
Uresti believes that interim carpet care is one of the industry’s biggest mistakes. “I still hear of facilities managers bonnet cleaning their carpets as a form of interim cleaning.”
Bonnet, or spin cleaning, uses a rotary floor machine with a cleaning pad soaked in cleaning solution. The agitation of the machine as it moves over the carpet absorbs dirt into the cleaning pad.
“I find that bonneting removes very little surface dirt and, instead, pushes most of the soil further into the carpet, leaving behind detergent residue that can lead to re-soiling and an oversaturation of the carpet,” Uresti continues. “We removed this method from our buildings several years ago and switched to encapsulation cleaning.” With fewer chemicals and a faster dry time, this method offers a higher level of cleaning.
Also considered a method of interim carpet care, encapsulation is a low-moisture type of cleaning using a special encapsulating chemical that features polymers to encapsulate and crystallize stains and dirt on and in carpet. The polymer crystals capture and retain dirt and soil for vacuuming, ensuring no sticky residue remains behind.
We’ve also seen an increase in productivity through encapsulation cleaning versus bonneting, and the equipment is more ergonomically friendly as we strive to protect the health and safety of our custodial staff.
Conclusion
The final step in effective vinyl flooring or carpet care is deep cleaning, according to CRI. What should vacuuming, spot cleaning, interim cleaning, extraction cleaning, or deep cleaning fix? The extractor is the machine, while the deep cleaning system is the combination of that machine and a particular cleaning solution, following a set procedure.
