| KANSAS CITY COMMERCIAL CARPET CLEANING CARPET MAINTENANCE BASICS |
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| There are a few basics
of carpet maintenance that need to be performed
on a regular basis. Understanding how and why
they work will help you design the best maintenance
program for your facility. |
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| Walk-Off Carpet
or Mats |
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| This is one of the
most important parts of your maintenance program.
The basic idea is to leave tracked-in soil on
the walk-off carpet instead of the interior carpet. |
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| Walk-off carpets are
installed in what is referred to as clean-off
zones, such as entry vestibules or entrance hallways.
In some cases you may even install walk-off carpet
in an entire informal lobby. The advantage is
that the carpet is installed permanently. |
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| It is never loose
and never has a corner flopped over. By design,
these carpets need to be cleaned more often, but
they are real money savers since the interior
carpet will need less maintenance. |
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| The option to installed
walk-off carpets is walk-off mats. These are loose
area mats that are made of the same type of material
as the installed carpet. You will need to decide
whether to own or rent your mats. It is usually
better to rent your mats from a rental service
who will replace and clean them on a regular basis.
Owning your own mats may be more cost efficient
if you have cleaning equipment and personnel to
maintain them. |
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| Important factors
in choosing and placing walk-off mats and carpet. |
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| • Be sure that
they are constructed of material which will trap
soil and moisture. |
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| • Clean the mats
and carpet often. If they are allowed to soil
to the point of saturation they will become a
source of soil for the carpet instead of a protection. |
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| • The carpet
area or mat should be large enough to ensure that
people entering the building will take enough
steps on them to remove the soil from their shoes.
This normally requires three to five steps. |
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| Vacuuming |
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| More than any other
maintenance procedure, regular, thorough vacuuming
keeps your carpets looking good and performing
well. Sandy, gritty soil can become trapped between
the fibers and as foot traffic compresses and
moves the fibers, the sharp edges of the soil
can scratch and cut the fibers. This results in
premature wear and visible damage that looks like
soil but can never be cleaned away. |
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| Daily vacuuming is
the ultimate maintenance procedure, but this is
not always possible for the entire facility. Daily
vacuuming needs to be done in high traffic areas
and entry ways leading from outside the facility.
Areas which are used less frequently and are not
exposed to outside soils can be vacuumed on a
lighter schedule. |
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| The type of vacuum
you choose is also an important decision. We recommend
vacuums with a semi-aggressive rotating beater
bar or brush, depending upon the type of carpet
you are dealing with. |
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| Clean and Fresh can
help you choose a vacuum, and design a program
of vacuuming that will suit the needs of your
carpet and your budget. |
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| Spot
Cleaning |
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| Nothing degrades the
appearance of a carpet faster than spots that
are left untreated. In many facilities the spots
are simply left to accumulate until it is time
for regular cleaning. This results in either cleaning
sooner than is necessary due to the ugly spots,
or spots that are left too long while waiting
for the scheduled cleaning. Spots that are not
treated promptly can often become permanent stains. |
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| We can supply you
with a power spotting machine and a Bridgepoint
spotting kit and train you how to use them. These
items are simple and very effective. We want to
help equip your facility so that anyone on your
maintenance staff can treat a spill at any time. |
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| Pile Lifter |
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| There is a different
style of vacuum that we recommend for use before
cleaning most types of carpet. It is called a
pile lifter, and as the name suggests, it is very
aggressive at lifting and separating the carpet
pile and removing embedded soil. It has a dual
motor system. One motor drives the brush while
the other motor provides the vacuum suction. The
results can be very impressive, but this vacuum
is too aggressive for every day use. We will be
glad to provide you with more information about
pile lifters and how to use them. |
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