Recommendation
Correct
and regular maintenance will increase the life span of a carpet and also help
maintain its good appearance. Cleaning should be proportional to the amount of
soiling to which the carpet is subject - the more dirt is deposited on the
carpet. the more intensive is the maintenance program required.
In
order to be able to appreciate the reasons why carpets are cleaned in the ways
~n which they are, it is essential to know something about the phenomenon that
makes carpet cleaning necessary in the first place - soiling And to understand
why certain cleaning or maintenance techniques are used in particular locations
and on given types of carpet, it is necessary to know something about available
systems and about carpets.
There
is also a difference between cleaning and maintenance.
Cleaning is the removal of accumulated dirt and is generally carried out when
needed.
Maintenance is a planned procedure, started on the day the carpet is installed
and on-going to retain a carpets good appearance.
This
paper is an introduction to the increasingly sophisticated techniques of carpet
maintenance.i
Conditions
of Use
All
information, recommendations and suggestions contained in this document are
based on tests and data believed to be reliable. However, no guarantee
expressed or implied is made by Wools of New Zealand as to the results obtained
nor can Wools of New Zealand accept any liability arising directly or
indirectly from the use of the information contained herein. Further, the
information contained herein should not be construed as being complete, since
additional information may be necessary or desirable when particular or
exceptional circumstances exist.
Nothing
contained herein shall be construed as conferring rights under, or representing
that the treatment of products according to the information contained herein
will not constitute the infringement of, any patent.
The
fact that proprietary names may be mentioned in this publication in no way
implies that there are not substitute products or processes which may be of
equal or getter value or performance.
Wools
of New Zealand, October 1994
How Carpets Soil
Dirt
particles carried into a building on the soles of shoes and by air currents are
deposited on the carpet surface and stick to the pile fibres.
These dirt particles are held by mechanical forces in the yarn structure, or by
adhering to the fibre surface because they are sticky (oily) themselves, or
because the fibre is sticky, damaged, or has other sites where soil can lodge.
There
are two main types of soil (dirt):
- Type
1 coarse, dry, heavy soil - eg sand, fibres, salts etc - which causes carpet
"to fill up with dirt", and which is deposited as far down as the
roots of tufts
- Type
2 fine sticky, lightweight soil - eg soot, oil, rust, etc - which causes most
of the discolouration of the carpet surface and makes the carpet "look
dirty"
These
two kinds of dirt have to be removed using different techniques:
- Type
1 by mainly mechanical means - eg
vacuum (suction) cleaning
- Type
2 by mainly chemical means - eg
shampooing, or impregnated compound cleaning
The
more carpet soil, the more difficult, and often expensive, it becomes to clean
them. It therefore makes sense to try to reduce the rate at which carpet soil
by somehow trying to reduce the amount of soil reaching the carpet. This can be
done by taking preventative measures such as the installation of adequate
lengths of entrance mats, and by good housekeeping - eg by preventing
spillages, and by putting mats in lifts and in front of drink dispensing
machines
Maintenance Planning
The
importance of properly planning a maintenance program for the carpeting in a
building, however large or small, cannot be over-emphasised. The maintenance
plan should take into account foot traffic loads, traffic patterns, desired
appearance levels of the carpeting in different areas of the building, building
occupation, the personnel responsible for the maintenance, available equipment,
and - cleaning costs.
Carpet
maintenance usually consists of three categories:
• regular
• interim, and
• periodic
Regular Maintenance
This
is usually carried out on a daily basis. It comprises vacuum (suction) cleaning
of all regularly trafficked areas, and spot removal. 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 attended to as soon as possible, - the older the stain, the more
difficult it is often to remove.
Spot
removal kits containing all the tools to tackle spills likely to occur must be
available to maintenance personnel, who must be trained in the use of these
kits and have access to the kits at all times during carpet maintenance periods.
It
is important to check that the chemicals in the kits are compatible with the
carpet installed - applying them must not cause colour bleeding or bleaching,
or any other damage to the carpeting.
Spot
removal chemicals must be used with proper precautions - when used, the area
must be well ventilated, the agents should not come into contact with skin or
the fumes be inhaled. Those which are flammable must not be used when the
operator is smoking, or near open flames, sparks etc.
The
recommended spot removal procedure is as follows:
- Scoop up solids and blot up liquids
first - avoid rubbing the carpet surface
- For unknown spots, apply solvents (for greasy/oily stains) first, followed by
water-based spot removal agents. Apply agent to clean towel or tissue, not to
the stain. Use small quantities at a time - always work from edge of stain
inwards towards the centre. If at all possible, as a final treatment, rinse
spot with clean water - do not over wet - and blot as dry as possible with
clean tissues or towelling.
Spot
and stain removal kits should at least contain the following:
- Clean
tissues and/or towels
- Small
brush, spoon (or spatula) and sponge
- Solvent
for removing greasy/oily stains
- Carpet
shampoo
- Amyl
acetate/nail polish remover
- Laundry
detergent
- Chewing
gum remover (solvent or freezing type)
- Neutralising
agents: acetic acid solution, ammonia solution (5%)
- Methylated
spirits and turpentine or white spirit
- Rust
remover
For
details on how to remove different spots, see Table 1.
Table
1
Spot
of Stain Removal Guide for Wool Carpets
The
charts below contain methods of treating spots and the order in which they
should be tried:
Easy
Spots - these are spots which can be easily removed if attended to quickly
Difficult Spots - these are difficult to remove and may require repeated
attempts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blood
|
|
|
|
Burn/Scorch
marks
|
|
|
|
Butter
|
|
|
|
Candle
wax
|
|
|
|
Chewing
gum
|
|
|
|
Chocolate/cocoa
|
|
|
|
Cola
|
|
|
|
Cream
|
|
|
|
Egg
|
|
|
|
Floor
Wax
|
|
|
|
Fruit
Juice
|
|
|
|
Gravy
and sauces
|
|
|
|
Herbal
tea
|
|
|
|
Metal
polish
|
|
|
|
Mustard
|
|
|
|
Oil
and grease
|
|
|
|
Paint
(emulsion)
|
|
|
|
Shoe
polish
|
|
|
|
Tea
|
|
|
|
Urine
(fresh stain)
|
|
|
|
Difficult
Stains
|
Difficult
Stains
|
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
Artificially-coloured
drinks
|
|
|
|
Bleach
|
|
|
|
Central
heating radiator fluid
|
|
|
|
Coffee
|
|
|
|
Felt-tip
pen
|
|
|
|
Furniture
polish
|
|
|
|
Glue/adhesive
(plastic base)
|
|
|
|
Ink
(fountain pen)
|
|
|
|
Ink
(ballpoint pen)
|
|
|
|
Lipstick
|
|
|
|
Milk
|
|
|
|
Nail
varnish
|
|
|
|
Paint
(oil)
|
|
|
|
Rust
|
|
|
|
Soot
|
|
|
|
Tar
(asphalt)
|
|
|
|
Urine
(old stain)
|
|
|
|
Vomit
|
|
|
|
Red
wine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Treatments
1. Carpet shampoo solution (diluted)
2. Warm water
3. Cold water
4. Laundry detergent (non-biological), one
teaspoon in 250m1 warm water
5. Absorbent paper
6. Chewing gum remover, solvent type
7. Nail varnish remover
8. White spirit
9. Vacuum
10. Rub with coin
11. Rub gently with coarse sand paper
12. Spot remover for greasy/oily stains
13. Household disinfectant
14. Acetone
15. Surgical spirit
16. Inert absorbent powder
17. Ru s: rer"we r
18. Consult professional carpet cleaner
Some
chemicals are hazardous and should only be used strictly in accordance with
their use and safety instructions.
Interim Maintenance
This
is used to brighten the appearance of the carpeting by removing surface dirt,
but without necessarily removing much of the deep-seated soil in the pile.
This
can be accomplished by techniques such as bonnet buffing, which use a rotary
scrubber and a soft textile cleaning pad in place of the circular brush (as
used for rotary shampooing.) The cleaning solution is applied either directly
to the carpet or to the pad. Dirt from the carpet surface is transferred to the
pad; the pad must be reversed or changed frequently to be effective. Dirty pads
can be laundered and reused.
Impregnated
compound (powder) cleaning uses inert powder, impregnated with a mixture of
water, solvent, detergents, etc which are brushed into the carpet pile and,
after drying, vacuumed out. The powder acts as little sponges, which absorb the
dirt from the fibre surfaces.
Periodic Maintenance
However
meticulously both regular and interim maintenance are carried out, the time
will come when the carpeting will require a thorough, deep or restorative
cleaning. Systems used are based on shampooing, using a high foam carpet
shampoo, or spray extraction cleaning, using a low foam shampoo.
Prior
to commencing these wet cleaning techniques, the carpet pile is usually treated
with a pile lifter, which is a twin-motor vacuum cleaner, with a large
cylindrical brush and powerful suction action to open up the pile and remove
embedded grit which normal vacuuming leaves behind.
Shampooing
involves the use of a rotary or cylindrical brush machine which brushes a
shampoo solution - "wet" shampooing - or a shampoo foam -
"dry" shampooing - into the carpet pile. After this is completed, the
dirt-laden shampoo is either
- Sucked
out of the pile by means of a wet pick-up machine
- Rinsed
out using a spray extraction machine (charged with water only), or
- Left
to dry and the dried shampoo and loosened dirt particles removed by vacuuming -
the so called shampoo crystallisation process.
Of
the above procedures, the last one tends to be least expensive, but also the
least efficient; the second one the most expensive and most efficient.
Spray
extraction cleaning injects a detergent solution into the carpet pile,
immediately followed by an integral wet pick-up system. Amount of solution
sprayed into or on to the carpet pile varies greatly between machine models and
makes, and 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
prior to spray extraction, and by the use of rotating or oscillating brushes in
the floor "wand" of the machine.
With
all wet cleaning techniques, it is important to avoid over-wetting the carpet
as this greatly lengthen the drying time and may cause problems with
discolouration of the pile. Brushing of the pile should also be kept to a
minimum, especially with some carpet constructions. It is strongly recommended
that the carpet be pre-tested prior to commencing any wet cleaning to ensure
that neither chemicals (shampoos or spot removal products), nor the cleaning
technique itself, cause damage to the structure or colour of the carpet.
3
Recommended Cleaning Methods for Wool Carpets
There
are no hard and fast rules on which cleaning technique is the best for wool
carpets. This depends largely on the type of carpet concerned and the degree of
soiling. As a general rule, cleaning methods involving brushes or beaters
should be avoided on long pile or coarser loop pile wool carpets. In these
cases, plain suction vacuum and spray extraction wet cleaning are often the
best methods (see Tables 2 and 3), but much will depend too on the skill of the
operator - no technique is completely foolproof.
The
damage done to carpet in (wet) cleaning usually relates to over-wetting, too
much mechanical action and the use of unsuitable shampoos and other chemicals (see
Table 4).
Wet
cleaning has both positive and negative effects on the texture of carpets.
The positive effects are:
- Lifting
of the carpet pile (all textures)
- Improvement
in the tuft definition (loop pile, velours)
- Improved
handle (all textures)
All
wet processes cause some untwisting of yarn in cut pile carpets, depending on
amount of moisture applied, mechanical action, degree of "setting" of
the yarn, etc. Brushing causes some fuzzing (shampooing, but also upright
vacuum cleaner). Ridging on extremely long pile carpets can be caused by some
spray extraction cleaning tools.
4
Cleaning Chemicals
The
basic requirements of cleaning chemicals for use on wool are:
- low
alkalinity
- non-sticky
residue on drying
- good
cleaning power
- no
added bleaches, dyes etc
The
reasons for these requirements are:
high alkalinity (often, but not always, reflected in high pH) can cause colour
bleeding with dyed or heather (tweed) yarns, pigment bleeding in natural
berbers, jute staining of pile surface in light coloured carpets, and in
extreme cases, yellowing and weakening of the wool fibre
- sticky
residues cause quicker re-soiling
- poor
cleaning performance necessitates excessive mechanical agitation of the pile
- additives
can cause uneven cleaning results, bleaching or change of colour
Some
commercially available carpet cleaning chemicals are unsuitable for use on wool
carpets because they do not conform to one or more of the above requirements.
To identify those chemicals - pre-sprays, shampoos, spot removal chemicals - which
are compatible with wool carpets and are safe to use, an approval program for
wool carpet maintenance products was established in 1991.