Restorative Cleaning: Winning the Race Against Dirt

Operators are often in a “race against dirt” – a race they feel they can never win! Facilities work hard to keep their floors, fixtures and furniture looking clean and looking new – yet this is often not enough. Dingy floors and soiled and stained carpets and upholstery persist, and operators may feel that they are simply "pushing dirt around" rather than actually removing it.

They’re right – they ARE just pushing dirt around. All carpets require periodic deep restorative cleaning and that’s only possible with hot water extraction. All interim low-moisture cleaning methods make carpets appear temporarily cleaner, but they cannot remove soils embedded at the base of carpet fibers. These soils contribute to fiber wear and browning issues that can prompt facilities to replace carpets sooner than necessary.

The keys to restorative carpet cleaning are a) thorough vacuuming to remove as much dry particulate as possible, b) applying prespray and strain treatments and agitating to achieve adequate soil suspension, c) thorough hot water extraction to leave carpets as clean and dry as possible, and d) drying quickly to prevent wicking. These procedures can seem labor intensive – yet the right equipment and products can streamline the process.

The most critical step is prespraying high traffic areas as well as any spots and stains, then agitating the product into the carpet using a bonnet or counter-rotating brush machine.

Now that you have broken the soil’s bond with the fiber, you need to extract as thoroughly as possible. The ideal solution is an acid-side rinse that has anti-wicking properties. Using a rinse that will not leave any residues will ensure that carpets stay clean-looking longer.

Interim cleaning systems are an important part of an overall carpet maintenance strategy, but only true restorative cleaning can help you win the race against dirt.