Seeing is Believing: Show Customers the Dirt that Lurks!

Carpets are great collectors of soil and dirt and the sources of soiling are infinite. Anything inside or outside a building can be tracked in, blown in, spilled or dragged onto carpets. It's estimated that 90% of all dirt in a building comes from soil tracked onto the floor by foot traffic. Most of this soil will deposit onto the entryways.

Because of this, carpet manufacturers and designers have expended a lot of time and effort developing products that hide soil. While this keeps the floor looking better longer, the camouflaging of dirt has a bad effect on the cleaner: it gives the building owner the mistaken impression that the carpet is not dirty and requires no cleaning other than vacuuming. So, you may need to help the customer see what they can't see.

If your customer doesn't believe the carpet is dirty, a simple demonstration can help. Take a clean white cloth and dampen it with a general purpose carpet spot remover. Press the cloth into the carpet traffic lane. The cloth will most likely show a definite gray or black streak, however; it's always smart to do a test run before you involve the customer to ensure a compelling visual result.

Adapted from The Complete Guide to Cleaning and Restoration (Burlington, WA: Legend Brands, 2017).