Use and Care Guide

BEYOND VACUUMING AND ROUTINE SPOT CLEANING
In addition to preventive maintenance, proper vacuuming and
spot cleaning, a planned program of both interim and deep
cleaning is the best approach to maintain your carpet’s appear-
ance by extracting soil and substances that can damage your
carpet.
When deciding on the right carpet for your business, it was
necessary to consider many factors unique to your own needs.
The same is true when considering the most appropriate clean-
ing method for your carpet. Just as there is no “one-size-ts-all”
carpet, there is no “one-size-ts-all” maintenance program.
However, there are cleaning principles that apply across the
spectrum, and apply to carpet the same way they apply to
cleaning any other object. We refer to these principles as
TACT...
TIME AGITATION CHEMISTRY TEMPERATURE
TIME is for dwell time, allowing the cleaning agent to do its
work in breaking the bond between the soil and ber and either
dissolving it, absorbing or encapsulating it. Just as we don’t
apply toothpaste to our teeth and immediately spit it out, we
can’t expect good results if we apply cleaning agents to the
carpet and then immediately remove them.
AGITATION is for mechanical agitation, which serves to work
the clean- ing agent throughout the carpet pile and to help
break the bond between the soil and the carpet bers.
CHEMISTRY is any carpet-appropriate cleaning agent that is
used to remove soil. Different types of soiling require different
types of cleaning agents. We use chemistry in cleaning every
day of our lives and should not be afraid to use it appropriately
when cleaning carpet.
TEMPERATURE means using the appropriate temperature for
the type of soiling. This mainly applies to wet extraction and
does not always mean heat. Heat is a catalyst that speeds up
chemical reactions and aids in the cleaning process by helping
to lower surface tension and loosen most soiling bonds.
These principles apply regardless of the cleaning method you
employ. Optimal cleaning results will be achieved when using
all of these principles together. Should you nd that one of the
principles is not available to you such as lack of hot water, you
will need to increase the use of the other principles, i.e., more
agitation or dwell time to achieve equitable results.
CARPET CARE 101