Remodeling Caution
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November 19, 2009 under Carpet
Today’s blog concerns remodeling and some of the things you should pay attention to. A local municipality had a pipe break and damaged some of their carpet. The existing carpet was installed tack and pad over level loop nylon carpet throughout the facility. There was a 4” vinyl base throughout. Client wanted to replace the tack and pad with a glue down carpet tile. What are the implications?
1)Â Â Â Â Â Remove carpet pad and tackless from the wood sub floor.
2)Â Â Â Â Â Wood subfloor joints must be patched to prevent telegraphing through new carpet.
3)Â Â Â Â Â New carpet is thinner than existing carpet and pad so taller base must be used.
4)Â Â Â Â Â Different height transitions must be used.
Methods of Cleaning your office Carpet
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March 23, 2009 under Carpet
There are several methods and machines to clean carpet. I cannot recommend just one method of cleaning because different areas and certain types of dirt or stains will require a different cleaning method rather that a “one size fits all” method of carpet maintenance.
If you have allowed your carpet to get filthy (ie. Have not followed a proper cleaning method or schedule) you will generally have the most success with hot water extraction methods of carpet cleaning. Hot water extraction is also effective on individual stains such as when a cup of coffee gets spilled. It is imperative that the correct temperatures of water and correct amounts of cleaning solutions be utilized. When you use too much cleaning solution, you have a much harder time removing the cleaning solution and it can end up attracting more dirt in the next few days after you have cleaned the carpet. I have seen this happen too often….. The most effective equipment for hot water extraction is truck mounted equipment which will allow the water to be kept consistently hot and the exhaust fumes and humidity are kept outside rather than still in the building. This method is also know as steam cleaning is one of the better methods of cleaning carpet.
Another method of cleaning carpet is the shampoo method of using foam to attract the dirt and vacuum the soil. The chemicals typically used have foam that is not sticky when it dries. It also allows for the brushes of the cleaning equipment to work into the fiber without damaging the carpet. Often rotary brushes (or bonnet cleaning) are used to spread the shampoo. Many times the carpet shampoo will have additional additives in the shampoo which will help to make the carpet look cleaner than it really is. This method requires that the carpet be thoroughly vacuumed both before and after the bonnet application of the carpet shampoo. This method is not the best method of cleaning carpet.
The final method in my carpet cleaning blog is the dry power method or crystal method where a dry power of detergent and a little bit of water is agitated into the carpet using a brush. This solution absorbs the soil and is then vacuumed up. This method is useful when the carpet needs to be cleaned frequently. This method is a bit more gentle on the carpet than the bonnet method and because very little water is used in the cleaning powder, the area can be walked on quicker. This is ideal for certain high traffic areas and areas that get traffic 24/7.
The choice of the proper cleaning method is critical so that your carpet doesn’t get damaged from the machine. Be careful not to leave residue in the carpet. Be careful not to damage the carpet fiber. It is wise to check with the carpet manufacturer for their recommendations and it is wise to hire a professional who understands the soiling, staining and fibers to provide the best possible method for cleaning your carpet.
When to Clean your office Carpet
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February 23, 2009 under Carpet
During the 1980’s there was a general consensus in the market place that you shouldn’t clean your carpeting too often, it would take out the stain protection from the carpeting. Many people still believe that this is true. I will argue that this is the wrong approach to carpet maintenance. Once you start seeing that the carpet is getting dirty, you have already started harming your carpeting.
Carpeting is mostly made out of nylon fibers. These fibers will get damaged when the carpet gets dirty. If you were to look at the fibers under a microscope, you would see this damage occurring. It is similar to what happens when you run sand paper over Plexiglas. You are sure to see scratches in the Plexiglas and will not be able to remove them.
How often is often enough when it comes to carpet cleaning. Well that depends on the amount of people walking on the carpet and what type of conditions that the carpeting is subjected to.
Areas such as lobbies and entrances which get subjected to a consistent amount of traffic and dirt need to be cleaned more often than a conference room towards the back of the office. A private office will usually need to be cleaned less often than the conference room.
Areas such as the entrances to commercial kitchens and pantries are areas where grease and grim build up will need to be cleaned more often as well.
As a rule of thumb, I recommend that the entrances get cleaned once a month, the common corridors once a quarter, the conference rooms and cubicle areas twice a year and private offices either twice a year or once a year.
Olefin Carpeting
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December 15, 2007 under Carpet
Olefin carpeting is the second most used fiber for commercial carpeting. Olefin’s relatively inexpensive cost is its allure.
Olefin fiber is predominantly used in making level loop pile carpeting. The reason that this fiber is constructed that way in commercial carpeting is that this fiber doesn’t have good spring-back ability.
So, if you make carpeting with the fibers close to the ground and very tight, when the carpeting does flatten out, it won’t show very much. The olefin fiber is normally only solution dyed and its styling is more limited by the construction limitations.
Polyester Carpets
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November 15, 2007 under Carpet
Polyester yarns are NOT used much in commercial carpeting. Polyester fiber makes an excellent residential fiber because of its relative cost, you get a lot of carpet for your money compared to other fibers. Polyester can be twisted and finished nicely to make beautiful residential fabrics.
However for commercial use this yarn doesn’t have the spring back ability that nylon and wool carpet fibers do.
Nylon Commercial Carpets
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October 10, 2007 under Carpet
Nylon carpet fibers are made from petroleum. As a carpet fiber, nylon is the predominant fiber used in commercial carpeting today.
The advantages of nylon fibers in commercial carpets are:
- Stand up to foot traffic - nylon fibers have good tensile strength
- Great for styling -Â nylon fibers can be twisted and heat set to get many different appearances for styling.
- Stain resistant - nylon fibers can be modified to hide soil and can be treated to resist staining.
- Wide Range Color Choices - nylon carpeting can be either “piece dyed”, “yarn dyed” or “solution dyed” and this allows for many different styling choices.
Commercial Wool Carpet
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September 10, 2007 under Carpet
Wool fiber comes primarily from sheep that live in New Zealand – yes you heard that correct – New Zealand.
Why you might ask… The New Zealand wool has a bristly and coarse fiber which carpet people swear is the best fiber to make carpeting. I don’t think the sheep care whether you wear it or walk on it.
Anyway, wool fiber is expensive but has some advantages over other fibers. Wool has a great tensile strength. The fiber has a good springback quality to it. So when you walk on wool, the fiber bounces back. That is why your grandmother’s wool carpet remained in her den for 30 years. The fiber also has a natural ability to resist certain kinds of stains and soiling.
Wool fiber is normally piece dyed or yarn dyed is does accept color very well. These characteristics make wool an excellent fiber for the contract carpet market. If only those sheep were closer to home…
The Best Fiber For Commercial Carpet
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July 24, 2007 under Carpet
There are several choices for carpet fibers available today for commercial carpeting. Tom’s blog will examine the pluses and minuses of each type of fiber and why you would chose on fiber over another.
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