Care and Cleaning

CARPET CARE 101
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 appearance 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 cleaning method for your carpet.
Just as there is no “one-size-fits-all” carpet, there is no “one-size-fits-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 fiber 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 fibers.
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 find 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.