Maintaining the investment in your carpet through effective cleaning
February 1st 2004

The correct maintenance of a carpet can prolong its life and keep it looking good, says John Hodge, national sales manager, Truvox International Purchasing a new carpet can provide a welcome boost to any office or building, rapidly transforming the aura to provide a warm and hospitable atmosphere. However, they are costly and like any other expensive product they will need to be carefully looked after, in order to guarantee the maximum value from the original investment made in them. A carefully planned cleaning programme throughout the year can help maintain the appearance and quality of a carpet and in many cases extend their life. But unless cleaning managers are familiar with the many floorcare technologies and techniques available for the care of carpets, they could easily select the least cost effective option for their cleaning requirements. The correct machine, technique or frequency of cleaning required will depend on the type of carpet, its location and density of foot traffic. While machines such as the Truvox Back Pack vacuums are suited to the daily cleaning of large areas to remove surface dust and dirt, other machines within the Truvox range provide a deeper level of cleaning. Depending on traffic and levels of soiling a typical regime could involve monthly, six monthly and yearly cleaning to enable a comprehensive removal of all soils held deep within the carpet fibres. The bonnet mopping technique helps to lift dirt and brighten the surface of carpets and is ideal for monthly cleaning providing cleaning versatility when used with a triple-brush rotary floorcare machine. This is achieved when a bonnet mop is fitted to one of the brush heads, which allows it to rest on top of the carpet fibres, while the remaining brush heads are kept in place during operation to allow them to reach deeper into carpet fibres to loosen more dirt. This combination allows an increased agitation of the carpet fibres to provide greater cleaning results. A more sophisticated cleaning technique could also be used for the monthly stage of the cleaning programme. The encapsulation technique uses a specialised detergent, which is worked into the carpet fibres loosening dirt and grease, which then dries to a crystalline solid that encapsulates the dirt which is then simply removed by standard vacuuming. Its success is built on its ability for not only removing dry soils but also the oily and sticky soils that attract and hold dry soils to the surface. These are the particles responsible for the dull, grey, ugly appearance of many inadequately cleaned carpeted surfaces. Truvoxs Cimex Cyclone range of rotary floorcare machines are suited to bonnet mopping and encapsulation cleaning techniques. The contra-rotating triple-brush technology provides deep levels of agitation necessary to provide the best possible cleaning results. Further floorcare technologies and techniques should be employed at the six monthly and yearly stage to ensure the momentum is maintained within the cleaning programme. Injection extraction machines are effective as they dissolve dirt particles held deep within carpet fibres while removing them via a powerful inbuilt vacuum. A range of models are available from Truvox which can provide rapid cleaning results. Tank and wand machines spray cleaning solutions deep into carpet, dissolving ingrained dirt, which is then collected via a powerful vacuum. Alternatively, all in one machines which spray cleaning solutions deep into the carpet pile, contain a powerful in-built rotary brush which allows intense agitation of the carpet fibres to release dirt which is immediately collected by use of powerful vacuum extraction. Multi-purpose machines for both hard and carpeted floors are another option. They spray solution onto the carpet dissolving soiling, which can then be removed. The Truvox range of multi-purpose machines uses a combination of contra-rotating brushes and solution spray system to remove dirt effortlessly from deep within the carpet. In order to protect the original investment made in a carpet it is crucial that a cleaning programme is maintained and that users are properly trained on how to operate the appropriate type of floorcare machine. If this is achieved not only will the quality be maintained but in many cases the lifespan of carpets can be doubled, significantly increasing the return on investment in the long run.

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