Proper carpet maintenance is important
Americans bought over 11 billion square feet of carpet for the purpose of business and home installation in 2015 alone. That massive number makes carpet one of the most popular types of flooring utilized in the United States. Consequently, it’s also the most common type of flooring that needs replacing.
The average lifespan of a carpet varies depending on the grade of the carpet. Lifespan can normally range between 5 years to 15 years. Replacing carpet in your business space can be a costly endeavor. It’s important to maximize your carpet’s life through proper carpet maintenance.
Our group has put together this article to help give you and your company the proper carpet maintenance information needed to preserve your carpet’s value!
1) Understand Your Carpet Type and Tailor Your Care Routine to It
The most common types are carpets for commercial space are:
Cut pile carpets
Level loop carpets
Cut and loop carpets
Broadloom carpets and
Carpet tiles
The most common types of carpet fibers are nylon, wool and polyester.
Take the time to educate yourself on the carpet type you have and follow the manufacturers recommendations for carpet care. No matter what type of carpet you have, the following maintenance should be followed.
2) Protect Your Carpet in High Traffic Areas
It is important to cover any carpet in your office that gets a lot of foot traffic to protect it. This will help to decrease the excessive wear these high traffic areas can get.
Carpet coverings are a good idea in office entryways, especially in wet climates. It’s good practice to use walk off mats in entryways and plastic chair mats underneath chairs in workstation areas. Unprotected carpet under active office chairs is a sure-fire way to wear out carpet.
3) Vacuum Thoroughly
Vacuuming is the very best way to remove dirt, dust and other foreign matter from carpet. If you don’t vacuum on a regular basis, dirt and dust can become deeply ingrained and act as “sandpaper” to slowly destroy the carpet fibers as the carpet is walked on. Much of this dirt is not seen on the surface. The carpet may not look like it needs to be vacuumed, but the unseen dirt is still there. Vacuuming, especially in high traffic areas, is a close second to chair mats when it comes to protecting carpet.
Thorough vacuuming involves going over all carpet areas with preferably multiple passes in high traffic areas. This is because each pass of your vacuum on average only removes 75% of dirt that can be reached. That means that you’d have to pass over the same spot three times to have your carpet be 98% clean. Some commercial cleaning vacuums are more efficient than others. It is important to use a vacuum containing HEPA filters that remove microscopic particles.
4) Quickly Clean Spills
Spills, whether they be liquid or solid, can get absorbed into your carpet quickly. Once fully absorbed, it can be impossible to get your carpet back to the way it looked before.
Proper carpet care dictates that custodial staff or other designated persons clean spills as soon as possible. This practice will mitigate the chance of staining. With water based liquid spills, dilute them with water right away and treat the area with a pre-spotter. Doing so will decrease the spilled liquid’s concentration and make staining less likely. Do not rub the spill but simply place an absorbent cloth over the treated area and apply gentle pressure to absorb the diluted liquid.
With solid spills, do not scrub the chunks. If there is still solid material in a spill zone and you clean over it, you may rub it deeper into your carpet’s fibers. That just makes the problem worse. Instead, diligently pick all solid scraps out of the carpet and place them directly in a waste bin. You should do this as quickly as possible, so you can safely clean the remaining area before the staining sets in. Once the area is free of solids, dilute the area with water to reduce the concentration of the spill and then treat with a safe carpet cleaner to fully rid the area of offending substances. Dry with an absorbable towel.
5) The Pet Factor
Progressive businesses are now allowing pets, dogs in particular, into the workplace more frequently. This can be one way to keep employee morale up and to be more inviting to pet loving clients. Unfortunately, a downside to pets in the workplace is additional challenges in maintaining carpeting.
For example, with pets in the workplace there is always the possibility of pet stains, shedding, and even digging or scratching on carpet fibers.
To reduce the risk of some of these undesirable outcomes, consider only allowing house trained pets into your business. Doing so could save your carpet from damage, foul smells, and protect your professional environment. Another alternative is to not allow pets on carpeted areas.
6) A Regular Deep Clean Goes a Long Way
A deep clean water extraction every 6 months to a year can help to keep your carpet looking its best and be odor free. It is key to proper carpet maintenance. The water extraction process uses specialized, high-pressure equipment to clean the fibers of the carpet and help to remove soils that normal vacuuming cannot remove. When completed correctly, the extraction process will leave no chemical residue behind.
Carpet extraction can remove stains you thought were impossible to get out and overall, make your carpet less of a health hazard for employees and clients to be around. To lengthen the life of carpet, the fibers should be free of any residue and embedded dirt when it is walked on. Along with regular vacuuming and spot cleaning as needed, periodic carpet extraction will help to do just that.
Wrapping Up Carpet Maintenance Tips
Carpets are the most popular type of flooring used in businesses and homes in America for a reason. They look excellent, increase comfort, and help to insulate areas from noise better than concrete, wood or other resilient flooring.
To keep your carpet in its best condition and maximize its lifespan, practice the carpet maintenance tips listed above. Doing so will not only make your office space more appealing to building occupants but will also save money overall by maximizing the lifespan!
If you manage an office space in the Phoenix metro area and your company needs high-quality carpet cleaning, look no further than our group at Square Feat. We have been maintaining commercial carpeting in the Phoenix metropolitan area for years. We’d like to take our expertise and use it to help you!
You can read more about our carpet cleaning services today by clicking here!
