I can’t really remember when the change came (consumer rejection of carpet with colors like green, blue or mauve) to white, off white and beige, but it happened long enough ago that there are very few homes with colored carpet. I have always suspected the reason for favoring neutral tones was that the homeowner could more easily market the house if they had a reason to move. That reason combined with the emergence of “stain resist” wear warranties made white and off white ideal selections. We all know the stain resist warranties work exactly as they were intended, but the problem is the consumer thought stain resistant meant soil resistant. As far as we know there is no soil resistant carpet.
Another factor adding to this maintenance nightmare is the design selection of tile in a substantial portion of many homes as well. Since a large segment of the population don’t remove their shoes at the doorway, the heavy traffic areas formerly found at the entryway have now been moved to the entryway of each bedroom. People are staying home more now to home office or because of retirement. Combine these with the economy of the last couple of years, where professional cleaning is often put off far past the point where it is required, and you have a perfect storm set of challenges facing the cleaner.
These challenges include:
Trying to remove the visible soiling in walk areas, especially the “U” from the master bedroom door to the master bath (which is tile of course).
The desire not to completely strip out the stain resistant feature built into the carpet. Although the stain resist has warranty requirements that are voided after not having the carpet professionally cleaned every 12 months, it seems wrong to just go to a high pH chemical right off the bat that would remove it.
We are a small company and have the luxury of taking the time to pile lift the carpet, apply safe pH cleaner with a cimex, and then extract with a truck mounted cleaning machine. This procedure has always yield fantastic results, but it is getting tougher. We have used a chemspec formula 161 (pH 9 and wool safe) for years and it has provided a good solution. We also meter a neutral pH extraction detergent.
We encourage or homeowners to get rid of the shoes, get more mats, and vacuum like crazy as alternative solutions if they have to put off cleaning. We also tell them it needs to be done more frequently. At some point we are going to ask if they want the carpet clean (with a high pH chemical), or if they want the stain resist component preserved.
Stone sealers are necessary sometimes. This is the most definitive statement I can make about them. And the most important for the stone owner to remember.
Consider the following:
Some stone surfaces need no sealer. Using sealer actually will leave a residue that can’t be removed with out a fairly expensive procedure.
Sealers exist to provide a level of water and oil repellence. This is all they do. They don’t keep the surface clean or shiny.
The finish of the stone — hone or polish — will in some cases determine the necessity of a sealer.
Sealers are delivered in either a solvent or a water base.
Sealers are resins disbursed in water or solvent.
An enhance, that brings out the color in a stone, is a sealer.
Application methods of the sealer is as important as the sealer itself.
Occasionally installers will attempt to cover defects with a sealer.
On marble or calcite based stone, no sealer will prevent low pH etching from household acids like vinegar or lime juice.
A crystalizer process that uses steel wool and a carnuba wax combined with an acid is not a sealer and will damage the stone.
If you ask a typical stone retailer the answer about sealer is that all stone must be sealed. They sell sealer.
Sealers will not dry uniformly, and as the sealer dries, the part that dries first will seal the stone and the undried sealer residue will lie on top of the stone.
You should never be able to see a sealer on top of the stone. If you can, and it is a glossy “topical” sealer, you have damaged the stone and will need to use an expensive procedure to remove it.
Acrylic, urethane, waxes and concrete products are unsuitable for stone.
Upholstery cleaning requires a unique skill set. Cleaning techs need to be familiar with a range of fabrics that can either make the cleaning job easy or difficult.
The other day at a job I saw some new crewel fabric samples. I didn’t even think they made the stuff any more. My point here is at some level a cleaning technician must be aware of the potential problems fabrics represent. He must be able to identify these fibers by feel (I know all about the burn test as a way to ID fibers) or by visual queues. Spending time at a fabric store is invaluable for a cleaning technician because he will become familiar with the fabric types. Some require special handling. Like silk.
Some important questions any cleaning technician should be asking before he starts the job:
Have you ever had it cleaned before? This is the most important question of all. If you have had it cleaned, and it wasn’t damaged, then we know it can be safely cleaned.
If it was cleaned, how did they clean it? If you had it cleaned with a truck-mounted carpet cleaning machine or a portable carpet-cleaning machine that doubles as upholstery cleaner, then that furniture should be able to survive anything. Count yourself lucky in this. This type of cleaning can damage even slightly delicate fabrics.
Was this chair recovered? If it was, did the upholstery company remove the old fabric? If not and it is moisture sensitive, this can have a bearing on the cleaning outcome.
How much did the furniture cost? This is important because when a customer tells the technician an eight-foot sofa cost $12k, we know at that point silk may be involved.
These are just a few factors that should be handled during the inspection process. The nature of the soil should be noted and a strategy developed for removing it. Some factors that effect the process:
The arms and cushions are the central wear areas on most upholstered furniture. Often the goal is to match these areas with the low wear areas on the back and sides.
Is a pet involved? This will often involve pet hair that must be removed. Pets also are fond of rubbing against the low front and sides, depositing oily residues that must be removed.
Are there spots that look to be solvent soluble, like ink and lipstick? Most soils are water-soluble and are removed with water based surfactants.
Will the piece require dry cleaning? This is rare, but sometimes necessary. We have the ability to dry clean using heated dry solvents, but almost never need to do this. But there are fabrics (see the crewel I mentioned above) that tolerate no water.
How many people have grout haze on their tiles? A bunch I can assure you. If you look across your floor and you see cloudy uneven residues that will not respond to household chemicals, you may have grout haze.
During he grouting process, tiles have to be wiped free of grout residue before the grout sets up on the tile. Or at least buffed off the tile at some point. We see several efforts to conceal grout reside, from designing tiles that have a faux grout residue built in, to application of sealers to hide the mess.
Solutions to grout haze removal vary depending on the type of tile.
Ceramic and porcelain tiles will “give up” grout haze by application of an acid cleaner. We apply the acid with a floor machine followed by removal with the high heat/pressure spinner. This is potentially a DIY project. You will need acid cleaner, possibly a floor machine and a means (wetvac) to remove the slurry. If you go this route, test a small area with n acid cleaner, and see if you are able to mop up the residue. The key is to suspend the grout haze with the acid and recover it before it is reattaches to the tile.
Stone floors owners are not so lucky. Since stone is porous, the grout haze will penetrate the tile slightly. Couple this with the fact you can not use acid on stone (unless you want an acid washed look) and this project quickly moves to the professional category. This situation is almost always complicated by an installer that knows he has a grout residue problem and attempts to hide it with a stone (and sadly in some cases an acrylic sealer – suited for vinyl flooring) sealer. To further complicate the situation, the installer will improperly apply the sealer, (as sealers dry, the first part applied will prevent the sealer left above from penetrating and an impossible residue will form) leaving a visible residue along with the grout haze. Instillation of stone flooring requires a skill set most tile installers do not have.
This is a frequent situation and will not be fully appreciated until the problem is corrected. Many times a customer will tell us the floor never looked as good even after a new install. We correct this situation by using abrasive diamonds pads or honing powders followed by proper application of sealer, if necessary. This is never a project suited for DIY.
Cleaning carpets requires using a combination of factors:
Complete dry vacuuming of the carpet to remove as much dry soil as possible. Like the oriental rug plant that uses a beater to remove sand, the carpet should be vacuumed with a beater bar vacuum that has two motors: one for the beater and one for the vacuum.
Chemical application to suspend water based soils. Most carpet soiling (dried cola) becomes an oxidized acid. This sticky mess is disengaged from the carpet fibers by adding an alkaline detergent.
Agitation of the applied chemical. The carpet must be agitated to apply the cleaning solution to all the fibers.
Dwell time for the chemicals. The chemical reaction is enhanced if the chemical is allowed to remain on the carpet long enough for the soil to become suspended.
Heat. Heated solutions work better.
An excellent cleaning company will of course pre-vacuum the carpet. They will also find a way to apply the proper solution with a tool that will gently agitate the fibers. They will then allow the chemical to stand long enough for the maximum cleaning to take place. They will then extract using super high heat.
There will be the occasional solvent soluble spot that will need to be cleaned with a solvent spotter. Remember that most carpet soil is water-soluble. Some stains (lipstick, ink, grease) will require the use of a solvent spotter. Solvent spotters are applied during the cleaning process.
Welcome to Fabric & Tile Masters, check back for news and posts.
This blog is a resource for customers, friends in the business, and anyone generally interested in fabrics such as draperies, carpeting and upholstery — How to clean them, and what to expect from a cleaning process.
We also mention tile and grout here — Cleaning, sealing, regrouting, repairs, and solutions to use to keep them look great.
Stone counters, and flooring are covered because we refinish and restore them.
Water damage and mold removal is covered in detail. Our company, Restoration by Fabric & Tile Masters, is fully trained, certified and insured to help with any insurance loss.
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