WindsorCarpet Care Guide

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Carpets are produced from fibers that can be made from either natural or synthetic materials. Natural materials, such as wool, cotton, and jute are extremely absorbent and tend to dry much slower than their synthetic counterparts. Additionally, natural fibers need to be cleaned with lower pH products since leaving them wet for extended period of time or at a high pH can cause the natural fibers to “brown out” as they release a brown substance that wicks to the tops of the fibers. Today these fibers are typically encountered in rugs and woven goods in ballrooms and hotels. It is always a good idea to check to see what type of fiber you will be cleaning as permanent damage can be done to natural fibers that are cleaned improperly.

Synthetic fibers are produced from small plastic pellets that are melted down and extruded through a “spinnerette” that somewhat resembles the shower head in your shower. The fibers are cooled, stretched, and crimped to give them bulk and resiliency.

This type of fiber is referred to as “Bulk Continuous Filament” or “BCF”, it is essentially one fiber that is miles long with no breaks. The individual fibers can then bundled together with 50 to 80 other fibers into what is referred to as a “singles yarn” and wound onto large cones. The next step is to take the singles yarns and combine them with 2 to 4 other singles yarns to produce a yarn that can be used to manufacture a carpet. The fibers are twisted together in a process called “plying”, resulting in a 2, 3, or 4 ply yarn. This type of process is the most common process for producing commercial carpet.

Another type of fiber production process occurs after the fibers have been stretched, cooled, and crimped. In this process the fibers are cut into 6 to 8 inch lengths and processed into a singles yarn. This process requires a few more steps to blend, straighten, and align the fibers but results in a softer, bulkier fiber that is more commonly used for residential applications. This process is used for all natural fibers as there is no way to process those types of fibers since they are removed from plants or sheared from sheep. A by product of using this type of fiber is that the carpet will have a tendency to “shed” fibers, dramatically at first, during it’s life. This is a natural occurrence and will lessen over time.

Once the fiber has been produced it can become a carpet through a variety of methods, however the most common are weaving and tufting. Woven carpets are produced on a loom by weaving the face fibers into the warp & weft yarns that make up the backing of the carpet. This process is costly and time-consuming. Therefore, these carpets make up about 1% of all the carpets produced today.

The most common carpet production method is tufting. Tufting is ac-complished by feeding spools of yarn into a machine that resembles a giant sewing machine. The fiber is then stitched into the “primary backing”, which is usually made from olefin fibers, that acts as a base-cloth to hold the fibers in place. The quality of the carpet is determined by 3 factors:

• Stitch Rate = The time between the needle penetrations. The faster the needles move the closer the rows.

• Gauge = Tufting machines can accommodate anywhere from 800 to 2000 needles. The more needles the closer the stitches

• Pile Height = How far the needle penetrates and how long each fiber is.

When the carpet is tufted into the backing the machine can either hold and release the fiber creating a loop, and thus a “loop pile” carpet or have the loop rock back against a knife, thus creating a “cut pile” carpet. While cut pile carpets are traditionally specified in residential applications for their asthetics and soft feel, commercial applications traditionally specify loop pile carpets for their durability. Some of the most popular styles of cut pile carpet are Saxony, which has loosely twisted yarns and a plush pile and Frieze, which has a tightly twisted yarn and resembles a shorter, more modern shag carpet.

How carpet is produced

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Loop pile carpets are the most popular fibers for commercial applications as they wear much better in higher traffic situations than cut pile carpets. The most popular style of loop pile carpet is “level loop” where all the loops are the same height. Other styles of loop pile carpet, such as “bi-level loop” and “loop and cut pile” carpets are usually installed with appearance and design of the space in mind.

Once the carpet has been tufted into the primary backing the next step is applying a secondary backing that is coated with latex to provide dimensional stability. Lastly, stain protectant finishes are applied and the carpet is dried, packaged, and shipped.

The dyeing of the carpet can be accomplished through a variety of methods. The fibers can be died when they are extruded, which is called “solution dyeing”. In this process the color pellets are mixed in with the polymer, melted, and then extruded. This results in a fiber that is colorfast as it has the color all the way through the fiber. The fibers can also be dyed before they are plyed in to yarns or they can be left undyed and tufted into carpets which produces a carpet that is essentially white, yet is called a “greige good” (pronounced “Gray”). Once a greige good is produced it can be dyed in a hot bath, or “beck” of dye or run through a continuous dyeing process where thousands of feet of carpet can dyed in one step. Both of these processes result in a carpet of one single color.

Many carpets, however, are dyed with bright, vibrant patterns and these are produced through “print dyeing”. In this process the greige good is run through what in essence is an extremely large ink-jet printer. The pattern is applied, the ink is set and excess inks are rinsed away. This is a very cost effective method for producing carpets today and is very popular.

Once the carpet has been produced it needs to be installed. Contrary to what many installers might say there are guidelines for how carpets are to be installed and they can be found at www.carpet-rug.com. Look for “CRI-104” for commercial installations and “CRI-105” for residential installations.

While you may be familiar with a tackless installation in your home where the tackless strips are nailed to the floor and the carpet is stretched of the tacks, a commercial installation is different. In a commercial installation the carpet is typically glued down to the floor. The glue is applied to the floor with a trowel, allowed a few minutes to set-up and get tacky, and the carpet is rolled over the glue and set in place. This type of installation is called a “direct glue” installation. A not to common variant of this type of installation is called “double glue down”. In this method a thin rubber pad is glued to the floor and then the carpet is glued to the pad to provide more cushion.

Lastly, a popular method for commercial installations today is modular tiles. Available in 12” to 36” sizes these tiles are applied to the floor with a releasable adhesive that allows them to be removed for cleaning or if a stain will not come out.

Frieze

Saxony

Level Loop

Bi-Level Loop

Loop and Cut Pile

Notes

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To begin to understand carpet maintenance we must first begin with understanding carpet. The first carpets, which were rugs crafted from wool, were introduced hundreds of years ago. The wall-to-wall carpeting that we are familiar with came about with the development of nylon fiber in the late 1930’s and became popular for carpeting in the 1950’s. The first generation of carpet fibers were round, which presented a unique problem that the engineers did not expect. While the wool fibers that had been used for years to make area rugs had amazing soil hiding properties, the round nylon fibers that were being used in the new wall-to-wall carpeting actually magnified the soil in the carpet, causing the carpet to look much more soiled than it actually was.

This was obviously an issue for the fiber manufacturers, after all, who wants a carpet that looks dirty? So the first change that was made to the carpet fibers, bringing about the “second generation” of carpet fibers was to change to shape of the fibers to a triangular or square shape. This change is the shape of the fiber gave the fiber tremendous soil hiding capabilities, and is the source of many of the challenges we face today. While

carpet fibers today are on their fifth generation with carbon fiber filaments for static protection, flourochemical protectants for soil and stain blocking, and acid dye blockers to resist stains from popular beverages today, this change in the shape of the fiber is a source of many issues.

While consumers choose carpet for many of its benefits, such as aesthetics, slip resistance, and comfort to name a few, not many will consider carpets effect on soils in a building. The floor in a building is the largest horizontal surface and traps the most particulate matter from the air. Additionally, textile surfaces, such as carpet, trap and hold soils from shoes as they enter the building. This soil trapping and holding ability allows carpeting to have a positive role in the indoor air quality of a building, if properly maintained. More and more we are finding ourselves becoming “indoor creatures” and

today we spend on average about 90% of our time indoors in air that can be up to 5 times more polluted than the outdoor air. While carpets ability to trap soil plays a positive role in indoor air quality, it still must be maintained properly, and this is where the trouble is. Many facility managers are used to the mindset of cleaning when a surface or an area looks dirty. Hard floors get polished or stripped and refinished when they look dirty. Concrete gets pressure washed when it looks dirty. The carpet gets cleaned when it looks dirty. The problem is that carpet is engineered to hide soil. So, if carpet is designed to hide soil, and it only gets cleaned when it looks dirty, how dirty is it really? It is filthy!

Understanding the need for carpet maintenance

Unacceptable appearance level, carpet uglies out

Carpet Cleaned

NEW

6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48

GOOD

FAIR

POOR

BAD

Regular Maintenance Program

No Maintenance Program

Carp

et C

ondi

tion

Time In Months

Wool fibers under a microscope. Notice the cuticles which allows the fiber to hide

& release soils easily.

This chart shows the difference between a proper maintenance program and one that shows the affects of cleaning when the

carpet looks dirty.

Today’s tri-lobal Carpet Fibers

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Furthermore, the soils that accumulate in the pile of the carpet are abrasive and scratch the carpet fibers with the effect of 120 grit sand paper. This scratching effect permanently damages the fibers and making them look dirty all the time. The end result of this scratching is traffic lanes that develop, and damage cannot be corrected by cleaning. Often cleaners find themselves claiming victory over this discoloration after a night of cleaning when the carpet is still wet. The water left in the carpet fills in the scratches and

reflects the light with the appearance of a new carpet fiber. However, once the water has dried the result is that the traffic lanes will be back.

The EPA estimates that we throw away approximately 4.7 billion pounds of carpet every year. That is enough to fully carpet 219 shopping malls. While some of this carpet is truly worn out, the vast majority

is still thrown away because it has “uglied out” and just does not meet the appearance expectations of the user anymore. This carpet takes about 1000 years to degrade in a landfill since it is typically

100% synthetic material. The toll that this takes on our environment is staggering. Thus, the need for a proper carpet care program.

A proper carpet care program will affect not only the environment as a whole, but the indoor environment and the bottom line as well. A proper carpet care program extends the useful life of the carpet while maintaining a high appearance level, and reducing water usage and dumping of chemicals. A properly maintained carpet reduces indoor pollutants and allergies because of its particle trapping effect. Lastly, a properly maintained carpet reduces overall costs of operation.

In a study cited by the carpet manufacturer Lees Carpets, State Farm did a 10 year study with two similar buildings and found that more regular maintenance, which resulted in higher cleaning costs, saved approximately 16% over the lifetime of the carpet because it extended the life of the carpet. Even though they doubled their cost of cleaning per year they still saved in the long run.

Which brings us to a proper carpet care program, what is it? A proper carpet care program consists of the following components:

Preventative Maintenance

Interim Maintenance

Daily Maintenance

Deep Cleaning Maintenance

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Notes

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Let’s begin with preventative maintenance. Stopping the soil from entering the building is the key, as some industry studies estimate that as much as 94% of the soil in a facility was tracked in from outside. The more soil we stop from entering the building the less we have to clean. So the first step to preventative maintenance is making sure that parking lots and walkways are swept and free of debris that could be tracked into the facility. Additionally, parking lots should be pressure washed on a regular basis to remove oils that accumulate from atmospheric pollutants, leaking cars, and other sources,

so that it is not tracked into the building.

Furthermore, proper matting should be installed at all entrances. Industry research has shown that 12 feet of matting removes approximately 80% of the soil from shoes and 36 feet of matting removes approximately 99%, so the more matting that can be installed the more effective your preventative methods are going to be. A proper matting system is typically comprised of a bi-level scraping mat outside to scrape large particles from the feet, and a carpet type mat inside to wipe and dry the feet. These mats should be vacuumed, extracted, and maintained as often as the carpets are maintained, if not more frequently. Keep

in mind that during rain, snow, or other wet conditions the soil load coming into a building can triple!

Daily maintenance consists of vacuuming and spotting. The carpets should be vacuumed on a regular basis, even though not all areas have the same vacuuming needs. For example, a carpeted lobby that receives traffic all day long will need vacuumed much more frequently than a carpet in an office at the back of the building on a high floor. The soil load on the carpet is just not the same. The lobby carpet is taking the brunt of the soil and the soil has walked off the shoes and been deposited long

before the shoes reach the office.

So, not only do different areas require different frequencies of maintenance, but also different products. High traffic lobbies may need an efficient dual motor vacuum while offices may need a single motor upright. Medium traffic hallways may need a wide area vacuum. Keep in mind that there are two types of soil in carpet: unbonded, dry soils which can be vacuumed out of the carpet, and bonded, sticky soils which are stuck to the fibers and must be cleaned out. Based on industry research by CW Studer the dry, un-bonded soils comprise

approximately 79% of the soils in the carpet while the bonded, sticky soils comprise approximately 21% of the soils.

The un-bonded soils are best removed in a dry state through vacuuming. Based on the fact that 79% of the identifiable soils in carpet are

dry in nature vacuuming is the most important step in carpet care. Vacuuming should be done on a regular basis to remove these soils and should be performed before any wet cleaning process is undertaken, such as extraction and encapsulation. Long story short: dirt and water make mud!

Spotting should be performed on a daily basis, since nothing catches the eye of a guest like a stain in the carpet. When spotting always pre-test spotters in an inconspicuous area for color removal. When trying to determine the correct spotter to use try putting the chemical on a Q-tip. This allows the technician to tamp the spot with the Q-tip

Preventative Maintenance

PreventativeMaintenance

Tool Box•Sweepers for parking lots & walkways

•Bi-level scraping mats for outside to remove large debris from

shoesDaily Maintenance

Versamatic Plus dual motor uprights

Sensor single motor uprights

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looking for any cleaning effect or color transfer without completely saturating the spot with the wrong chemical.

Keep in mind that chemical should be applied sparingly, whatever goes in must come out or the chemicals left in the carpet will cause a spot. Apply just enough chemical to remove the spot, rinse with neutralizing rinse or water and tamp dry. This will prevent spots from re-occurring.

•Single motor vacuum

•Dual motor vacuum for high traffic areas

•Wide area vacuum for large, open areas

•Spotting kit

•Spotter extractor

•Towels

•Safety equipment

•Wet floor signs

•Tamping brush

Daily Maintenance Tool Box

Interim maintenance is best accomplished through encapsulation cleaning. Encapsulation cleaning is the process whereby a solution is lightly sprayed onto the carpet and is then agitated and distributed through the carpet pile by a dual counter-rotating brush machine. The chemical is allowed to dwell in the carpet and come in contact with the bonded soils that are stuck to the fibers. Once in contact with the soil in a liquid state the encapsulation solution pulls the soil from the carpet fiber and into suspension within the encapsulation molecule. Once in suspension the chemical dries into a non-sticky, flaky, crystal

that can be easily vacuumed up during the next scheduled vacuuming.

From application to dried product takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes. This process not only restores carpet to a usable state rather quickly, but it cuts down water and chemical usage, as well as costs. While many choose to vacuum daily and extract frequently, a good program of scheduled encapsulation can extend the need to extract out 6, to 12, to even 18 months depending on the area of your facility. For customers looking to lower their costs and increase the appearance level of their carpet this is often the key ingredient that they are missing. Not only is this time saving process good for the customer’s bottom line, with reduced water and chemical usage it is good for the environment as well!

An understanding of the pH scale is important

in spotting, here are some key facts:

•Chemicals with a pH of 0-7 are called “acids”

•Chemicals with a pH of 7-14 are called “alkalines”

•7 is neutral

•You neutralize acids with alkalines and alkalines with acids

•For specific spots see the spotting chart in the back of the guide

Spotting Extractor

iCapsol Mini Deluxe

Interim Maintenance

InterimMaintenance

Tool Box• Encapsulation

machine

• Pump sprayer

• Vacuum

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The goal of deep cleaning maintenance is to remove the deeply embedded soils form the carpet and return it as close as possible to a “like new” state. Normally, this process involves filling an extractor with alkaline extraction chemical and extracting the carpet. However, there are a number of flaws with that process.

First, the chemical needs time in contact with the bonded soils that are stuck to the carpet fibers, which is commonly referred to as “dwell time”. It is during this time that the real cleaning should take place. This is accomplished by allowing the chemical to be sprayed on the carpet and have 10 to 15 minutes of time pulling the soils from the fibers into emulsion or suspension so that they are waiting for removal. For virtually all

soiling conditions the pre-spray that is applied should be alkaline in nature so that it can most effectively neutralize the soils in the carpet, which are typically acidic in nature.

The next step is rinsing the suspended soils out of the carpet through extraction. For this extraction the customer should use an “acid” or “neutralizing” rinse. While many people try to use water, it is terribly ineffective at removing the residues and soils from the pre-spray. Rinsing with hard water will only remove about 15% of the residues from a carpet. Rinsing with soft water will remove about 30%. But rinsing with an acidic or neutralizing rinse will remove over 90% of the residues form the carpet. Keep in mind that the best extractors only recover about 80 to 85% of the solution that they spray down, and that solution contains soil-attracting detergents. If left to dry those detergents will attract soils from the atmosphere and from foot traffic leaving a spot that need to be cleaned.

After the carpet has been cleaned and rinsed the last step is to dry the carpet a quickly as possible. Drying the carpet is important since carpet that stays wet for longer than 8 hours becomes a potential breeding ground for mold and the longer the carpet is wet the more chance you have for wicking. To dry the carpet be sure to utilize commercial blowers, run the HVAC system in the building for atleast 24 hours after cleaning, turn on ceiling fans, and leave doors open so air can circulate.

If you choose to apply carpet protectants do so before drying the carpet. Apply the protectants at the manufactured recommended application rates for the square footage you are protecting. Make certain that no foot traffic is introduced to that area till the carpet is completely dry, as this will reduce the effectiveness of the protectant in those areas. When applying these products always use an electric sprayer that generates consistent pressure for even application. Pump-up sprayers lose pressure as soon as you start spraying and are not a good choice for this application. Lastly, make sure that the sprayer that is utilized is a dedicated sprayer since leftover chemicals could interfere with the protectants ability to bond and protect the carpet.

Deep CleaningDeep Extraction

Tool Box•Single motor

vacuum

•Dual motor vacuum for high traffic areas

•Wide area vacuum for

large, open areas

•Extractor - Box & wand - Self contained - Walk behind - Rider

•Pump sprayer for pre-spray

•Rake or brush for agitating in prespray

•Blowers

•Safety equipment

•Wet floor signs

When you perform deep, restorative extraction,

always follow the 5 principles of cleaning:

1 Dry soil removal = vacuum.

2 Soil suspension = use a good pre-spray and give the chemical

10 – 15 minutes of dwell time - without letting it dry.

3 Extraction = extract the soil with a

neutralizing rinse to remove the suspended soils neutralize the pH and recover the maximum amount

of residual detergent.

4 Grooming = only on cut pile.

5 Drying = this is critical – get the carpet dry quickly.

Use blowers, ceiling fans and HVAC units.

5 Principles Of Cleaning

Nu WaveWide Area Vacuum

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Notes

Windsor Industries, Inc.

1351 West Stanford Avenue

Englewood, Colorado 80110 U.S.A.

800.444.7654

303.762.1800

303.865.2800 (fax)

www.windsorind.com

© 2008 Windsor Industries, Inc. All rights reserved.

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