Cleaning Correctly is an Art
Lots of people think that cleansing carpets and tiles is just a matter of vacuuming or throwing a mop over the area, and at a domestic low level they are correct, however this is also the difference between a cleansing professional and a "do-it-yourselfer" - obviously the professional will get vastly superior results due to correct approaches, materials and experience.
In this article I will share some of the cleansing approaches used by a professional janitorial service to enable you to get a better result from your efforts.
Carpets - Our Bonnet pad cleansing method.
Building Janitorial Service uses a cotton bonnet pad under the rotating drive pad that attaches to the underside of the circular head of the standard speed buffer. While the buffer is off, the cotton bonnet pad is submerged in three gallons of carpet cleaner mixed with tap water in a mop bucket with ringer. The cotton bonnet pad is rung out thoroughly, placed under the drive pad of the buffer. Then the buffer is turned on and the carpet is scrubbed with the buffer.
The rotating bonnet pad skims across and through the yarn of the carpet, absorbing the retardants out of the carpet yarn. After a fifteen by ten foot area is scrubbed, the buffer is turned off and the cotton pad is turned over. After scrubbing another fifteen by ten foot area, the buffer is turned off, and the cotton bonnet pad is again submerged in the mop bucket solution of carpet cleaner and water, rung out thoroughly, and placed back under the buffer. Scrubbing of the carpet is continued, and the above steps are repeated until finished.
As long as the retardants in the carpet reside in the carpet yarn, and are not in the carpet pad below the carpet yarn, the bonnet pad carpet cleansing technique is usually effective in removing the retardants out of the carpet yarn and as a result, the bonnet pad carpet technique is effective in cleansing the carpet. As mentioned earlier, the rotating cotton bonnet pad skims across and through the carpet yarn only. It does not go into the carpet pad below the carpet yarn. If the retardants went through the carpet yarn down into the carpet pad, and reside in the carpet pad, then bonnet pad cleansing will not be effective, and the carpet will have to be shampooed. An article about shampooing carpet will be published by Building Janitorial Service at a later date, Specialist Cleaning- Shampoo Carpet.
Cleaning Ceramic Tiles
The furniture is removed from the flooring. The tile cleaner is mixed in a plastic bucket with tap water, not hot water, according to the dilution ratio in the instructions on the back of the tile cleaner jug. The tile cleaner is mixed with tap water, because the chemical in the tile cleaner does the work, not the high temperature of the water.
The mixed solution is poured onto the flooring. While the buffer is off, a black polyester scrubbing pad is attached under the drive pad of the buffer. After waiting about fifteen minutes for the tile cleaner solution to loosen the retardants in the tile and grout, the flooring is scrubbed. The smooth surface of the tile is scrubbed with the rotating black pad under the buffer, operated by one member of the crew, and at the same time, the grout is scrubbed by another member of the crew with a deck brush made out of heavy duty plastic bristles. While the grout is being scrubbed with the deck brush, downward pressure is applied on the plastic bristles of the deck brush, into the grout. The entire ceramic tile flooring could be scrubbed with the deck brush only, without using the buffer.
After the flooring is scrubbed, the soiled solution is removed from the flooring with a wet vacuum or by being mopped up, with a mop, bucket, and ringer. The flooring is then rinsed clean by being mopped with clear water. After the flooring is rinsed, any standing water that remained in the grout was also removed. The head of the mop was used to absorb the standing water out of the grout. The flooring is allowed to dry for a few hours. After the flooring has dried, the furniture is replaced.
