COMMERCIAL SERVICES
Along with our regular cleaning services listed under Residential Services, we also provide specialized Commercial Services. We provide a complete Commercial Carpet Maintenance Program and Resilient Tile Services.
Commercial Carpet Maintenance Program
There are several good reasons to maintain the appearance of a carpet at a high level. Carpet is the first surface that a visitor generally notices upon entering a building. A clean, well-maintained carpet creates a lasting, positive impression.
Like all textile materials, the beauty and life of a carpet depends largely on the care that it is given. Proper, consistent carpet maintenance is critical to extend the life of your carpet and to sustain an optimum performance and appearance level and a healthy indoor environment. If a carpet is not maintained in accordance with a maintenance program, it can reach an unacceptable level of appearance. At the point, the required appearance improvement is not always possible or requires unusual cleaning efforts. However, if a Carpet Appearance Maintenance Program is instituted, a carpet’s appearance would likely never reach the unacceptable level. Therefore, a carpet should not simply be cleaned as needed; it should be maintained on an ongoing basis.
A complete and effective program should include three maintenance categories: preventative, daily, and restorative.
Preventative Maintenance
This refers mainly to procedures that reduce or limit the amount of soil tracked onto the carpet. If less soil is tracked in, there is less soil to remove later during cleaning. The other aspect of preventative maintenance involves paying immediate attention to accidental spills. If spilled substances are allowed to stay on the carpet, permanent stains can result. Entry mats placed in entryways will collect dirt before it reaches the carpeted area. These mats need to cover two full strides or approximately fifteen feet.
Daily Maintenance
This refers primarily to vacuuming, using proper equipment, and frequency. Vacuuming is the most important cleaning procedure. Areas of high volume use or “traffic lanes,” track-off areas, and funnel areas, require special attention and higher vacuuming frequency. The same holds true for walk-off mats and runners.
The general recommendations for vacuuming frequency are as follows:
- Heavy traffic areas: Daily,
- Medium traffic areas: Twice weekly,
- Light traffic areas: Once or twice weekly
Restorative Maintenance
This is also called corrective cleaning and refers to procedures used when overall soiling becomes apparent, and a greater cleaning effectiveness than routine maintenance is required. The methods used in Restorative Maintenance result in maximum soil removal and have a high cleaning effectiveness. The typical method in this category is hot water extraction.
The planning function in carpet maintenance is step number one. Facility managers and maintenance supervisors who understand this step can have clean looking carpet every day within a low budget. There is a big difference between cleaning carpet and maintaining carpet. Cleaning is the removal of apparent soil. In the minds of many commercial carpet owners, cleaning takes place imprecisely "as needed." But soiling is a cumulative process, which, if allowed to go too far, cannot easily be reversed. Maintenance, on the other hand, is planned ongoing process of soil removal designed to retain carpet appearance at a good level every day; i.e., no obvious soil buildup.
Resilient Tile Services
What can be done to maintain the look of your resilient flooring?
Following the recommended maintenance program is the key to a long, attractive life for commercial resilient flooring. Walk-off mats, sweeping, mopping, polishing and buffing protect more than just the floor – they protect the building owner’s investment as well. An effective program to maintain your flooring should contain the following: grit control, cleaning the floor, polishing the floor, and stripping the floor.
Grit Control
Controlling grit and soil is crucial to prolonging the attractive appearance of any floor. Grit or soil is any material – including dirt, stones, sand and clay – that is deposited onto the floor by normal commercial traffic. The best way to control grit is by using appropriate walk-off mats.
Recommended mats have a high-friction, open surface designed to knock grit particles from the bottoms of shoes and then trap the particles. Mats should be used at every entrance, inside and outside, should be at least as wide as the doorway and eight to twelve feet long. Also, be sure to select a mat with a backing that will not stain the floor.
Don’t forget that the mats need to be cleaned regularly. They should be vacuumed, shaken and/or hosed off frequently. Fine dust particles will still find their way into the interior, despite existence of the recommended walk-off mats. Regular vacuuming, sweeping and dust-mopping will help control this type of grit. For the most cost-effective method of controlling fine dust like grit, dust with a treated non-oily mop.
Cleaning the Floor
Cleaning a floor can range from a simple damp mopping to a complete stripping.
Damp-mopping/spot-mopping is appropriate for cleaning up dust, spills and other easy-to-remove soil. The detergent solution should be changed frequently to eliminate re-depositing of dirt on the floor. Done regularly, this procedure can minimize the need for more time-consuming maintenance procedures.
Polishing the Floor
There are three main reasons for polishing a floor:
- Protection
- Appearance
- Ease of maintenance
On most floors a minimum protective layer (three to five coats) of polish is required at all times. Maintaining an acceptable gloss level is done by buffing, spray buffing or burnishing. Supplementary coats of polish should be applied as appearance and gloss level dictate. To maintain optimal appearance in high-traffic and high soil areas polish may need to be applied more frequently to maintain the minimum protective layer.
Stripping the Floor
Stripping is the process of removing all dirt and old polish from the floor. Stripping is the most labor intensive and, therefore, the most expensive floor maintenance procedures. It should not be done more often than is absolutely necessary. A well-trained maintenance staff using quality equipment and maintenance products on a regular schedule can significantly reduce the need for stripping.
