5 Reasons People Skip Commercial Carpet Cleaning

5 Reasons People Skip Commercial Carpet Cleaning

When we call on commercial carpet cleaning accounts we're prepared to hear all kinds of reasons to not clean commercial office carpet. Very few are truly legitimate reasons, why you should not clean your office carpet. And when we hear them we wholeheartedly agree with them. However more often than not the reasons for not cleaning the office carpet are due to our prospects being misinformed. With our many years of successfully cleaning commercial carpet and hard surface flooring we thought we would list some of the reasons we hear and offer some advice on each one of them.

Reason No. 1 - We're replacing our carpet next week

You got me on that one. If there ever is a good reason to not clean your carpet, it's that the carpet installers are scheduled and you're replacing your old, worn, soiled carpet with a brand new one. However even on that reason I have an argument to make. Is the carpet truly worn out? Or have years of poor cleaning practices left so much residue, soap and soil sticking to the carpet, that it looks like it's due for replacement?

Often a restorative cleaning approach can bring back commercial carpets that was destined for the landfill. A combination of pile-lifting, (which literally digs-out ground-in dry soil) the carpet, hot-water extraction cleaning and a, post-cleaning, encapsulating protective treatment can bring a commercial carpet back to life. And with proper ongoing maintenance, many additional years of service can be gotten from a carpet that was due to be replaced. This will not only satisfy the immediate budgetary concerns; it will also give you environmental brownie points by keeping your old carpet out of your local landfill.

Reason No. 2 - We had them cleaned six months ago

Again, you kind of got me on this one as well. Although it can be argued that a six-month cleaning schedule might be right for most commercial carpet. It really depends on the location of the carpet and the amount of traffic it receives to decide what the appropriate cleaning frequency would be. We have one account in particular that receives so much foot traffic coming-in onto their carpet from the outside that we do a restorative cleaning every month.

Some items to consider on this point:

• Keep matting at key entry and exit points of your building to keep dry soil outside.
• Make sure your carpet gets vacuumed with vacuums that have roller brushes
• Clean before visual clues start telling you your carpet is dirty.

Reason No. 3 - The person who sold us the carpet told us to hold-off on cleaning

Unfortunately, we hear this statement more often then I'd like. It speaks to a lack of education on the part of the sales person and a true disservice to the company or individual who bought the carpet. Although carpet in general is very resilient and commercial carpet even more so, it is not wear, soil or bullet proof.

In the early days of commercial carpet, it was true that even the best cleaning that existed at that time left a lot of residue and soap in the carpet. This would lead to quick re-soiling and a major loss of its appearance level. As time went on and commercial carpet cleaning systems improved tremendously this old myth has somehow withstood the test of time. One big reason for this, in my opinion, is because there is still a lot of poor quality cleaning being done. And these poor quality carpet cleaning jobs keep loading carpets with residue and soap, and keep the myth alive.

Reason No. 4 - It's not in the budget

Ouch, really? I can understand when carpet replacement is not in the budget, however proper maintenance can push off commercial carpet replacement for many years. One of the most common mistakes we find on commercial cleaning jobsites is that businesses hire a janitorial firm to clean their floors in an attempt to save money.

Quite often these companies come to regret that decision. We've found that the typical janitorial company works at such a competitive (read; cheap) price point, that they have to sacrifice the quality of their education, equipment, labor and cleaning products. Unfortunately, this lack of quality, over time, finds its way into onto your carpet in the form of a heavy build-up of grime, soap and chemical residue.

Unfortunately, the old saying "being penny wise, but pound foolish" definitely applies here. The short-term savings of a low-cost bid for commercial carpet maintenance can turn into a big carpet replacement expense much sooner than necessary.

Reason No. 5 - It doesn't look dirty

Although it makes sense to judge the cleanliness of a carpet based on how soiled it does or doesn't look, visual clues are only part of the story. When a commercial carpet starts looking visibly soiled it means that the soil load in the carpet is very high and cleaning is way overdue. The illustration below gives you a visual representation of what this means over the life of the carpet. Proactive carpet maintenance will keep the carpet performing at a much higher level for much longer then reactive carpet maintenance. So waiting until it starts looking dirty is the wrong approach.

2 Reasons why cleaning commercial carpet is a great idea

Reason No. 1: Healthy and Happy Employees. The key to a healthy indoor working environment is the removal of potentially harmful substances that get walked into your office on the bottom of shoes. Various studies have shown that a well maintained carpet actually keeps the indoor working environment healthier. It does this by keeping dust, dirt and pollutants trapped in the carpet fibers and not allowing them to become airborne. Thus keeping these harmful substances out of your employees breathing zone.

Clean and well-maintained carpets also speak volumes about the overall cleanliness of your facility. Employees feel better about their work environment when it's clean, and it has shown to improve worker morale, thereby creating happier and more productive employees.

Reason No. 2: Keep it from filling-up landfill space. By cleaning and maintaining commercial carpet the right way and thereby easily doubling its useable life, you're contributing to a more sustainable future. Every year thousands of tons of carpet get hauled off to landfills, filling up almost 2% of the nation's waste, according to industry experts. By properly maintaining your office carpet you not only will save money by not having to budget for premature replacement, you also will contribute to keeping out of the local landfill.

QUICKTIP No. 1 - Maintenance tips to prolong the life of your commercial carpet: Place large door mats at key entry points to your facility and clean them regularly. Vacuum a lot. Dry soil removal is critical to a long and healthy carpet life. Devise a maintenance plan that makes sense for your facility. In smaller dentist or medical offices, a, one-time per year, restorative hot water extraction cleaning mixed with vacuuming and spot cleaning will make sense. Whereas in larges offices an annual restorative carpet cleaning should be augmented by quarterly maintenance cleanings.

QUICKTIP No. 2 - Most people do not realize how important it is to apply protectant to commercial carpet. Granted, it needs to be a good product and applied properly to be effective, but it is crucial to apply a good protectant to all traffic areas of the office after a restorative hot water extraction cleaning. This way the protectant bonds to a super clean carpet fiber and maintains a much longer lasting clean. Spots and spills clean-up easy, vacuuming is easier and more effective and your carpet will last longer.

Although the article started with 5 reasons to not to clean your commercial carpet, I hope you see that after reading this information that maintaining your carpet investment is very important. It, not only, will save you money in the long run by not having to replace it prematurely, it also will make for a healthier and happier workplace. So if you're ready to find out what a well put together commercial carpet cleaning plan looks like feel free to contact us. Larry Sanders, Commercial Sales Manager at Zerorez Socal, 949-387-2222 ext. 7024 or lsanders@zerorezsocal.com.

Besides carpet, Zerorez® services all the surfaces you walk-on such as tile, stone, area rugs, vinyl, linoleum, VCT and wood. As well as sit-in such as office chairs and other upholstery.