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Carpet care is a good activity to target
for green maintenance. Beyond
the traditional issues, carpet care in
a green maintenance program addresses
the selection of the appropriate products
and equipment, along with some minor
modifications of the procedures themselves.
The Pennsylvania Green Building Operations
and Maintenance Manual suggest
that an effective carpet care program do
the following:
1. Ensure that vacuums are in good
working order using appropriate bags
and/or filters.
2. Vacuum bags should be emptied or
replaced when half full. Dispose
properly.
3. Clean up spills while they are still
fresh.
4. Minimize the amount of moisture
used during cleaning.
In a green maintenance program, the primary effort should be a pollution prevention
strategy, or one that minimizes the
need to extract a carpet. Thus, a specific
focus should be on preventative measures,
such as:
1. Keep outside/outdoors entryways
clean to prevent soils from being
tracked into the facility. This may
include sweeping, use of a power
sprayer, etc.
2. Use entry mats to capture soils and
moisture from shoes. It is preferable
that the mats be large enough for
each shoe to hit the mat two times
(approximately 10 to 12 feet).
3. Frequent vacuuming of entryway
mats and grating systems.
4. Frequent dust mopping of resilient tile
floors, especially close to entryways
and other sources of particulates (i.e.
near copier rooms) to reduce soiling
on surrounding carpeted areas.
5. Establish a specific daily routine for cleaning carpets.
6. Establish an interim cleaning process to
address the needs of high traffic areas.
7. Minimize the need for large scale
extraction cleaning.
When carpets need to be spot cleaned,
solutions should be applied from a sprayer
in a stream or coarse spray, as compared
to a fine mist. This will minimize the
amount of material that is atomized and
potentially inhaled, as well as minimize
over-spray.
When carpets need to be extracted, it is
important that occupants be notified. It is
preferable to use the least toxic products
possible. Use the least amount of water,
and ventilate the area with fans if necessary
for rapid drying to minimize the
possibility of mold growth and slip-fall
incidents.
It is preferable to conduct major cleaning
activities on a weekend or some other
extended time period when occupants
will not be in the facility. This allows maximum time for the building to be
ventilated (flushed with fresh air) prior
to the return of the occupants.
Action Items:
When designing a carpet maintenance
program that maintains the integrity of
green buildings:
1. Minimize the amount of cleaning
chemicals. Excess chemicals result in
rapid resoiling.
2. Use appropriate functioning equipment
that will maximize the amount
of water being extracted from the carpet
to minimize moisture and potential
for mold, mildew and bacterial
growth.
3. After extraction of carpet areas that
were flooded, spray treat the area with
a disinfectant solution to prevent
mold, mildew, and bacteria growth.
4. Increase ventilation; open windows if
weather allows and use fans to dry
carpets quickly. Carpets should be
completely dry within 24 hours.
5. Dispose of cleaning solutions properly.
Carpets can act as a “sink” that allows
particles and other unwanted material
to filter down into the backing of
the carpets. Once deep down in the carpet,
they can lead to damage of the
fibers and the need to ultimately replace
the carpets.
But from a health perspective, the
biggest enemy of a healthy indoor environment
is when moisture provides an
opportunity for these unwanted contaminants
to become biologically active.
Thus, extraction cleaning can get deep
down into the carpets and remove the unwanted
contaminants.
Unfortunately, extraction cleaning can
also add large amounts of water to the carpet,
especially if the equipment is not functioning
properly. Select appropriate
cleaning solutions, and mix them properly.
Using too much concentrated cleaner
not only wastes product, but also can
lead to more rapid resoiling of the carpet.
Do not apply too much solution.
Make sure that the vacuum pick-up is
working properly and that there are no
holes or leaks in wands or other attachments
that decreases suction. When vacuuming
spent solution, repeat the process
multiple times in both directions.
Use increased ventilation to help dry
carpets. This can be accomplished by
opening windows when weather permits,
increasing building ventilation and using
floor level drying fans. ❑ |
