Adding More Years To Your Office Carpet
Carpets are great for office spaces. Their insulating properties keep the room warm. They reduce noise by muffling footsteps and absorbing surrounding sounds, and the even add to the décor of the interior space. However, the effectiveness of this functionality is tied to how well they are maintained.
The properties that enable them to enhance the comfort of the indoor space also make them particularly prone to building up loads of grime. The fibres of the material, plus air spaces in the structure, are key in providing the insulation and noise-dampening properties, but this is also where dirt is held. As more grime accumulates, the carpet ends up looking dull and deteriorated. The debris in the carpet is abrasive, and as people walk on the material it gets grinded against the fibres of the carpet. This gradually wears them down, reducing the lifespan of the installation. That attractive look of the carpet gets replaced by a forlorn and deteriorated effect, which drags down the rest of the décor of the space. After all, the carpet is one of the largest décor elements in the office space, and its state is bound to reflect on the surrounding furniture and appliances.
Carpets are also absorbent materials, soaking in spills that wind up on them. Those unsightly stains take away the appeal of the carpet, negatively affecting the decor of your office space. The last thing you want is customers getting turned off by the sight of the workplace, causing them to form a negative opinion about your workplace. Note that the spills soaking deeper into the carpet also provide a fertile ground for mould and mildew to pitch root. Such an infestation can spread on the underside of the carpet for weeks before it begins popping to the surface, in which case extensive damage will have already occurred. With the multiple threats facing carpets, proper measures need to be put in place to preserve those in your workplace. Here are ways that this can be done.
5 Tips For Better Care Of Your Office Carpet
- Identify hotspots
These are those sections that are more susceptible to getting soiled fast. The different areas in the workplace witness varying levels of footfall. High-traffic sections end up getting soiled at a fast rate, and will need more attention. These are the likes of the hallways, entry corridors, the lounge area, and the cafeteria. With the increased chances of dirt being tracked onto the carpets in these sections, as well as higher likelihood of spillages, extra care will be required. This includes measures like having stain-proofing treatments applied to the carpet, to having more frequent professional commercial carpet cleaning services called in to provide a thorough wash.
- Frequent vacuuming
Given the busy nature of commercial establishments, routine carpet vacuuming is mandatory. This is especially the case of the high traffic areas, where the vacuuming should be carried out on a daily basis. For the medium and low traffic zones, the vacuuming can be done twice a week. Location also matters. For instance, if the office is in a densely populated area, or with close proximity to the highways and dusty areas, then there will be more particulate matter being transferred into the interior space, which inevitably winds up in the carpet. The vacuuming reduces the build-up of soiling within the material and this also means that less resources will be required during the commercial carpet cleaning session that will be scheduled. This brings us to the next point.
- Schedule deep carpet cleaning
Here, the professionals are called in to give the carpet an in-depth clean. Processes like hot water extraction are used to flush out the gunk that is buried within the material, and powerful formulations come in to break down those stubborn stains. After all, there is more soiling within the carpet fibres than that which is just visible on the surface. You also don’t want a situation where the carpet cleaning processes used simply push the dirt deeper into the padding. The professionals come in with high-powered systems that enable you to ensure that the gunk – which could even be 4 times the weight of the carpet, is efficiently removed.
The alternative of using rookie carpet cleaning companies that have little experience or working with low-capacity machinery puts your installation at risk. For instance, without a properly trained team handling the task, the risk of the wrong chemicals being applied increases. You end up in situations such as harsh chemicals being applied on the carpet and corroding its structure, the colours of the unit getting bleached out, all through to the carpet being soaked in too much water such that it separates from its primary backing. Damages to the carpet can be expensive to repair, and in some cases can call for the entire carpet to be replaced. These are not additional expenses you want hitting your business budget. Your employees should also be focusing on the core tasks that you hired them for, not taking time away from their workstations to wash the carpet. Not only does this reduce the productivity of your business, but since they aren’t trained on carpet care, they can also make mistakes that will end up ruining the carpet.
With commercial carpet cleaning, you want to ensure that you entrust the job to a qualified contractor. Mistakes can be costly, especially when a rookie team is carrying out the task. From damage to the carpet itself due to the wrong products and equipment being used, injuries to employees and customers in the business premises due to safety protocols not being observed, all through to wastage of time and resources due to the task having to be repeated after the results obtained being unsatisfactory. You don’t want to find yourself in this situation. Here are issues you should look into when selecting between the different commercial carpet cleaning companies in your location:
- Ratings and reviews
Relying on the testimonials on the company’s website is not enough. Take the extra step to read into the reviews of the company in areas like social media platforms and business directory listings. What do previous clients have to say about the quality of services that they received? For companies that have been in the business for long, it’s unlikely that they will have 100% positive reviews. However, here you’re looking for largely positive feedback. In fact, seeing complaints posted on the business’s social media handles can show you how the company addresses such issues. Are they ignored, or does the company take steps to address the client’s concern – which is usually followed up by the client updating their review? This will be a pointer to the company’s trustworthiness or lack thereof. For companies with mostly negative reviews, this will be a red flag. When discussing with the representative of the commercial carpet cleaning company, be sure to ask them about their policy on guarantees, especially with regards to the measures that are put in place should you not be satisfied with the results.
- Documentation
Is the commercial carpet cleaning company licensed? At the bare minimum, you should be engaging with a company that is legally recognized – not a nondescript firm that only exists on Facebook. Can its address and owners be verified? Where are its offices located? Additional aspects like the cleaning crew having their uniform while providing the service can come in handy, as well as aspects like properly branded vehicles.
Insurance is also vital. Accidents can occur even when dealing with the most experienced companies. Insurance comes in to provide protection from liabilities should anything go amiss. This refers to both insurance for the property, as well as worker’s compensation for the carpet cleaning crew should they get injured while delivering on their mandate. Companies skipping out on getting insurance usually do so to avoid paying the premiums – which allows them to offer cheaper services, while at the same time exposing you to risk. A professional carpet cleaning firm, should have sufficient insurance coverage in place to enable them to carry out the task while protecting you, their client.
- Range of services
This varies from one cleaning business to the next. It comes down to the kind of extra services that you will need for your business. For instance, commercial carpet cleaning contractors also tend to the upholstery, that way you can have multiple areas tackled during the same session, giving your workplace a more in-depth clean. After all, a majority of the grime that is on the upholstery will get transferred onto the carpet, and having it worked on will reduce this effect. There are also those that offer window cleaning, exterior surface care such as for the walls and sidewalks of the establishment, all though to washing the appliances and restrooms in the facility. Have a discussion with the cleaning company to liaise on the particular services that your premises needs. The commercial carpet cleaning costs vary, and are usually based on aspects such as the kind of material being worked on – since the natural and synthetic carpets each have their own requirements; the size of the carpet as it will impact the resources required, all through to cases where there are particularly stubborn stains that need to be dealt with. The frequency of the cleaning also comes into focus, since there are use cases that want to hire once-off cleaning, such as in readiness for an event, and there are also those that go for scheduled carpet cleaning services, done on a regular basis.
Office spaces tend to see high traffic levels, with people from all walks of life up and about in the premises. You don’t want accidents occurring – so ask about the specific safety measures that the carpet cleaning crew will put in place. This ranges from the signage being used, sealing off sensitive areas, all through to the suitability of the formulations being worked with, to avoid a case of harmful chemicals being released into the indoor air space. Are the products child- and pet-friendly? What about their ecological impact? For those cases where potent formulations need to be used, such as when tackling particularly troublesome stains and dirt spots, which steps will need to be taken to ensure the safety of the rest of the occupants in the building? Getting this carried out at the onset will make the commercial carpet cleaning session to proceed much more smoothly.
- Don’t ignore spills
Spillages are a threat to the carpet. With its absorbent nature, it will readily soak up the liquids that wind up on it. These need to be addressed as soon as they occur – and it also applies to carpets that have been treated with a stain-resistant formulation. The treatments are developed to ward off the staining effect, but it does not mean that you allow spills to dwell on the material. The longer that the liquids remain on the carpet, the more they set into the material, and the more difficult they will be to remove. The moisture content also brings about the risks of fungal growth in the carpet, which opens another Pandora’s Box of problems. Are there stains dotting your office carpet? Don’t fret. By hiring commercial carpet cleaning services from a reputable company, you will be able to have them got rid of, restoring the charm to the carpet and accentuating the interior space of the business premises.
- Make use of entrance mats
Soiling tracked into the premises underfoot is one of the primary sources of the gunk that accumulates on the carpet. Putting in place measures to curb the amount that gets transferred from the outdoors into your office space is key, and one of the most effective is having entrance mats in place. These allow the employees and customers accessing the facility to get rid of the bulk of the dirt before they proceed to walk on the carpet. In addition to protecting the carpet, it also reduces the amount of workload that will be required during subsequent commercial carpet cleaning tasks. There’s also the welcome benefit of having welcome mats that have been styled to match the business’s brand, adding to the aesthetic charm of the space. Remember that these entrance mats will need to be laundered on a regular basis, giving them a thorough wash to remove the loads of grime that they will have locked within their structures.
