In the last seven months, facility managers have had to become cleaning experts. The standard of cleanliness has shifted dramatically along with the attentional to time and detail. To ensure maximum safety and cleanliness many facilities and facility managers have painstakingly followed and studied guidelines from the CDC.

 What many have learned is that different surfaces require different efforts to maintain cleanliness and health standards. Specifically, the carpet. With carpet already being one of the more difficult surfaces to clean regardless of viruses or world events, you must have an expert commercial and janitorial company like Vanguard Cleaning Systems or your facility managers become proficient in maintaining a healthy carpet. While removing carpet for easier to clean surfaces is always an option, it isn’t always fiscally responsible.

Here are some helpful notes to ensure proper care of your carpeted areas.

Sanitize

Carpet can not be disinfected. Although terms like clean, sanitize, and disinfect are often interchanged, they mean completely different things. The reason being is, the EPA does not have any disinfectants that are registered for carpet, only hard nonporous surfaces. With carpet having pores it makes a great surface for dirt and germs to collect and hide.

With that said, it is important to note that carpets are good at not spreading viruses like COVID-19 easily since viruses and bacteria get trapped in the holes and die rather quickly. Before sanitizing can begin the carpet needs to be cleaned. Cleaning simply involves removing top layer substances like dirt and dust before sanitizing. This prevents pathogens from hiding beneath the surface of the aforementioned.

Use the right tools

Ever watch those home improvement or DIY shows and think how come mine doesn’t turn out the same. Well besides potential errors it comes down to tools. They have and are using tools that get the results they want in an extremely efficient and precise manner. The same should apply for our hygiene and workspace health. Sadly, it doesn’t.

 Utilizing the right vacuum is the pinnacle in maintaining a healthy carpet and work/living area. Using a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration vacuum is a must for fighting COVID-19 or any other virus and dirt in your facility. Some people prefer upright vacuums due to the weight distribution while others prefer backpack vacuums; this is just preference based on ease of use and mobility.

The important thing to focus on is the HEPA filters, as they trap dust, dirt, allergens, and pathogens ( including viruses) rather than simply recirculating in the current airspace.

The right stuff

You can’t remove nail polish with water, can you? You can’t properly clean and sanitize your carpets either without the proper products. Choosing the wrong product, worst-case scenario, can damage your flooring and potentially cause harm to those interacting with the surface.

The CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute ) utilizes a testing program that labels pre-sprays that are approved for the health of your floors and employees. Facility managers’ attention to these labels will help ensure they are taking the best steps to carpet health in their buildings.

Look the part

Cleaning for health and cleaning for appearance used to be semi-separate. Businesses would often go the cheapest route when evaluating potential janitorial service providers or facility maintenance equipment. Now businesses are focusing on the health of the building more than the appearance or cost.

However, this does not have to be one or the other deal. While it is important to make sure your environment is healthy, it is equally important to know your employees and customers are more attentive to dirt and uncleanliness than ever before. It doesn’t matter the frequency in which one cleans their facility if the walls look dingy and the floors have built-in footprints and stains people will see it as dirty and therefore unclean.

I highly recommend using a well known, highly rated company like Vanguard Cleaning Systems to deep clean and sanitize your carpets and hard surface floors to regain the trust and peace of mind that not only is your facility healthy—it looks it!