Carpet Cleaning After the Holiday Party

Caring for carpets after the holiday season

According to Howard Partridge, there are a number of reasons facility managers will opt to have their carpets cleaned, especially during the holiday season:

• Events, such as a company party.

• While this reason could apply to any time of the year, visible soiling is often a problem right after a holiday party in many commercial locations.

• For many commercial carpets, regular maintenance cleaning is a requirement to keep the warranty intact.

• Odors—such as cooking odors—can permeate carpet fibers.

We suggest to our clients, especially those with otherwise clean carpets, to hold off on cleaning carpet until after the holiday season, many will want the carpets cleaned before their holiday event. However, after the holidays and any major event, contractors and distributors should strongly suggest that clients have their carpets cleaned for a variety of reasons. Among these are the following:

• Drink and food spills are common during holiday events. The longer a spot remains on the carpet, the more likely it can turn into a stain. A spot generally can be removed; a stain, on the other hand, refers to an actual discoloration of carpet fibers and can be far harder to eliminate.

• When carpets are soiled, there is a very good chance that these soils, especially if they are moist or are grease or oil, can collect on shoe bottoms and carried onto other carpeted areas, spreading the soiling.

• Many clients address spills and soiling during holiday events by wiping the problem area; as carpet cleaning professionals know, blotting—not wiping—is the way to remove a spot.

• Finally, not all soiling is apparent. Some carpet cleaning experts suggest if clients wait until soiling is apparent—especially after an event—they have waited too long. It can become much more difficult to remove the soiling.

Addressing Other Before and After Issues.

Building managers may have other issues and concerns to address before a holiday get-together at their facility. Many customers are likely to ask the following questions:

How can we protect our carpet before a holiday event?

Installing interior matting systems around food service areas is the No. 1 step to take. And due to adverse weather conditions that may exist during holiday time—and the subsequent moisture, salt, and soils that can track in on shoe bottoms—matting should be installed at building entries and all heavily-trafficked areas.

If we clean the carpet before the party, should we also apply a protectant?

The answer in most cases is “yes.” Carpet protectant helps to repel water and moisture and resist soiling, all of which are big considerations for a holiday event. Once applied to the carpet, the protectant provides an invisible shield to protect carpet fibers. This barrier also allows for dry spills to vacuum up more easily because the protectant helps keep dry soils from embedding in carpet fibers.

However, we must advise their clients that when it comes to spills and moist soils on carpet, the protectant will only give the client more time to clean up spills. If left to set on the carpet, the moist soiling will eventually penetrate this protective barrier.

Should we try to clean up spots as they occur or wait until after the party?

Most likely you are going to clean up spills and spots right away, so the best thing is to use the safest in-house spotting procedures. For instance, as mentioned earlier, spills should be blotted out of the carpet by using a clean, white cloth. Do not rub or wipe them. After blotting, and if most of the spill appears to be gone, you may blot or gently rub the area using warm water and a small amount of dishwasher liquid.

Should we clean our carpet using a hot-water carpet extractor?

The answer is both “yes” and “no.” If there has been excessive spotting, then a hot-water machine with a perfect-heat system will help the cleaning chemicals work more effectively and likely result in more effective cleaning.

Have a Plan

When we step back and take a look at facility cleaning operations, we see that the key to keeping a facility clean and healthy is having a plan, and this is certainly true when it comes to carpet care around holiday events. Proper cleaning of carpet, before and after an event, not only keeps the carpet looking its best, but it can also extend the lifespan of the carpet significantly. Have a carpet cleaning plan in place—not only during the holidays, but year-round.