I know this may raise the ire of many cleaners and others thinking of getting into cleaning, but these mistakes were so devastating we have to tell you about them so they never happen to you. One has to do with a carpet job done by cleaners part of a regular janitorial staff which maintainenced all the flooring. This job was performed at night. When the store manager came into the facility the next morning, he was notified by the department manager the carpet had been destroyed. The destruction involved large areas in which the broadloom had literally been eaten away. This area was covered up and taped off until a determination could be made as to what had happened. When the carpet was examined it was evident the nylon had been melted. The shape, size and configuration of the damage indicated a spillage which splattered and puddled. When touched, the affected area had a molten or soft, pliable feel to it.

Regular water soluble cleaning solutions won't melt a carpet. What will melt nylon is certain types of acid, one of them being formic. When the affected area was tested for ph, the reading was one. This is about as strong an acid one can find.

This type of problem isn't a regular cleaning chemical reaction. Apparently, the people who cleaned the broadloom got into something else and destroyed the carpet. Acid this strong will also burn skin and the spillage in this case would have burned anyone who came into contact with it. The response from the cleaning people was they had used a spotting agent and this was how it reacted.

Well, whatever spots they were trying to get out were removed but, unfortunately, it took the carpet with it. Here's a case where an obviously untrained person, unaware of what he was doing, yet entrusted with the task of cleaning the broadloom, actually destroyed it in the process.

With so much interest in the industry concerning carpet cleaning, it's imperative you check out who you work with. While many cleaners are well-trained this is also an easy business to get into and not everyone is good at it. I spent many years in the cleaning industry and it was amazing to hear stories about who would use what to clean carpet. You have to know what you're doing so you don't wind up having to replace the broadloom.

WHEN WATER SITS

The second case, concerning vinyl tile, was equally definitive of ineptitude. A 26,000-sq.-ft. store was cleaned by soaking it with water. The water sat on the floor for up to an hour because the automatic machine was broken and could only vacuum water, not dispense and scrub it. So, water had to be slopped on with mops. An alternative technique was wrongly employed resulting in tiles coming off the floor (curling or cupping). Normally, wet cleaning a tile floor won't cause problems if the water is taken up right away.

In this case, the guys mopping got way ahead of the guy vacuuming and ruined the floor. The water and cleaning agent seeped into the tile seams, migrated underneath them and destroyed the adhesive, allowing the tiles to lift up and curl.

Prior to this cleaning, the tiles were fine. Some had been replaced because they were loosened when the property was renovated for a new tenant, but the majority were fine. The floor cleaners' actions compromised the tiles and installation to the extent tiles could be lifted off the floor with no effort whatsoever. In fact, some had to be taken up because customers had kicked them up creating a safety hazard. To make matters worse, there was a thin layer of cut back adhesive under the tiles. To fix this job, all the tiles, as well as the cut back, will have to be removed, and the floor sealed. New adhesive will have to be applied and new tile installed. The store owners refuse to close their seven-day-a-week operation, so the work will have to be done at night.

They're expecting the floor to be ready the next day. This isn't going to happen because of what has to be done to correct the mess. Someone is going to pay dearly for this mistake. These types of problems aren't fun and are extremely costly. One mistake can create havoc for an end user and, in these cases, can be hazardous to the businesses' patrons, as well. If you are going to be involved in this business, you better make sure you know what you're doing. If not, hook up with an experienced professional. You can't afford not to. There was nothing wrong with the flooring products or installation in these cases. It was the way they were cleaned which destroyed them.