Carpet Maintenance

Carpet Maintenance

  1. Preventive Maintenance – Entrance Mats>>
  2. Preventive Maintenance – Entire Hotel – Daily – Vacuum>>
  3. Entire Hotel – Interim – Encapsulation Cleaning>>
  4. Preventive Maintenance – Entire Hotel – Deep Cleaning – Vacuum/Hot water extraction machines/Fans>>
  5. Preventive Maintenance – Sections – Daily – Spills, Spot and Stain Cleaning>>
  6. Preventive Maintenance – Sections – Daily – Grease, Tar and Adhesive Removal>>
  7. Recommended Cleaning Equipment: Vacuum Cleaners, Agitation Machine, and Hot Water Extractor Machine>>
  8. Maintenance Not Recommended>>
  9. Recommended Chemicals: Spot Cleaning Chemical R2Xtra>>
  10. Spot Chemicals Not Recommended>>

  Preventative Maintenance – Entrance Mats

  • Entrance mats – absolutely necessary to keep soil from entering the hotel.
  • Where to use them: hotels entrances, outside and inside.
  • Must vacuum entrance mats once to twice a day!
  • 85% of soil is reduced with a length of 4 linear yards of clean entrance mats.

  Preventative Maintenance – Entire Hotel – Daily Vacuuming

  • Vacuuming is the most important step
  • 80 to 85% of dry soil can be removed by proper vacuuming
  • Advantages of Vacuuming:
    • Soil Removal
    • Dust Containment
    • Carpet Fiber Retention
  • Vacuuming Schedule:
    Traffic Level Vacuum
    Light 2-3 times a week
    Medium Daily
    Heavy 1+ times a day
    Severe 1+ times a day

Note: This chart represents a general guideline; your program should be customized to your specific conditions.

 ENTIRE HOTEL – Interim – Encapsulation Cleaning

Interim maintenance is the step of cleaning between vaccuuming only and hot water extraction
  • Always vacuum area first!
  • The Agitation machine should be filled with R2Xtra Encapsulation Solution
  • Since it is low moisture, your carpet should be dry within 20 minutes
  • Vacuuming is not immediately required – vacuum at next scheduled vacuuming cycle
  • Why use agitation machine?
    • Uses agitation to lift fibers
    • Keep carpet looking excellent
    • No down time, low moisture, dries in less than 20 minutes
  • NOTE: Agitation machines are not a substitute for Hot water extraction; hot water extraction should be done after every 3rd Interim cleaning
Interim Cleaning Schedule:
Traffic Level Interim Cleaning
Light Every 4 months or as needed
Medium Every 2 months or as needed
Heavy Monthly
Severe Weekly

Note: This chart represents a general guideline; your program should be customized to your specific conditions.

 ENTIRE HOTEL – Deep Cleaning – Vacuum/Hot Water Extraction Machines/Fans

Hot water extraction usually done after 3 cleanings
  • Always vacuum area first!
  • Apply R2X or another Carpet and Rug Institute’s Certified Seal of Approval Prespray (www.carpet-rug.org)
  • Agitate the prespray with the agitation machine and allow ten minutes of dwell time
  • Only add hot water. If hot water is not used, the cleaning will not be as effective.
  • When completed, turn on air movers to speed dry
  • By using air movers, your carpet should be dry in about 2 hrs
  • Why use agitation machine?
    • Agitation of the R2X or prespray will increase the clean ability of the prespray by at least 50 percent!
Hot Water Extraction Schedule
Traffic Level Interim Cleaning
Light Once per Year
Medium Twice per Year
Heavy Four Times per Year
Severe Monthly

Note: This chart represents a general guideline; your program should be customized to your specific conditions.

 Preventive Maintenance- IN SECTIONS – Daily – Spills, Spot and Stain Cleaning

  • Walk hotel every day and check for spots How to clean small : Spills, Spots and Stains (Response time is critical)
    1. Spray R2Xtra around the edges of the spot first to prevent the spot from spreading. Then spray the center of the spot.
    2. Additional cleaning agents are listed in the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval (SOA) Program (www.carpet-rug.org)
    3. Agitate the cleaning solution with spotting spatula or the rounded edge of a spoon
    4. Work from the outer edge of the spot toward the center to prevent spreading
    5. Blot – Paper towels or white terry cloth towels to remove contaminant
    How to clean large Spills, Spots and Stains

    Using an improper cleaning agent or technique can “set” the stain making it more difficult to remove. The area will start attracting soil rapidly if the contaminate is not all removed.

    Note: This chart represents a general guideline; your program should be customized to your specific conditions.

    1. Spray R2Xtra around the edges of the spot first to prevent the spot from spreading. Then spray the center of the spot.
    2. Additional cleaning agents are listed in the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval (SOA) Program (www.carpet-rug.org)
    3. Agitate the cleaning solution with spotting spatula or the rounded edge of a spoon
    4. Use a small wet/dry vac or spotting extractor to rinse away the residue
    5. Spot, Spills and Stain cleaning Schedule:
      Traffic Level Spot Cleaning
      Light Check Areas Every Day
      Medium Check Areas Every Day
      Heavy Check Areas Every Day
      Severe Check Areas Every Day

 Sections – Daily – Grease, Tar, and Adhesive

  • Walk hotel every day and check for spots How to clean : Grease, Tar and Adhesive
    1. Apply a solvent gel to the surface and allow about ten to 15 minutes dwell time
    2. The gel will soften the residue so that you can remove it
    3. Gently scrape the residue off with the rounded edge of a spoon
    4. Allow about 10 minutes of dwell time before extracting thoroughly with plain hot water extractor
    5. Grease, Tar and Adhesive cleaning Schedule:
      Traffic Level Spot Cleaning
      Light Check Areas Every Day
      Medium Check Areas Every Day
      Heavy Check Areas Every Day
      Severe Check Areas Every Day

      Note: This chart represents a general guideline; your program should be customized to your specific conditions.

 Maintenance Not Recommended

  1. Bonnet machines
    • Damages the fiber
    • Does not deep clean
    • Uses shampoo
  2. Shampooing the carpet
    • Shampoo cannot be fully extracted from the carpet
    • The carpet will soil quicker after it has been shampooed
  3. Vacuum cleaner without rotary brushes
    • Does not have rotary brushes that lift the carpet fibers
    • Does a poor job of removing the soil out of the carpet
  4. Not recommended to use more cleaning agent then stated, more is not better!

    Note: The more cleaning agent used, the easier it is soiled.

 MACHINES RECOMMENDED: Vacuum cleaners, Agitation Machine, and Hot water extractor machine

  1. Vacuum cleaner sizes: 15” and 28” wide for rooms and public areas
    • Dual motor upright
    • Rotating cylindrical brushes
    • Top loading/paper bag filters
    • Change bags when 1/2 to 2/3 full
    • Use vacuums certified in CRI’s Seal of Approval Program
  2. Agitator machine
      • Dual-cylindrical conter-rotating brushes
      • Tank on machine for encapsulation chemical to spray and brush at the same time
      • Use encapsulation chemistry only
      • Certificaiton in CRI SOA Interim Program
  3. Hot Water Extractor Machine:
      • CRI Certified Gold Rated Equipment recommended
      • Do not use any machinery that recycles water

 Recommended Chemicals

  1. R2X encapsulation spotting kit with brush – spray on affected area, brush in North, South and East directions. It will crystalize and the next vacuuming session it will be picked up
  2. Eco Lab Revitalize Encapsulation Carpet Cleaner for encapsulation
  3. Eco Lab Revitalize Carpet and Upholstery Prespray Cleaner for Hot Water Extraction Process

 NOT Recommended Chemicals

  1. Products with optical brighteners
  2. For Solution Dyed carpet: PH levels less than 4 and more than 9.99
  3. For Injection dyed: PH levels less than 6 and more than 8
For any additional maintenance questions or concerns please visit Shaw Technical Support for more information.