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How to Clean Carpet- Bonnet Pad

Since 1984, Steve Robinson, founder of Building Janitorial Service, along with his crew, has the knowledge and experience about professional office cleaning techniques and how to professionally clean with chemicals, equipment, and supplies.

This article explains one of the techniques used by Building Janitorial Service to clean carpet: Bonnet pad cleaning. The following chemical, equipment, and supplies are used: carpet cleaner chemical, rotary standard speed buffer, attachable drive pad, cotton bonnet pad, bucket and ringer, plastic mixing pail with handle, plastic squirt trigger bottle with removable trigger, and paper towels.

Before we begin, we clear the carpeted area we are going to clean. We move light furniture and put them on the floors without carpet to be cleaned. Then we get the floor machine ready.  We screw the attachable drive pad to the locking clamp underneath the head of the machine. Then we lower the stem of the machine so that the handles fit just next to our waist. Next we leave the machine and go prepare the solution.

We mix the carpet cleaner with water, according to the directions on the back of the one gallon jug of the carpet cleaner. We mix it according to its dilution ratio, with tap water, not hot. Hot water is not needed. The chemical is what does the work, not the temperature of the water.

First, we want to determine how many ounces of carpet cleaner to mix in three gallons of water. Three gallons of solution is the minimum amount of water to completely immerse the cotton bonnet pad. The back of the one gallon jug of carpet cleaner will tell us how many ounces of carpet cleaner per one gallon of water. Since we are using three gallons of water, we triple the number of ounces of carpet cleaner per one gallon of water and pour it in the bucket first. Then we pour in the three gallons of water. We next immerse the cotton bonnet pad in the mop bucket solution.

While the cotton bonnet pad is soaking in the mop bucket solution, we take the empty plastic squirt bottle and dip it into the mop bucket solution and fill it up. We screw the trigger back on to the plastic bottle and walk through the building and lightly squirt heavily soiled spots with the solution in the squirt bottle. These heavily soiled spots could be individual spills or traffic lanes. This is pre spotting, and it is designed to break down the retardants and lift them to the top of the yarn of the carpet.

After pre spotting, we go back to the mop bucket solution, ring out the cotton bonnet pad, and attach it to the attachable drive pad underneath the floor machine. When we turn on the machine, the rotary pad begins to spin. We begin moving sideways. We start at one side of the room and move toward the other side of the room, moving sideways, cleaning the carpet. Before we get to the end of the carpet moving sideways, we slow the speed of the machine down. The machine is slowed down by our hand grip. When we are at the end of the carpet we are cleaning, we push the machine forward and begin cleaning carpet not already cleaned, moving sideways, back to the opposite side of the room.

After an area approximately 10 feet by 5 feet has been cleaned, we turn the machine off, take off the cotton bonnet pad, turn it over, and attach it back to the drive pad underneath the machine. We turn the machine back on and continue cleaning the carpet until the second 10 feet by 5 feet area has been cleaned. After the second 10 feet by 5 feet area of carpet has been cleaned, we stop the machine, remove the bonnet pad, put it in the mop bucket solution, ring it out completely, then place it back under the machine, and start cleaning again. We repeat all the steps above until finished.

If you are interested in additional information about professional cleaning techniques, how to professional clean with chemicals, equipment, and supplies, and other published articles by Building Janitorial Service, please subscribe to our feed.

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How to Clean a Ceramic Tile Floor

Steve Robinson, founder of Building Janitorial Service in 1984, along with his crew, has the knowledge and experience about professional cleaning techniques, and how to professionally clean with chemicals, equipment, and supplies.

This article explains how Building Janitorial Service cleans ceramic tile floors. The following chemical, equipment, and supplies are used: tile cleaner, deck scrub brush, mop bucket and ringer, plastic mixing pail with handle, drop cloth, and paper towels. Before we begin, we clear the floor and put the drop cloth down on the adjacent floor we will step on to when we exit off the floor we are scrubbing. We start by mixing the tile cleaner with water in the mixing pail, according to the directions on the back of the tile cleaner gallon jug in regards to its dilution ratio.

We mix the tile cleaner with tap water, not hot. Hot water is not needed. The chemical is what does the work, not the temperature of the water. Next we pour about a one quarter inch coat of the solution from the mixing pail onto the ceramic tile floor, immediately wiping up any overspill on the baseboards, walls, doors, etc. with the paper towels. We spread it with the deck brush so as to completely cover the entire square footage of the area of the floor.

When we spread it, we do not want to scrub it, not yet. We want the tile cleaner to soak in to the floor first. When we put the tile cleaner down on the floor, it bubbles, for a while. This is normal. The chemical is activating and working. We want it to work by itself, doing the work, before we scrub it. We wait twenty minutes. If spots of the solution on the floor dry while we are waiting, we add more solution to the dry spots and spread it evenly again. We continue to mark the waiting time period from twenty minutes from when we first put the first solution down on the floor.

After twenty minutes expires after we put the first solution down on the floor, we scrub it with the deck brush. Now, it is relatively easy to scrub, because the chemical has loosened the retardants in the floor already, and when the brush is applied, the retardants that are not detached from the surface of the floor, come loose rather easily. After scrubbing, we remove the soiled solution. On most jobs, we suck it up with a wet vacuum. On some smaller jobs, all we need is a mop, bucket and ringer to mop up the soiled solution.

Whichever way we remove the scrubbed solution from the floor, we make sure we completely remove it, especially from the grout. If we do not completely remove it, it will dry sticky, and we will have to do everything over again. After the solution is removed from the floor, we rinse it by mopping with clean, clear tap water. Once the water becomes dirty we empty it and refill the bucket with clean, clear water. We continue to mop the floor, empty the water when it gets dirty, and refill the bucket with clean, clear water until the new clean, clear water remains clear. When the clean, clear water remains clear after mopping, we know we have completely removed all of the soiled solution. It should not take long to rinse the floor because most of the soiled solution has already been removed.

After rinsing the floor, we make sure we do not leave any standing water in the grout. If we do, it could dry sticky, and we would have to do everything over. If we see standing water in the grout, even if it appears to be clean, clear rinse water, we take the thickest weave of the head of the mop head and bear down into the grout and absorb the standing water out of the grout. We stay off the floor until it dries. As the floor is drying, we will check it once and mop up any solution or rinse water that comes out of the baseboards. After a week, or sooner, we begin doing our regular maintenance by mixing two ounces of the tile cleaner in three gallons of water and mopping.

If you are interested in information about other professional cleaning techniques, how to professionally clean with chemicals, equipment, and supplies, and other published articles by Building Janitorial Service, please subscribe to our feed.

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Degreaser Cleaner

A degreaser cleaner is a liquid butyl base chemical that is extensively used in residential and commercial cleaning to decompose and remove carbon based retardants like grease, grime, fingerprints, ink, food and drink spills, etc. This article relates to some applications of a degreaser cleaner by cleaning personnel with the janitorial service in commercial buildings.

A degreaser cleaner has an alkaline ph, so with repeated use over time, it will discolor and stain glass, chrome plated bathroom fixtures, stainless steel sinks, stainless steel drinking fountains, and high temperature alloy metals. It is not a disinfectant cleaner that kills germs in restrooms. Rather it cleans and effectively removes carbon based retardants from the following surfaces:

Formica countertops, desktops, tabletops, cabinet doors and drawers, porcelain appliances and partitions, painted walls, doors, and woodwork, aluminum door frames, plastic, rubber, and other surfaces.

A degreaser cleaner can be mixed with water and used for mopping and scrubbing vinyl and concrete floors.

Outside of its commercial building applications, a concentrated degreaser can also be used to clean cast iron and aluminum engine parts.

surfaces

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How to Strip a Vinyl Floor

Stripping a vinyl floor is one of the janitorial services Building Janitorial Service has been providing to area businesses since 1984. This article explains how the crew strips a vinyl floor, and is not intended to be a recommendation to any person to use or rely upon this information when stripping a floor. Building Janitorial Service can not be held liable for any consequences, damage, or injury to any property or to any person who uses or relies upon the information in this article if they strip or scrub a floor.

The following equipment, chemical, and supplies are required: slow speed electric buffer, attachable drive pad, black polyester scrubbing pad, stripper (stripping chemical), wet vacuum, mop, bucket, and wringer, mixing pail, and paper towels.

The buffer is set up on the opposite end of the building from the exit door, and the furniture and other objects are removed from the floor. The stripper is mixed with water according to the directions on the back of the gallon jug. It is mixed with tap water, not hot. It is the chemical that does the work, not the temperature of the water. A half inch coat of solution is poured and spread evenly on the floor, wiping up any overspill on the baseboards, the walls, the doors, and the window sills. Twenty minutes is allowed to pass, so the chemical has time to work. If parts of the solution begin to dry before the twenty minutes are up, additional stripper solution is reapplied on the dry spots.

Twenty minutes after the initial stripper solution was put down, the floor is scrubbed with the buffer using the black pad under the drive pad of the machine. The floor is slippery at this time, so the crew must be careful not to slip. The crew wears neoprene or rubber shoes for additional traction.

The machine operator must be careful not to get the cord caught in the drive pad or around the drive pad locking clamp. If the cord gets caught in the drive pad or around the locking clamp, the drive pad will stop rotating and freeze or lock up. The machine operator could lose control, and the machine could go through a wall and damage other building contents. The machine operator could be injured.

The machine operator must also be careful not to hit the baseboards with the buffer when scrubbing the floor, because it will leave a mark on the baseboards.

The cord of the buffer will be in the solution on the floor so if the cord is damaged and has exposed copper wire, the cord is replaced before the floor is stripped. A live exposed copper wire lying in solution on a floor could shock the machine operator, who is standing in the solution on the wet floor, when he or she turns on the electric switch on the buffer. And an exposed live copper wire lying in solution on the floor could shock the machine operator, who is standing in the solution on the floor, when he or she inserts the plug of the electric buffer into the wall socket.

After scrubbing the floor, the soiled solution is sucked up with a wet vacuum. The floor is then rinsed by mopping it with clear water. It is mopped until the rinse water in the bucket remains clear after the mop head is wrung out. When the floor dries, it is ready to be waxed by the crew of the janitorial service.

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How to Get Carpet to Last Longer and Look Better

Carpet will last longer and look better with preventive maintenance.  Building Janitorial Service practices the following  preventive maintenance office cleaning procedures:

Vacuum regularly. Vacuum the carpet the same direction every time. Dump or replace the vacuum cleaner bag regularly. Change the beater bar brushes regularly. Replace the belt not only when it breaks but when it becomes loose and stretched out. Remove any air leaks in the vacuum cleaner by replacing worn out seals. Replace other worn out parts. Install a magnet on the front of the base of the head of the vacuum cleaner which automatically picks up magnetic paper clips and staples before they become intertwined into the yarn of the carpet. And clean the carpet as soon as coffee and soft drink spills and other retardant spots occur.

When one  follows these preventive maintenance procedures, carpet will last longer and look better.

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How to Clean Chrome Fixtures and Keep Them Stain Free

The disinfectants that Building Janitorial Service cleaning personnel use when cleaning bathrooms, are the ones that not only kill germs, bacteria, fungi, and mildew, but also do not discolor and stain the chrome plated bathroom fixtures, like the chrome plated sink faucet spouts, chrome plated sink faucet handles, chrome plated sink drain plugs, chrome plated toilet handles, and the chrome plated paper towel and soap dispensers.

I am referring to disinfectants that kill germs, bacteria, fungi, and mildew, but have a neutral ph, not acidic, nor alkaline. If you have ever seen discolored and stained chrome plated bathroom fixtures, then a degreaser cleaner was probably repeatedly used over time instead of a disinfectant cleaner.

Degreasers are extensively used as a multipurpose cleaner when cleaning personnel do general office cleaning,  but they are not designed to be used as bathroom cleaners.

Degreasers have an alkaline ph base, whereas disinfectants have a neutral ph base. After repeated use over time, a degreaser will discolor and stain the chrome plated bathroom fixtures.

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