In a new TV spot for their Milwaukee carpet store, the long-time owner and his son enthusiastically announce, “People have been walking all over us for 65 years — and we love it!”

People who purchase and maintain carpet love it, too. And there are impressive numbers of them. According to industry statistics, carpet shipments from manufacturers have grown phenomenally over the years. From more than 90 million square yards annually 50 years ago to approximately 1.5 billion yards today.

Kurt Peterson, vice president of sales for Nilodor/Certified in Bolivar, Ohio, says he’s seeing even more people buying commercial carpet these days. “This has been the trend for a number years,” he says. “Overall, people look at carpeting as a savings because they don’t have the maintenance costs of keeping up hard floors.” Unfortunately though, facilities don’t take good care of their carpets because they feel the carpeting can hide the dirt. Hard floors can’t, he adds. “But if you ignore the dirt, the carpets start to wear and tear, and people don’t get the life out of carpets that they expect.” Conversely, properly maintained carpets generally don’t wear out.

Tom Cochran, president of Majestic Carpet Solutions, a division of Misco Products Corp., Reading, Pa., agrees. “It seems that more newly constructed schools, hospitals and nursing homes are going for carpeting,” he says. “And very few are opting for hard floors. Airports, however, seem to be putting tiles into heavily trafficked areas.”

Chuck Monson, vice president of Rotovac, Redmond, Wash., is somewhat less sanguine about the trend toward carpeted floors. “I think a lot more people are going to hard surface floors,” he admits. “But there will always be carpets that will need cleaning. Even if they are only area rugs. People just like the softness of carpets.”

Scott Jarden, president of Clausen Carpet Solutions, Folcroft, Pa., says he has seen the popularity of carpeting versus hard floors fluctuate in recent years. “I think conventional floors are coming back again because of concerns for the environment.”

Carpets must be cleaned not only for appearance, but for health and environmental reasons as well, Jarden says. People track all kinds of dirt from the outside onto carpeting and spill a variety of materials, such as coffee and soda. Because today’s carpets are so durable, however, proper maintenance often is ignored. To combat soiling and stains and preserve long-term appearance, carpet maintenance should be part of an ongoing program.

And, of course, that means using a variety of carpet cleaning chemicals that act as surfactants to remove soil and grease.

“About 80 percent of the soil comes off the bottoms of shoes and 40 percent of that total is a greasy substance,” says Cochran. “So you’ve got to have a quality chemical with an emulsifier to break down grease — the No. 1 enemy in a carpet. If you don’t have a good emulsifier in your chemicals, you might as well use dish detergent,” he says.

Here’s the Latest
What’s new in the world of carpet chemicals today?

“Today’s carpet chemicals are non-toxic, biodegradable,” says Rotovac’s Monson. “I believe in pre-spraying the carpet and rinsing it out with a good volume of hot water. And including a rinsing agent in the hot water to facilitate the rinsing process. It’s like washing clothes. You don’t pour all that detergent into the rinse water.”

A lot of the newer pre-sprays, and the carpets themselves, are stain resistant, he says. “Newer carpets aren’t manufactured to withstand chemicals that are too strong, however. Those chemicals will wash away the stain-resistant qualities built into them. Chemicals with lower pH facilitate the cleaning process without eliminating the stain-resistent qualities.”

Many people are now using an “acid, fiber, or textile” rinse, he continues. “Technically, they lower the pH level of the rinse water, which will help rinse out the chemicals that are pre-sprayed into the carpet. That helps the process. On pile carpeting, that will soften the carpet. It’s like putting a fabric softener in the rinse cycle of a washing machine.”

Majestic’s Cochran says carpet sanitizing is a big issue in health care, educational and institutional environments. “Of course, controlling bacteria, mold, mildew and fungi is an important part of maintaining a healthy facility,” he explains. According to Cochran, his company has several new, innovative products that do just that. “Our No.1 chemical has been our sanitizing product. It kills 99.9 percent of the bacteria that it hits, so it’s great for hospitals, schools — any place where there’s a concern about bacteria.” The product is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is used for two purposes: carpet sanitization and as a disinfectant on all other hard surfaces.

Cochran says his product contains 4.5 percent quat, more than twice the normal amount. “This means that you use one ounce per gallon instead of two ounces. This cuts costs in half while still using an effective product.”

According to Cochran, towel wipes are one of the industry’s hottest items. “We have a product that includes a new strain of an enzyme with surfactants. It’ll remove anything causing an odor.”

Nilodor/Certified’s Peterson says his company’s core of chemicals include extraction cleaners, shampoos, deodorizers, spotting agents and other specialty chemicals.

Betco, which is heavily involved in hard floor care, also manufactures a complete line of carpet care products, says Chris Tricozzi, floor care product manager for the Toledo, Ohio, company. “Our carpet extraction fluid is our most popular item for use in large carpet extractors. [The solution] cleans carpets in one pass by spraying the solution into the carpet through a pump in the machine. A brush attached to the machine agitates it on the carpeting and then a vacuum sucks the solution out.”

Going Strong
Peterson says the current recession has affected everybody, but cleaning chemicals are still strong sellers. “What we might see in this slowdown is people holding back on capital expenditures for cleaning equipment.”

Tricozzi believes the sales of carpet care chemicals are strong despite the weak economy. “I won’t say people are cutting back on the frequency of cleaning their floors and carpeting, but I think they are very concerned about not wasting products and buying them at competitive prices. People still have to clean, and it’s been my experience that even in the worst of times, we still sell products because people want clean carpeting to entice their customers to come into their business establishments,” he says.

Peterson’s advice to distributors is to find out what a manufacturer will do to help sell product. “We try to provide our distributors carpet chemical training and field support, but we cover everything that goes into commercial carpet care, including matting, vacuum cleaners and the like.”

Peterson also advises selling a carpet maintenance program rather than individual products and “sticking to it.” A good program is important, he says.

Betco’s Tricozzi reports that his company maintains an extensive resource library of training materials available in manuals, CD Roms and videos. “This helps our distributors educate their customers. We tell them that if they properly maintain their carpets and schedule the right maintenance program, they can significantly extend the life of their carpets,” he explains.

“Probably the most common mistake in using carpet cleaning chemicals is using too much product and saturating a carpet with a detergent, leaving a sticky residue that attracts dirt,” he adds.

Rotovac’s Monson agrees that carpets should not get overly wet in the cleaning process. “Use a good pre-spray and then a good volume of rinsing and flushing. If you use a wand, make multiple cleaning passes. Do a lot of rinsing and flushing with a maximum of extraction. And don’t use too much chemical. More is not better. Follow the label directions. If it says one cup, two cups won’t be better.”

Jordan Fox is a Milwaukee-based writer and editor.




POSTED ON: 3/1/2002