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A Little Bit about "Wicking" – What is It and How to Deal with It

A Little Bit about "Wicking"

So, let’s talk about “wicking.”  On Monday we blogged about low moisture carpet cleaning. Cincinnati Maintenance is a big believer in this type of carpet cleaning which is also called encapsulation. You can see from that blog that we usually adhere to this type of cleaning because it dries fast, is non-toxic, and does not create a large “footprint” in the enviroment.
But, there is another reason we employ the encapsulation technique when serving our residential and commercial clients. It’s called “wicking.”
And, you don’t want it. Wicking, that is.
Have you ever had your carpets cleaned – particularly a specific stain – and it looks great but in a few days, that stubborn stain mysteriously shows back up? Frustrating, huh?  Well, THAT’S wicking.
Wicking is caused when a stain is created – usually from a spill – and it has penetrated deep into the carpet.  Then, when the carpet cleaned – commonly by a “wet” (water) extraction method – the part of the stain that has deeply penetrated the carpet is not completely removed.  After this type of cleaning is performed and the carpet has dried, the residual portion of the soiled area “wicks” its way to the surface of the carpet fibers.
Then, BAM! The carpet looks bad again because the stain has creeped back up to rear its ugly head.
With Cincinnati Maintenance’s green, low moisture technology, dry time is often only 45-90 minutes and also prevents that nasty wicking or reappearance of stubborn stains.

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After a Professional Cleaning, Who Wants their Carpets to Dry FAST?

After a Professional Cleaning, Who Wants their Carpets to Dry FAST?

After you have a professional come out to clean your carpets, do you want the carpets to dry quickly so you can get back to your normal household or business routine?  Well, sure you do! 
Cincinnati Maintenance knows that low moisture cleaning – called encapsulation – is the most advanced way to clean and maintain carpet in your home or business. Low moisture technique solves many problems commonly associated with carpet cleaning. Among these are waiting hours and hours for the cleaned area to dry, possible exposure to unwanted or unsafe chemicals, and – for the environmentally conscious – having a tremendous water-wasting footprint.
The great news is, with encapsulation, carpets dry fast! Really fast.  Homeowners are happy because “regular life” carries on and commercial clients are happy because their place of business has very few interuptions and no fear of a slip-and-fall hazard.
And, guess what? Most all encapsulation cleaners are PH balanced.  Not only are they safe for all carpet fibers, but they do not require the application of rinsing agents.  The carpet is fresh and there is no sticky residue that attracts unwanted soil.
Lastly, Cincinnati Maintenance continues to be on the cutting edge of green cleaning technologies.  Our low moisture cleaning is enviromentally responsible by cutting out waste of thousands of gallons of water, as well as being safe, effective, and clean without causing environmental hazards or exposing anyone to toxicity.

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Which Comes First? Do You Dust Before You Vacuum or Vacuum Before You Dust?

Which Comes First?

Ask people this question: Do you dust before you vacuum or vacuum before you dust?  You will get a plethora of answers – and different rationalizations for each anwer.
The same goes for baseboards. Should you clean the baseboards before you vacuum or after?
Well, if inquiring minds really want to know, this is what we at Cincinnati Maintenance recommend:
Dust first, then vacuum. Why? Pet hair, dander, dust, and other allergens are are always “floating” in your home, even if you can’t always see them. A good rule of thumb when cleaning is to wipe down your home’s surfaces first  – on a side note, we always recommend using microfiber cloths for dusting and other surface cleaning.  These help trap the particles and allergens in the cloth.
What you don’t want to do is vacuum, then dust, and then watch your surfaces appear dusty once more when the disturbed particles settle once again.
Neither notion of “which comes first” will ensure that all dust in the home is removed, but dusting and cleaning the baseboards first will trap most of the dirt and dust in your microfiber cloths, and then vacuuming afterwards will clean up any remaining debris that fell onto the floor or carpet when you dusted.
So, now you know.
 

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Frequent Carpet and Tile Cleaning is Imperative in Medical Facilities – Particularly during Flu Season! Cincinnati Relies on us!

I recently posted on Social Media how the norovirus can live on a carpet’s uncleaned surface for a month or more.  Now, with flu season upon us and, well, really any time, medical facilities need to clean ALL their surfaces – and oftentimes, carpets and floors are forgotten or neglected when germy surfaces are being cleaned.
Cincinnati Maintenance is frequently asked, “How often should we clean the carpets?”  We covered this in a blog post a couple of months ago, but it bears repeating that certain types of businesses need the carpets cleaned more often than others.  For instance, daycares could benefit from weekly or twice-per-month cleaning because small children are crawling around and constantly put things that have been on the floor in their mouths.  Hopefully no one is putting anything in their mouth that’s been on the doctor’s office floor, but, nevertheless, every one-to-three months is good timing for medical facilities to have a deep floor clean.  During pandemic or a time of especially hard-hitting viruses, obviously more often can only benefit the reduction of germs.
Another area that is often overlooked is tile and grout.  All kinds of germy messes can creep down in the grooves and crevices of tile and grout floors.  Please do not forget that these areas need deep, professional cleaning, too.
Cincinnati Maintenance cares about our customers and our customer’s customers.  We are proud to help medical buildings and offices maintain the highest level of cleanliness available to keep good health a primary focus.
 

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Considering Olefin Carpet or Already Have It? Things to Consider about Maintenance and Cleaning of Olefin Carpet. Be sure to choose the RIGHT carpet cleaner in Cincinnati Ohio.

It is fairly common for commercial offices or businesses to consider installing Olefin carpet, sometimes known as Olefin Berber.  Everyone has heard how this type of synthetic fiber is miraculous at resisting stains.  That IS true; it IS stain resistant.
However, there are some pitfalls to Olefin as well.  Olefin loves….oil.  It is basically an oily fabric that attracts oil.  While the “oiliness” does mean is tends to repels many stains, it – on the other hand – can be difficult regarding oily soil.  Also, high traffic areas can look soiled but that often is the light reflecting differently off of areas where the carpet fabric loops have been crushed.  
A cleaning pre-spray made specifically for Olefin or Berber is highly recommended.  But one must be really careful with the pre-spraying of stains because Olefin is also, unfortunately, known for “wick back.”  This means if too much wet spray is used, it gets to the backing and “wicks up” staining substances to the surface!  
If you have Olefin or Berber in your business or your home, good vacuuming habits are a must.  Don’t over soak or use an overabundance of treatment spray when trying to take care of a stain.  And, most importantly, when you have the carpet professionally cleaned, the encapsulation method – which is low moisture carpet cleaning like Cincinnati Maintenance provides – is practically imperative.

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