September 2007
Due to the large number of condo plans in our community the following has been re-printed. If your board has not addressed the issue of carpet care, please consider this question carefully.
Question:
I am on the board for a local condo plan. What should I know about carpet care?
Looking after the common interests of a number of condo owners and possibly tenants is a serious responsibility. Carpet care and maintenance is an issue that is often overlooked, or even ignored completely.
The best time to start addressing premature wear of floor coverings is when they are brand new. Waiting till carpets look dirty and need attention only ensures that wear and texture loss will happen prematurely.
There are steps that can be taken to maximize the service life of carpets.
- Have adequate walk off mats and gravel traps in place. Trapping soil at a building’s entrance costs pennies when compared with the cost of removing soil throughout a building.
2 - Vacuum. Vacuum -vacuum - vacuum. Money invested in a quality vacuum system that is used regularly and properly, is crucial to carpet maintenance. Vacuuming common areas in a project with dozens of condos once a month is not enough. If traffic warrants, daily care may be required.
3 - Care for spills and accidents ASAP. Check with your carpet cleaner of choice and get advice on how to address common types of spills for your building.
4 - Schedule regular cleaning of common area carpets by “trained & qualified professionals.”
Did You Know?
Most carpet warranties require cleaning be performed within 18 months of installation by a professional carpet cleaner, in order to meet manufacturer requirements for proper care & maintenance.
Large facilities such as condo associations, hotels, and professional service buildings will save money by pre-planning a carpet appearance management program tailored to their requirements. How? By enhancing the projected service life of flooring. Imagine how much money your facility will save if carpets designed for a 20 yr service life actually look good for 20 yrs - as opposed to 5 or 6. Premature replacement of carpets is an avoidable expense – but only if you plan to avoid it!
Ideally your carpet cleaning firm will be an IICRC Certified Firm. This ensures that protection such as; General Liability Insurance, WCB, licensing issues and so on is all in place. As well, a Certified Firm is committed to providing ethical services using properly trained and supervised technicians. Certified Firms tend to be leaders in their field.
Commercial Carpet Care is a specialized service.
If you would like more information, please feel welcome to call
Les Graham - Graham’s Carpet Cleaning (403) 952-0318
An IICRC Certified Firm
or email your question to
question@theexperts.ca