Many cleaning professionals visit the International Custodial Advisers Network (ICAN) Ask the Experts page for insight and, every business day, we deliver advice to better help you perform your job.
Thursday’s Question:
What is the best way to get a vacuum belt burn out of the carpet?
Thursday’s Answer:
The black marks mostly contain burnt rubber and a solvent may dissolve them.
If the surface fibers have melted, you many need to lightly trim or abrade the surface.
When using a chemical you may need to repeat the process a couple of times, making sure the agitation level is fairly high and chemical application as light as possible (otherwise the solvent may dissolve the carpet adhesive and leave a bubble).
It most cases, you will need to then spray each spot with a neutral cleaner and blot again to pick up any remaining ingredients (an encapsulation product works best), or rinse thoroughly with a carpet extractor. If the carpet is olefin, you might have permanently burned the carpet as the fibers can melt at 180 degrees.
In this case, abrade lightly and very carefully with … Gary Clipperton, president of National Pro Clean Corp.
To read this response in its entirety, click here.
