How Do I Clean Moisture Sensitive Rugs
Some rugs can be damaged with over wetting. Lower moisture methods can avoid problems with cellulosic rugs that are likely to brown, composite rugs that may have differential shrinkage, latex backed rugs or hand tufted which may suffer from latex migration, rugs with ink stencils which can bleed, secondary backings which can shrink or water mark and rugs which are not very soiled, so therefore not requiring deep, aggressive cleaning methods.
Bonnet cleaning with LST has proven to be a very good method for dealing with the above mentioned cleaning challenges. You can save yourself and your customer untold troubles, plus, you can make tremendous profits using LST. First complete a through inspection of the rug(s), (see “Rug Inspection”) document any preexisting damage, and consider having a release of liability form signed. Remove dry soils with your best method of dusting (see “How to Perform Dry Soil Removal”). Prepare LST solution by mixing 8 oz. of LST into each gallon of warm (100� to 115�) water, and place into a pump-up or electric sprayer with an 06 size jet. Spray apply LST solution to the entire face pile of the rug, do not over wet. Include fringes too. Using a standard rotary floor machine (175 RPM) with pad driver and bonnets or pads, or a Cimex machine, you can obtain safe and effective results. Spray your bonnet or pad with LST solution to ensure that both the carpet pile and the bonnet are lubricated with LST. Spin bonnet over the rug surface. After cleaning approximately 30 to 60 sq ft. flip bonnet over, spray with LST solution, and continue cleaning. Once both sides are soiled, use a fresh clean bonnet, spray with LST and continue cleaning. Usually only 2 or 3 bonnets will be required to clean a 9″ x 12″ rug.
Remember to get the fringes too. If you find that the rug is too wet, you may want to spin a dry bonnet over the pile surface. Be careful to not over agitate and watch for shedding, do not over dry or over agitate rug. Speed dry with air movers or place in dry room to speed drying. Fringes may require more cleaning (see “How To Clean Fringes”) after the rug has dried. Because LST will physically trap soils, post drying vacuuming is required. Simply dry vacuum the rug pile after drying is complete, use a high quality, high performance vacuum for best results.