Archive for the ‘Janitorial’ Category

Janitorial Supplies Michigan – Amerisource Industrial Supply 

Modified from Rochester Midland Corp publication

THE ROLE OF CLEANING AND CLEANERS

 Why does the chemical cleaning product industry exist?  In other words, why is it necessary to clean?  There are many important reasons such as preventing the spread of disease and making our environment a safe and healthy place to live.   Perhaps the best historical example is the Black Death, the terrible plague that swept through Europe during the Middle Ages.  During a short period of time, over 60 million people died, almost one quarter of the world’s population.

 Today, chemicals like disinfectant cleaners and other products that are available, could have prevented a significant number of those deaths.  Due to the fact that sanitation and personal hygiene are such an integral part of our daily lives, we take them for granted.  Yet it is the prime reason why we live in a world in which life expectancy in now double what it was just 200 years ago.  Although there are perhaps hundreds of specific reasons to clean and disinfect, there are eight primary reasons.   They are:

1.  Health (pathogenic bacteria live in soil)
2.  Functionality (some tasks, such as repair, are impossible without cleaning first)
3.  Safety (dirty, slippery equipment and/or facilities are dangerous)
4.  Economics (dirty facilities wear out faster and perform less efficiently)
5.  Product Quality (in some industries, product quality is difficult or even impossible to maintain without cleaning and sanitation – for example, cleaning electronic circuit boards) 
6. Government Agency Requirements (in some industries, for example food processing, the USDA requires cleaning at regular intervals) 
7. Pride and Aesthetic Values (keeping floors and work areas clean, improves worker productivity) 
8. Comfort

 Chemicals provide the major means for most cleaning operations.  One or more of the eight reasons listed above come into play in our every day life.

 A simple definition of the term soil is physical matter out of place.   What distinguishes soil from other physical matter is that it occurs or exists in a location where it is not wanted.  Soils can generally be described as heavy or light, organic or inorganic (or mixtures of both), solid or liquid, viscous (syrupy) or fluid, soluble or insoluble.  Soils also are strongly influenced by heat and other environmental factors.

 Organic soils are derived from living matter – people, plants, animals, foodstuffs, or petroleum.  They are typically residues derived from living things or petroleum – greasy soils (oil), residue from plants or animals (food stuffs), and human matter (blood, urine, bacteria).

 Inorganic soils are primarily composed of dirt and sand.  Mineral deposits, planting soil, hard water deposits, cement, fiberglass residue, and dust are all examples of inorganic soil.  Many soils are mixtures of both inorganic and organic soils.

 A simple definition for a cleaner is a chemical solution that helps to remove soil.  The type of soil encountered and the surface upon which the soil is deposited will be major factors in determining the type of chemical cleaner and the cleaning conditions required for soil removal.  There are a variety of cleaners formulated to remove a variety of soils. 

 TYPES OF CLEANING SOLUTIONS

 When considering cleaning, it is useful to think in terms of what is actually being accomplished.  Consider a hard surface upon which soil is deposited.  In order to remove or clean this soil from the surface via the use of conventional chemical cleaning techniques, three successive actions must occur:

1. The soil must be physically separated from the surface being cleaned.
2. The soil must be broken up and suspended in the chemical cleaning solution.
3. The soil must be physically removed, usually via rinsing or wiping from the surface.T

The primary types of cleaners used for removing soils are listed below:

1.  Detergents
2.  Alkaline Cleaners
3.  Acid Cleaners
4.  Disinfectants
5.  Bacteria and Enzymes
6.  Solvent Cleaners
7.  Emulsion Cleaners
8.  Abrasive Cleaners

 DETERGENTS: Detergents (or surfactants – surface active agents) perform several important functions.  First, they reduce the surface tension for aqueous (water based) solutions that allows for faster penetration of cleaners into soils.  Next, they provide emulsifying action, they chemically attach themselves to the surface of soil particles, solvents, greases, and waxes and keep them suspended (usually in water), so that they can be easily rinsed away.  A detergent cleaner performs four basic functions in order to penetrate and remove soil:  penetration, wetting, dispersion, and emulsifying.  The strength of each of these properties determines the efficacy of a detergent.

 The penetration function of a detergent allows the cleaning solution to flow into the pores of a surface and reach under and around embedded soils.  While surfaces appear smooth, they are actually composed of pores, pits, and crevices, in which soils become entrenched.  Lack of penetration power makes soil removal from surface crevices and pits extremely difficult.

 The surface tension of water and other aqueous solutions acts as a thin, fairly strong, barrier that prevents it from penetrating porous materials like cloth and surfaces.  Detergents increase the wetting ability of water by reducing the surface tension and in turn improving its ability to penetrate surface pours.  Without improved wetting, aqueous solutions would be repelled by surfaces that they are trying to clean.

 Dispersion is the process of breaking up and suspending solid masses of soil above the surface in the cleaning solution so that can be easily removed.  Soil suspension is important because it prevents soil from being redeposited on to the surface, ensuring that it is rinsed away with the cleaning solution.

 Due to the fact oil repels water, the emulsification property of detergents works to break up oily, greasy materials into tiny particles so that they are more easily dissolved in water.  Emulsifying agents actually make water and oil compatible so that greasy soils can be suspended in the aqueous cleaning solution, instead of being redeposited on the surface.

 pH is a term that describes the degree of alkalinity or acidity of a product.  The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, in which 7 is assigned to representing neutrality.  The range below 7 (approximately 0.5-6.5) represents the acidic scale, with 0.5 rating highly acidic and corrosive, and 6.5 rating slightly acidic.  The lower the number, the stronger the acid.  The range above 7 (approximately 7.5-14.0) represents the alkaline scale, with 14.0 rating highly alkaline and corrosive, and 7.5 slightly alkaline.  The higher the number, the more alkaline.

 pH numbers are also logarithmic.  For example, a pH of 9 is ten times more alkaline than a pH of 8.  A pH of 10 is 100 times more alkaline than a pH of 8.  On the acidic scale, a pH of 2 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 3 and one thousand times more acidic than a pH of 5.

 The advantage of neutral pH cleaners (or cleaners closer to a neutral pH) are that they tend to be safer for the end user and the environment.  For example, neutral pH floor cleaners have the least negative impact on floor finishes.  A high pH can actually yellow or remove floor finish.  Hand soaps are also neutral pH cleaners. 

 ALKALINE CLEANERS:  Alkaline cleaners enhance and speed up the cleaning process.  They often contain either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide which have a strong affinity for surfaces and in turn will work to modify the soil (make it more soluble).  Alkaline cleaners modify insoluble soils to render them easier to suspend and in turn rinse away.  The also make proteins and other alkaline susceptible organic soils dissolvable in water based solutions.  Please note that the majority of, but not all, soils are alkaline susceptible.  Therefore, the majority of cleaners are alkaline.  The alkaline pH range is approximately 7.5 (the least alkaline) to 14.0 (highly alkaline and corrosive).

 ACID CLEANERS:  Although the majority of soils are susceptible to alkaline agents, some are more susceptible to acids.  Acid cleaners are effective against tough inorganic stains like mineral deposits (lime and milk stone), soap film, certain molds, and rust because of their descaling ability.  Descaling involves the removal of soil in layers, the acid eats away at the layers of inorganic matter.  Acid cleaners usually contain either hydrochloric acid, which is good for heavy duty cleaning, or phosphoric acid which is considered to be safer and milder on surfaces than hydrochloric acid.

 DISINFECTANTS: Disinfectants kill or reduce bacteria, fungi, and viruses which cause disease on surfaces, leaving a residue that continues to kill microorganisms.  The chemistry is complex and many varieties are available.  We frequently use quaternary ammonium halides which attack bacteria cell walls.  It should be noted that many other sanitizers with different types of chemistry and chemicals structure are also available. 

 Disinfectant detergents work to destroy harmful bacteria while assisting with the soil removal.  The detergent component has certain ingredients that lift the soil away from the surface so it can be wiped away more easily, while the disinfecting component kills or reduces the bacteria population to acceptable levels.

 Disinfectant detergents (or any other type of cleaning chemical) should not be used simultaneously with the use of another chemical.  For example, a disinfectant cleaner used with an enzyme digester renders both products ineffective.  Mixing products that contain bleach and ammonia can release a toxic gas that could be harmful to the end user.  Products should only be mixed with water.  If two products are necessary to remove the soil one should be used and rinsed away and then the other, they should never be applied or mixed together.  Furthermore, because of the potential to render disinfectants ineffective, federal law prohibits the mixing or use of disinfectants in a manner that is inconsistent with label directions.

 The term hospital grade disinfectant refers to a disinfectant that is effective against a select number of bacteria, in particular Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonellla choleraesius, and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as a variety of other pathogenic organisms.

 Quaternary disinfectants or Quats are good all-purposed disinfectants.  They combat a broad spectrum of disease and odor causing organisms, are low in toxic or irritation properties, and provide odor control.  Additionally. Quats allow for a broader range of fragrances than most other disinfecting agents.  The quaternaries also possess some penetrating and wetting properties that increase the effectiveness of detergents and allow them to better dissolve into solutions.  Quats also tend to be less expensive than other types of disinfectants.

 Phenolic disinfectants or Phenols are also effective against a variety of gram positive and gram negative organisms. As well as the bacillus (type of bacteria) that causes tuberculosis, but are higher it toxicity and irritation properties and have a distinct odor.  Phenols also lack detergency properties and thus do not contribute to the wetting and penetrating functions of a product.

 Phenols are, however, preferred in many health care settings where blood spills and other infectious bodily fluids are more commonly encountered.  Due to the fact that Phenols are tuberculocidal, they are recommended to help people meet the OSHA Occupational Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens Standard.  OSHA’s Blood Borne Pathogen Standard states that spills of regulated body fluids must be decontaminated with an appropriate disinfectant (which is defined as a tuberculocidal disinfectant) to prevent infection by blood borne pathogens, primarily Hepatitis B and AIDS.

 Although Tuberculosis in not spread through contact with hard surfaces (it is spread by inhalation of airborne particles), OSHA bases the standard on the presumption that killing Tuberculosis indicates that a disinfectant or chemical may have a greater capability for killing Hepatitis B.

 ENYYME AND BACTERIA CLEANERS:  Enzyme and Bacteria cleaners are composed of nonpathogenic (will not cause disease), living bacteria or enzymes that will break down and liquefy organic soils like fats, proteins, carbohydrates and grease, while simultaneously eliminating malodor.  Enzyme and Bacteria cleaners present an alternative to harsher chemical solutions like solvents and strong acids or alkalis, because they are more environmentally sensible, and more user friendly that products with extreme pH.

 The process by which enzyme and bacteria cleaners work is important to understand.  When a bacteria product is applied, the microorganisms are dormant.  They begin to grow and digest the waste that is present (their food source) and in turn multiply.

 Since bacteria don’t have mouths, they break down and metabolize waste by producing enzymes.  The waste that has been broken down is now small enough to be transported or absorbed through the bacteria cell wall.  Once the waste particles are inside the cell, they can be broken down and used as a fuel and energy source. Allowing the cell to reproduce again and again, thus repeating the process.  As long as the organic soils are available as a food source, the process will continue.

 Straight enzyme cleaners are products that contain only enzymes that have been separated from the bacteria that produce them.   These products also break sown soils like grease, starches, and proteins.  Once enzymes have done their work, they are used up and cannot reproduce themselves; in turn they will not be able to degrade any more waste.

 Bacteria products can be advantageous because they last longer and tent to be more effective – if food is available, bacteria are always producing enzymes and multiplying to degrade waste. 

 Enzyme and Bacteria cleaners are currently used primarily for drain line cleaning and odor control.  They can be applied once for a specific odor problem or organic waste clog, or they can be incorporated into an ongoing maintenance program, to minimize waste buildup and reduce the need for costly pumping.  A regular application of an enzyme and bacteria digester can be especially effective in controlling odor problem caused by organic soil build-up in cracks of tile, around the base of toilets, and long the sides of urinals and drains.

 SOVLVENT CLEANERS: Solvent cleaners are particularly effective for the removal of organic soils, and greases, etc.  The solvent removes the soil from the surfaces.  There are a number of different solvents.  The well-known “butyl” solvent is actually glycol ether, which allows aqueous solution to remove oily soils more effectively.  Glycol ether solvents are unique because they can be dissolved in oil or water.

 In some cases, hydrocarbon solvents are used because of their ability to attack greases.  Chlorinated solvents offer even more vigorous attack on oily soils.  However, due to the negative impact on the environment and the user health, many solvent products have been restricted, banned, or planned for future phase out.

 Solvent cleaners are good for removing oil based stains like greasy fingerprints on mirrors and windows.

 EMULSION CLEANERS: Emulsion cleaners are typically solvents that are mixed with detergents or other ingredients to form a stable cleaning product in water.  They emulsify oils (break the oil particles down so that they can be dissolved in water) making the particles compatible with water. For example, furniture polish as well liquid cleansers are often emulsion cleaners that are effective against both water and oil based stains.

 ABRASIVES:  Abrasives clean by mechanically sanding or grinding down a minute layer of the surface.  Abrasives can be useful for removing tough stains, but care should be take not to wear the surface down to the point that it becomes more porous and in turn susceptible to staining.  Heavy-duty cleaners like acid detergents and emulsion cleansers that are miler on surfaces, can often take the place of abrasive powders.  Products like acid bowl cleaners and abrasive stain removers should not be used on a daily basis.

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Cost per Hand Dry Towel Comparison

	Towel	Twl/ft	Case	Cost Per		Hand Dry
Towel Type	Size	Per Case	Price	Towel/Ft		Used	Cost
Center Pulls	7.8×13	3180	$30.00	$0.0094	twls	3	$0.028
Cfolds	13×10.25	2400	$20.00	$0.0083	twls	3	$0.025
Multifolds	9.125×9.5	4000	$26.00	$0.0065	twls	3	$0.020
Scott Fold	9.4×12.4	4375	$35.00	$0.0080	twls	2	$0.016
enMotion	10×800	4800	$52.00	$0.0108	ft	1.5	$0.016
Multifolds Brown	10.25×9.25	4000	$20.00	$0.0050	twls	3	$0.015
Single Folds	10.25×9.25	4000	$20.00	$0.0050	twls	3	$0.015
Intuition White	8×700	4200	$41.00	$0.0098	twls	1.5	$0.015
Intuition Brown	8×700	4200	$39.00	$0.0093	twls	1.5	$0.014
White Roll Towel	8×800	4800	$25.00	$0.0052	ft	2.5	$0.013
Brown Roll Towel	8×800	4800	$22.00	$0.0046	ft	2.5	$0.011
White Roll Towel	8×1000	12000	$ 79.00	$0.0066	ft	1.5	$0.010
Hand Dryer							Utility Cost
* Includes waste, loss and misuse

The above indicates that Kimberly Clark’s 1000 or 1005 white roll towels using a controlled towel dispenser is the lowest cost towel alternative.  There are other factors to consider in selecting an appropriate towel system

1. Bathroom decor and fit with dispenser options and styles
2. Personal choice for folded towel style over roll towels
3. The desire to keep options open and select any manufacturers towels

The lowest cost folded towel options is singlefolds followed closely by Scottfold and Multifold towels.  Centerpull towels along with household towels ie Bounty are and have been the most expensive hand drying alternatives.

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Why Are We Still Mopping Floors?

Numerous studies, some dating back to the early 1970s, indicate that the traditional mopping of floors is ineffective at best and may even be the source of increased soiling and contamination. The reason is obvious to facility managers and cleaning professionals well versed in floorcare, especially tile and grout flooring. As the mop is used, it gathers grit, soils, and contaminants, many of which are spread over the floor area in the cleaning process instead of being removed.

This can be true whether using conventional string or “spaghetti” mops or flat mops made of microfiber that are being used like spaghetti mops. Additionally, technologies developed to help prevent this spreading of soils from occuring over the floor area, such as dual-bucket systems that separate solution and rinse water, have proved to be relatively ineffective. This is because the mop head becomes soiled as soon as it touches the floor—even sooner if the bucket itself is contaminated.

Microfiber flat mops that are used for a limited square footage based on the soil load on the floor then bagged for cleaning can be an effective mopping technique.  Mops and cleaning solution will not get cross contaminated by being rinsed and wrung out.  A fresh mop is used for a designated area and is not reused until laundered.  This technique may not be cost effective for heavily soiled areas and floors as too many fresh clean mops will be required.

This problem becomes all the more evident when cleaning tile and grout flooring commonly found in restrooms in public facilities as well as locker rooms, shower areas, and foodservice areas. These floors are porous. Time, moisture, contaminants, and soiled mop heads and mop water will eventually discolor the tile and grout, causing staining and odors and fostering the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew.

When this happens, addressing the problem can not only be a time-consuming process but can even risk the health of the cleaning professional as well as the environment. Often the cleaning worker uses hand-held brushes to loosen grit and soil from the tile and grout, manually going over each section, which for a large area is a slow and laborious process.

Also, cleaning workers may turn to powerful acid-type cleaners and degreasers. These products may well remove the grit and soiling, but the fumes they release can be harmful, and skin and eye irritation—a common work-related injury among cleaning professionals—can be serious.

New Technologies Provide a Solution
Many facilities are turning to hard-surface cleaning equipment as an alternative to conventional floor mopping. Typically, this equipment is used to clean tile and grout flooring because it is able to deep clean porous floors and remove and dispose of contaminants down the drain rather than moving them from place to place.

For instance, some carpet extractor-type “dual surface” machines use a turbo, hard-surface floor cleaner attachment that pressure washes hard surfaces while removing waste water with a powerful vacuum system in one cleaning pass. These machines can use up to two gallons of water per minute with an adjustable 400 to 1,200 psi (pounds per square inch). This system allows the operator to adjust the machine’s pressure based on floor type and cleaning needs. Using the system, the operator first pre-sprays the floor with a cleaning chemical to loosen soils, then pressure washes and safely removes waste in one cleaning pass. Because the equipment is connected directly to water-feed outlets, it cleans the floor and then “dumps” solution and contaminants down the drain at the rate of 5.5 gallons per minute, aiding in productivity.

These are other benefits of this type of floor cleaning technology:

• Pre-spraying floors tends to limit the amount of chemical used for cleaning, making the process more environmentally responsible.
• Because this is a “one-pass system,” floors are cleaned and rinsed faster, enhancing worker productivity.
• Floors dry quickly because the moisture is extracted, unblocking floor areas sooner and preventing possible slips and falls.

Other options for automated mopping are the use of automatic scrubbers that put down uncontaminated cleaning solution, scrub with brushes and then vacuum up the dirty solutions.  Automatic scrubbers are 10 times more productive than traditional mopping.  If there is enought square footage in the building to be mopped that labor savings pays for the scrubber usually within one year.   The quality of the cleaning is also enhanced with the use of a scubber.

Answering the Big Question
If we have known for more than 40 years that conventional mopping systems can actually spread soils on floor surfaces, why are we still using them? For years, cleaning professionals and facility managers believed mopping effectiveness could be improved by simply using more powerful chemicals and switching to dual or separate bucket systems. Both ideas, we now know, have drawbacks.

Additionally, when the cost of labor was less, if cleaning workers had to take more time to manually brush floors to remove soiling, it did not impact the cleaning budget as much as it does today. Now, with cleaning budgets under greater scrutiny and often cut, this simply is no longer an option.

But the most likely reason cleaning workers continue using traditional mopping methods is simply that a better technology was not invented until recently. In this case, a variation of the famous quote holds true for floorcare: the necessity to clean floors more thoroughly and effectively was the mother of invention.

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The Basics — What Is It And Where It Is Found?   

First discovered in 1961, these MRSA infections are fiercely resistant to usually reliable beta antibiotics such as methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin. In rare cases, mild skin infections featuring boils or pimples can transform lactams into necrotizing fasciitis (“flesh eating”) bacterial infections that can spread with horrifying speed and result in amputations or death.     

Currently, the majority of MRSA cases are in Healthcare settings. According to an October 2007 study published in “The Journal of the American Medical Association” (JAMA), approximately 85% of invasive MRSA infections occur in these environments, while 14% are categorized as community-associated (CA-MRSA) infections, or in those individuals lacking the risk factors associated with healthcare environments. As outlined in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, more individuals died from MRSA in 2005 than from AIDS.    

Transmission and Vulnerability     

SOURCES

:CDC Web site. The American Academy of Family Physicians Web site. WebMD Web site.Capriotti, T. Dermatology Nursing, Jan. 26, 2004; vol 15: pp 535-538. Johnson, L.
Infections in Medicine, 2005; vol 22: pp 16-20.
Klevens, R.M. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Oct. 17, 2007; vol 298: pp 1763-1771. R. Monica Klevens, DDS, MPH, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, CDC, Atlanta.
Elizabeth Bancroft, MD, Acute Communicable Disease Control, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
CDC Basic Statistics, HIV/AIDS Status Report, 2005. WebMD Medical News: “MRSA Rates Much Higher Than Thought.”
CDC Press Release, “CDC estimates 94,000 invasive drug-resistant staph infections occurred in the U.S. in 2005.” October 16, 2007.
Linezolid for the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in children. Kaplan SL - Pediatr Infect Dis J - 01-SEP-2003; 22(9 Suppl): S178-85
Prospective comparison of risk factors and demographic and clinical characteristics of community-acquired, methicillin-resistant versus methicillin-susceptible
Staphylococcus aureus infection in children.
Sattler CA - Pediatr Infect Dis J - 01-OCT-2002; 21(10): 910-7 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the community. Bratcher D - Pediatr
Infect Dis J - 01-DEC-2001; 20(12): 1167-8

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Industrial Supplies Michigan – Carpet Spotters
Amerisource Industrial Supply

USING A CARPET SPOTTER TO IMPROVE CARPET CLEANING 

The following is an overview of training that explains the ways that you can use a carpet spotter to improve your overall carpet cleaning success. Carpet cleaning is harder than it looks because we have all experienced two of the most common problems and wonder what is going on.  It is easier than you think because the reason for the problems is straightforward. 

The three problems we encounter time after time are:

1. You had a spot and thought you cleaned it up yesterday.  Today, that same spot is now two or three times larger and even more noticeable.
2. You cleaned your carpet with an extractor last night and it looked pretty good.  This morning there are spots here, there, and everywhere.
3. I cleaned the carpet last night and it does not look as good as I think it should

 If you have experienced either of these problems, you know how frustrating they can be.  But, more importantly, we can deal with them to minimize your frustration.

 The Spot That Grows

There are a number of different carpet spotters – we use different cleaning chemicals to clean different types of soil.  For instance, there are spotters that are most effective against beverages (usually referred to as Tannin Spotters) and there are spotters more effective against food-based soil (usually referred to as Enzyme Spotters).  Spotting kits are available that include all the necessary chemicals to remove any type of spot with use instructions. In addition, there are extracting compounds, pre-sprays, and rinses. 

For our purposes here, we are presuming that you are using the right spotting product – we just want you to understand why the spot returns bigger than ever.

Imagine spilling some coffee.  It is now seeping into the carpet until it hits the impervious carpet backing or the hard floor that the carpet was laid on.   The carpet fibers are soaked wet and there is a pool of coffee at the bottom of the spot. You do the right thing.  You blot the spot and absorb as much of the coffee as possible.  Now you some of your carpet spotter designed for coffee spills and the spot looks ok.  Maybe, you even use a carpet spotter and quickly rinsed the spot.

If you are typical, when you come back the next day, the spot is still there and it is bigger than when you started.  This happens because the coffee lying under the spill on top of the carpet has spread out when it hit the carpet backing.  Maybe it is two-inch spot on top but it is more likely a five-inch pool underneath.

As the carpet fibers dry from the top down, the coffee wicks up the carpet fibers and they cover the entire five-inch pool – not just the two-inch spill.  Doing a quick rinse with a carpet spotter usually aggravates the problem by turning the five-inch pool into an eight-inch pool.

The solution is straightforward and it involves the carpet spotter.  The entire pool of coffee lying under the carpet needs to be extracted.  To do this, all you need to do is keep saturating the spot and sucking it up until the rinse water is coming back clear.  Once the water is coming back clear, the pool of coffee is gone and when the carpet dries, there is nothing to wick back up to make the spot return.

Extracted Last Night and Spotty This Morning

This problem is closely related to the growing spot problem – just on a larger scale.  When you extract a carpet, you get it wet.  It all goes back to those pools of coffee and such that are lying under the carpet.   This time, they are dry and you are going to rewet them with the extractor.  The same thing that happened when you did the quick pass with the carpet spotter will happen when you extract the carpet. 

The spots on the carpet tell us that there is something in or under the carpet.  When we wet it without pulling all of it out of the carpet, the carpet will dry and the dirty water will wick to the surface making another spot.  There are a few ways to handle this – the right way and the cosmetic way.

The right way is to pre-treat the spots and attempt to completely remove any of the spill that has pooled and dried under the carpet.  This can be done with your carpet spotter or with your extraction machine wand.  The cosmetic way is to come back after you extract and run a bonnet over the areas that have spotted.  This will remove the surface dirt and make it appear that the carpet is clean.

Of course, there is another problem that occurs.  Often, spots will show up where there was no indication of a spill in the first place.  This happens because the original spill or spot was surface cleaned but not thoroughly cleaned.  If a spill is completely dry and we successfully clean the carpet surface with a little chemical, we are setting ourselves up for a bigger problem when we do a full extraction.  That spot will come back bigger than ever.  This happens all the time.  At this point, there are two choices – remove the source of the spot with the carpet spotter or bonnet it to clean the surface knowing it will eventually come back again.

Cleaned The Carpet But It Doesn’t Look As Good As It Should

Sometimes dirty carpet it is not what it seems.  Maybe it is:

1. Dirty and needs to be cleaned
2. Full of detergent and needs to be rinsed out
3. Alkaline as a result of too much cleaning and needs to be neutralized
4. Worn out and in need of replacement

Using a carpet spotter, a few cleaning products, and 10 minutes can tell us a lot.  To determine what you are really facing and needs to be done – just put some warm water in the carpet spotter and do some testing.  Then you will know what you need to be doing.

The first test I run is to use the carpet spotter and no chemicals at all.  If you can rinse an area repeatedly and generate soapsuds, your carpet probably has detergent in it – this is residue left from prior cleanings.  Detergent in the carpet increases the speed of resoiling so the carpet gets dirty more quickly.  It this is the case, you do not need to add more detergent to the carpet – you can extract with hot water or use a rinse agent – in either case, the idea is to get the detergent out of the carpet.

The second test I run is to use one of my general purpose spotters and work some into the carpet – then I rinse the carpet with the warm water in the carpet spotter.  This tells me if the carpet is in fact dirty and if cleaning it will produce any results.  If the first test came up empty and the second test generates results, we know the carpet needs to be cleaned.

The third test I run is to use a carpet rinse or neutralizer to determine if the carpet has a condition know as “browning.”  If neither of the other tests generated the result I was looking for, it is possible that the carpet has become alkaline from prior cleanings and has lost its luster.  Using a rinse agent which is acidic in nature will neutralize the alkalinity and restore the carpet.  To perform this test, spray a diluted mixture of carpet rinse onto the carpet, work it in, and remove it with the warm water in the carpet spotter.  If the carpet brightens noticeably, the carpet needs to be extracted using a neutralizer.

Finally, it none of the tests have generated any results – it is probably time to replace the carpet.

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Frequently Asked Hard Floor Care Questions 

Why do we put floor finish on a floor?

Hard floor care has two objectives.  One is to protect the floor surface.  The other is to enhance the appearance of the floor. The key to any floor care program is to keep the floor as clean as possible.  Time spent in cleaning the floor will be time saved in repairing damage done to the floor by dirt. Daily and periodic maintenance of the floor consists of dust mopping, damp mopping, scrubbing, recoating, spray buffing and burnishing. Burnishing is a critical step in keeping your surface in top shape.  Burnishing hardens the finish and smoothes the surface which makes daily cleaning easier. A program of periodic deep scrubbing and recoating will prolong the life of the finish and prevent the more labor intense stripping operation.

 Why do floors with finish on them shine?

The shine on a floor is due to the reflection of light from its smooth surface.  Think of a mirror. In their natural state, floor surfaces are full of microscopic scratches.  These scratches absorb some light and do not reflect the remaining light cleanly.  This results in a dull – less reflective surface.  As a freshly finished floor ages and is not maintained, it also becomes scratched and reflects less and less light – making it appear dull.

What is the difference between Sealer and Finish?

Sealers prepare the floor by providing a better base for the finish.  It is designed to fill scratches and stick to surfaces better than floor finish. Generally speaking you will only need a sealer on a floor that is in worse shape than most floors.   For instance it shows excessive wear or is severely scratched. Most of the floor finishes manufactured today combine the features of Sealer and Finish – generally speaking, it is not necessary to use a Sealer and then a Finish.  There are specialty sealers for specific hard to coat surfaces such as terrazzo and concrete.

 Why are there different kinds of floor finish?

Floor finishes are designed to protect that floor and respond to the type of maintenance that you are performing on the floor. For instance, we are all familiar with the wet floor look that many grocery stores have.  This finish is much different than one you would put down and clean when needed and then eventually strip and replace.

Finishes are generally designed around maintenance programs that consist of little or no maintenance, low speed gloss restoration (buffing with equipment that usually runs 175 rpm), high speed gloss restoration (burnishing with equipment that runs 1000 to 1500 rpm)), and ultra high speed gloss restoration (burnishing with equipment that runs over 1500 rpm).   The key determining factors in selecting a finish is the traffic on the surface, burnishing frequency and type of burnishing equipment used.

The key characteristics of a floor finish are:

1. Hardness – Durability
2. Initial Shine
3. Reparability – Response to burnishing & restoration
4. Difficulty in Stripping

There is a trade off amongst these key factors.  In a perfect world you could get a very hard and durable finish that is easy to restore and strip.  Currently, there is no such finish.  A high traffic floor such as a super market requires a floor finish that can be burnished nightly and can be restored frequently and easily without the finish getting brittle or discolored. A church with relatively less traffic and resources to burnish the floor needs a very hard durable finish that will hold up between infrequent burnishes.

What does the term solids mean – for instance a 25% solids finish?

The term solid refers to the amount of finish that is left on the floor after it has dried.  For instance, in a 25% solids floor finish, 75% of the solution is a carrying solution that allows you to put the finish down and levels the solution but will evaporate as the floor dries.  The solid content of the finish does not indicate the quality or characteristics of the finish. A 25% solids finish has 25% more solids than a 20% solids floor finish.  As a result, the cost of the 25% solids should be approximately 25% higher than a 20% floor finish.

How many coats of floor finish should I put down? 

Understanding that finish is intended to protect the floor and enhance its appearance – the answer is “it depends.”  A floor that will get little or no foot traffic will need less than one that receives considerable foot traffic.  One that experiences harsh chemicals and deicers will need more than one that does not. 

One rule of thumb is that a typical floor should receive 100% coverage.  That means that you should determine the amount of solids that a floor finish contains and divide it into 100.  For instance, if you are using a 20% solids floor finish, you would typically use 5 coats – a 25% finish would be 4 coats, and so on.

In any case, you should always put down enough coats of finish so that you can experience your normal wear and still be able to scrub the floor and have a base of finish to build on – that will save you time and money because you will not need to strip the floor as often.

How much floor finish do I need?

Every finish will have a square foot per gallon coverage rate.  Most finish range from 2000 sq ft per gallon to 3000 sq ft per gallon.  The condition of the floor will affect the amount of coverage.  Worn and porous floors will use more finish than non porous and newer surfaces.  Less finish will penetrate the surface and it will take less coats to get the desired shine.  A general rule of thumb is that you need a minimum of 3 coats on any surface and gloss or shine usually reaches a maximum after 6 coats.  Do not put down more than 3 coats in one day.

What are the different floor maintenance activities?

There are seven typical maintenance activities that are performed but it is important to remember that all of the activities have one thing in common.  Before doing any maintenance to a floor, that floor should be cleaned with a dust mop to remove any loose dirt or grit that could cause additional scratching to the finish or the floor itself.

 The seven typical maintenance activities are:

Neutral Clean – Removes surface dirt without destroying any of the finish
Clean and Restore – Removes surface dirt without destroying the finish and leaves a film that prepares the surface for Burnishing
Buffing – Low Speed Gloss Restoring
Burnishing-  High Speed Gloss Restoring
Scrub – Cleans the floor by removing the top layer of finish and prepares the floor for additional costs of finish
Recoat – Applies top coat(s) of finish to floor after it has been scrubbed
Strip – Removes all finish and prepares floor to receive floor finish.

What is the difference between Buffing and Burnishing?

Often, these terms are used interchangeably but they represent two entirely different types of floor maintenance.  It is important to use them correctly because they combine different chemicals, equipment, and pads.

Buffing is low speed gloss restoration and uses a 175 rpm floor machine, a red floor pad, and spray buff.  A floor machine is the same piece of equipment that you might use to strip the floor or scrub the floor.  It goes side to side when you operate it.  Generally speaking a floor machine will have the motor in the middle of it.

Burnishing is high speed gloss restoration and uses both electric and propane operated machines, various color pads, and a restorer.  A burnisher operates at a much higher rpm than a floor machine.  They operate in a straight line rather than going side to side.  The pads vary in color depending upon the type of finish and amount of finish that is on the floor.

What do the colors of floor pads mean?

Floor pads have different colors because they do different things to the floor.  Generally speaking, the darker the pad is the more aggressive it will be.  An overview of pad colors is as follows: 

Black Pads are used for stripping,  There are two varieties, regular and high productivity.   The “hi-pro” are more aggressive and will remove finish more quickly.
Green and Blue Pads are used for scrubbing.  They will remove the top coat of finish and are used to prepare the floor for additional coats of finish.
Red Pads are used for daily cleaning of the floor and for applying spray buff with floor machines.
White Pads are used for mild scrubbing of a floor and to polish floors with poor bases of floor finish. 
Natural (Hair) Pads are used for burnishing floors with high speed equipment
Pink Pads are used for burnishing and are designed to more effective in the removal of scuff marks

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US nursing homes pushed to brink: fund cuts, recession force layoffs, cutbacks, closings

• By Dave Collins, Associated Press Writer
• Sunday October 4, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The nation’s nursing homes are perilously close to laying off workers, cutting services — possibly even closing — because of a perfect storm wallop from the recession and deep federal and state government spending cuts, industry experts say.

A Medicare rate adjustment that cuts an estimated $16 billion in nursing home funding over the next 10 years was enacted at week’s end by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — on top of state-level cuts or flat-funding that already had the industry reeling.

And Congress is debating slashing billions more in Medicare funding as part of health care reform.

Add it all up, and the nursing home industry is headed for a crisis, industry officials say.

“We can foresee the possibility of nursing homes having to close their doors,” said David Hebert, a senior vice president at the American Health Care Association. “I certainly foresee that we’ll have to let staff go.”

The funding crisis comes as the nation’s baby boomers age ever closer toward needing nursing home care. The nation’s 16,000 nursing homes housed 1.85 million people last year, up from 1.79 million in 2007, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.

Already this year, 24 states have cut funding for nursing home care and other health services needed by low-income people who are elderly or disabled, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonprofit research firm based in Washington, D.C.

Some facilities are now closed because of money problems — including four in Connecticut — and others have laid off workers because of what industry officials say are inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates. Medicare cuts are troubling, they say, because the higher Medicare reimbursements have been used to compensate for the lower Medicaid rates.

In Griswold, Conn., the community’s only nursing home shut down earlier this year because of rising costs and an inability to pay for $4.9 million in needed renovations for the 90-bed facility.

“A 92-year-old woman was screaming and crying as she was loaded into the ambulance, saying ‘This is my home,’” Griswold First Selectman Philip Anthony said. His 88-year-old mother was a resident of the same home at the time.

Anthony sought and found a new facility for his mother, but she died of pneumonia before the Griswold Health and Rehabilitation Center closed in the spring.

“To be hit with a sudden and deliberate closure like this, it just drained the heart right out of you,” Anthony said.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell and state lawmakers gave no Medicaid rate increases to nursing homes in the state last fiscal year and kept the funding flat for the next two years.

The Griswold home was one of four nursing homes in the state that have closed since December because of financial problems, a higher rate than usual, said Deborah Chernoff, a spokeswoman for District 1199 of the New England Health Care Employees Union in Connecticut, which represents more than 20,000 health care workers in the state.

“We’re really teetering on the edge of what we see as the collapse of the long-term care system,” she said.

Chernoff said many of Connecticut’s 240 or so nursing homes have been reducing workers’ hours to deal with money problems, while two are in bankruptcy now.

Also this year across the country:

– The Motion Picture & Television Fund said in January it would close a hospital and nursing home in Woodland Hills, Calif., founded to care for actors and other entertainment industry workers, because of financial losses.

– The Westchester Medical Center in suburban New York said it would close a nursing home and cut 400 jobs to deal with Medicaid and other fund cuts.

– The Dove Health Care nursing home in Glendale, Wis., near Milwaukee, closed this summer because of heavy debt.

– Medicaid reimbursement rates to nursing homes were cut this year by Rhode Island (5 percent); Michigan (4 percent) and Florida (3 percent).

– Washington state legislators whacked nursing home funding by $93 million for the next two fiscal years.

Gary Weeks, executive director of the Washington Health Care Association, said some of the organization’s 400 assisted living and nursing homes have laid off workers. Some will not survive, he said.

At the request of Weeks’ association, a federal judge in July issued a temporary restraining order blocking the cuts because state officials didn’t do a required analysis of how the reductions would affect care quality and access.

“There’s a lot of pain going on everywhere, but it’s clearly a crisis in long-term care,” Weeks said.

“You’re going to find that some folks go out of business,” he said. “Some will look for more Medicare patients — Medicare pays more than Medicaid.”

In Washington, D.C., health care interests are resisting President Barack Obama’s plan to pay for his health care overhaul by slowing Medicaid and Medicare spending. Obama wants to trim $313 billion from the two programs over 10 years.

It’s not clear exactly how all the health spending cuts will affect nursing homes.

A University of Pittsburgh study earlier this year found nearly 1,800 nursing homes nationwide closed from 1999 to 2005, about 2 percent each year.

One of the study’s authors, health policy and management professor Nick Castle, said the annual closure rate is rising, for reasons that include inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates and the push for more home and community care.

“It’s come to a head recently with state budgets being in such jeopardy that they’re cutting in all areas,” Castle said.

The federal stimulus package approved in February includes $87 billion in Medicaid funding to help states. But Connecticut and several other states are using a loophole in the legislation to divert the money to budget items unrelated to health care, according to a congressional study.

On average, Medicaid payments by states to nursing homes fell short by $12 per patient, per day last year — nearly $4.2 billion in unreimbursed costs for Medicaid-allowed expenses, according to the AHCA.

In New York City, the Metropolitan Jewish Health System laid off about 200 of its 1,000 employees at three nursing homes in Brooklyn because the state cut Medicaid funding by 10 percent to 14 percent, said President and Chief Executive Eli Feldman.

“We understand there’s a recession/depression,” Feldman said. “But this is not health reform … and the victims are basically the people who live in the facilities. The Legislature basically says, ‘Too sick, too old, too bad.”

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How do I know which ice melter product is best to use?

Start with the outside temperature. Rock salt, is great for melting ice at moderately cold temperatures (works down to 5°F). When the temperature falls below that, you should consider a blended product such as a specially formulated blend of magnesium chloride and sodium chloride (works down to -5°F) or a Calcium Chloride pellet (works down to -25°F). Other factors include activation speed, ease of handling and application, and desired features.

Do I really need the package instructions?

Yes. Proper application is important for the optimal performance and safety of any ice melting product. More product does not necessarily mean better performance.

What if my pet eats some ice melter?

Most ice melters are not produced under food grade conditions and therefore are not intended for human or animal consumption. If ingestion occurs, make sure your pet has water available to drink, which is usually all that’s needed. Ingesting large amounts, however, can result in gastrointestinal irritation. If your pet shows signs of distress, contact your veterinarian. Always store any ice melter out of reach of children and pets. (Refer to ice melter Material Safety Data Sheets for more information).

Will my pet be harmed if it walks where an ice melter has been applied?

Generally, no. If an animal picks up too much ice melter material in its paws, it may experience some irritation–especially if it has dry, cracked skin–so it’s advisable to brush or wash off encrusted product residue. Also, since ice melters lower the water temperature, the mix of melting snow, ice and ice melters can be uncomfortably cold to an animal’s feet. To help protect your pet, follow application instructions by clearing the snow and ice from pavement once it’s melted, and/or covering paws with pet booties to avoid possible frostbite.

How does Calcium Chloride differ from other ice melters?

Calcium chloride, which melts ice down to -25#176;F. It is exothermic, which means it gives off heat as it works, accelerating melting. Because of that, it is important to brush or wash off ice melter residue from your pet’s paws and coat to avoid possible skin and mouth irritation or burn. Calcium chloride is low in toxicity, but if ingested in small amounts, make water available, and contact your veterinarian if your pet shows signs of distress. As with other ice melters, store out of reach of children and pets. (Refer to ice melter Material Safety Data Sheets for more information).

What else can I do to minimize winter risk and discomfort to my pet?

Practice good grooming of your pet, such as trimming excess hair from footpads and toes to reduce ice, snow and salt accumulation and make cleaning easier. Keep pets away from treated surfaces until snow, ice and ice melters have been cleared away. Doing so promptly will also prevent re-freezing. If your pet gets wet, dry its coat, and especially its paws, to prevent cracking.

What if my child eats some ice melter?

Most ice melters are not intended for human or animal consumption. If a few grams of ice melter are accidentally ingested, drinking water is usually all that is needed. Ingesting large amounts can result in gastrointestinal irritation. If your child shows signs of discomfort, contact your doctor. Always store ice melters out of reach of children and pets. (Refer to ice melter Material Safety Data Sheets for more information).

Will ice melters damage my grass and shrubs?

Because ice melters transform snow and ice into liquid, there is run-off. Too high a rate of application results in excess run-off from the driveway or sidewalk surface area, which is the most common cause of injury to bordering lawn or vegetation. Soil type, vegetation species and climate are also factors in runoff effect. Published university field tests indicate there may be slight differences between the tendency of the common deicing chemicals to harm grass, but excessive application with any of them will harm vegetation. To reduce risk of this damage, apply ice melters according to package instructions and promptly remove snow, ice and slush from the sidewalk or driveway surface after application.

Will ice melters damage my concrete?

Poured concrete needs time to cure and seal, so do not apply ice melters to first-year concrete. Do not use on porous or improperly cured concrete, precast concrete items, masonry, mortar, wood or other porous materials. Use only on properly placed, cured and sealed, air-entrained concrete. To reduce risk of damage, apply ice melters according to package instructions. You may also apply a quality water-repelling sealant to the surface prior to winter. Finally, promptly remove snow, ice and slush that develops on the concrete after any ice melter application.

Will ice melters hurt my carpeting or wood floor?

With proper application and ice removal, ice melter should leave little film or residue. Any extra residue carried in from people’s boots and shoes should be either sponged up with water before it dries or vacuumed promptly once dry.

Can I use ice melters on my deck?

Prior to using any ice melter, you should contact the manufacturer of your decking or sidewalk materials for its recommendation. We do not recommend using ice melters on wood decks, brick sidewalks, patios or the relatively new, non-wood decking material.

Can deicing salt be used on roofs to remove ice dams?

For obvious safety reasons, we recommend you do not use ice melters for ice dam removal from roofs. The best solution is to consult a roof expert to prevent heat loss and ice dams from developing. Because there are a variety of ice removal options and roofing materials, you should consult your homeowners insurance or a professional roofer to determine the best method of removal for your type of roof.

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