February 2013 – Waste not, want not – As featured in The Flooring Magazine February 2013
Alan Lewin, business development director of ServiceMaster Clean, explains how effective regular maintenance of floor coverings and upholstery can help you reduce waste and cut costs.
Commercial floor coverings and upholstery take a regular pounding not just from our feet but from spilt tea, coffee, soft drinks, food and the dirt trailed in from the outside world.
Whether you run a retail outlet, restaurant, care home, factory or office building, investing in the cleanliness of your surroundings makes economic and environment al sense. Not only is it pivotal in the initial perception your clients and prospects make, but appropriate cleaning and treatment will also lengthen the serviceable life of your floorcoverings and upholstery.
Figures from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimate that 583,000 tonnes of flooring waste is produced each year, with the majority (71%) being carpet. More than 90% of this flooring waste ends up in landfill, with less than 1% being recycled. That’s a shocking statistic and one we all should think about when considering refurbishment or updating the look of facilities. Make sure that floorcoverings and upholstery last as long as possible. Regular maintenance is a lot less costly than replacing floor coverings and upholstered items frequently. All too often carpeting, vinyl and other flooring is disposed of in favour of new coverings when it becomes prematurely tired.
The technology for protecting, sustaining and restoring the appearance of floor coverings that were previously considered beyond repair, has improved dramatically. Instead of tearing up damaged floorcoverings and throwing upholstery out, thereby consuming new materials, at ServiceMaster Clean we work with organisations to carry out full restoration, saving materials from our landfills that could take hundreds of years to break down.
Bespoke cleaning and restoration programmes Westfield Derby, one of the largest shopping centres in the UK, opened in 2007 with brand new flooring and furnishings throughout, all designed with aesthetics in mind and to create a luxurious environment for shoppers.
A key part of the interior design was a series of handmade Chinese rugs which were made specifically for the refurbishment and designed to reflect the Derbyshire landscape. However, with over 20 million visitors a year, it quickly became apparent that there was a requirement for more than just practical maintenance of these expensive, bespoke furnishings as they were showing signs of colour loss and staining. After identifying the need for a specialist service, Westfield Derby called in ServiceMaster Clean.
We developed a programme to ensure that the rugs were brought back to their former glory and would be maintained as such, and a regular cleaning programme is now in place. Without our specialist care and attention, these carefully crafted rugs could have been destined for less salubrious surroundings as their novelty wore oft and they succumbed to daily wear and tear.
Since then, our experts have repaired damaged wooden staircases using specialist wooden flooring machinery, again greatly improving cost efficiency for the centre by maintaining the flooring otherwise destined for landfill.
Specialised cleaning
Too often, individuals without any specialist training are given the task of cleaning floorcoverings and upholstery which – given the scale of financial investment and reliance on the appearance of these items – is a scary thought. At ServiceMaster Clean, we have over fifty years’ expertise in cleaning a wide range of floorcoverings and upholstery using innovative cleaning systems and processes that complement the developments in production processes and materials, as well as providing a specialist disaster restoration service and a range of infection control measures to protect against harmful bacteria.
Different floorcovering surfaces and fabrics have varied cleaning requirements and, if appropriate processes are not followed, this can do more harm than good.
“A small change to the way our customers maintain their premises can make a huge difference to what ends up in landfill.”
When it comes to cleaning, some vinyl floor surfaces may require deep scrubbing using a rotary machine and a suitable brush head to properly clean the floor. Other floors may benefit from having damaged seals removed and fresh coatings applied.
Appropriate drying procedure s also need to be considered, to ensure that materials dry out properly and don’t pose a health & safety risk. We use truck mounted extraction carpet cleaning machines which offer the best all round results in professional carpet and upholstery cleaning, leaving carpets dry in one to two hours.
Restore more, replace less Improvements in floor covering and upholstery manufacturing and materials mean that they should last longer and look better than ever if treated properly. At ServiceMaster Clean we pride ourselves on being experts in the specialist cleaning and restoration industry. We know what can and cannot be restored effectively and economically. We’ll always advise our customers as to the best methods, procedures and appropriate products required to maintain or restore their flooring to a condition ‘like new’.
In addition to providing our clients with a regular, ongoing cleaning programme to lengthen the life of flooring and upholstery investments, we offer simple and practical advice, including:
• Reuse – Spare tiles or unfinished rolls of material could be reused on another project or returned to the supplier if a take back scheme is in place.
• Storage – Designating a protected secure area for storage can reduce waste from water and accidental damage.
• Pollution prevention – This can help reduce damage to flooring and the office environment.
• Recycle – Carpet tiles from less heavily trafficked areas may be able to be reused and used carpets in good condition can be cleaned and refurbished for reuse. Damaged carpet can be recycled into new carpet or the constituent materials such as nylon fibre can be used for other products. Ceramic tiles may be crushed and used in the manufacture of new tiles.
Unexpected damage
No matter how carefully carpets and floorcoverings are maintained, there are sometimes unforeseen events which can cause extensive damage to the interior and exterior of buildings. Damage can be caused by anything from floods or other extreme weather conditions, escape of water, fallen trees, fire or even malicious damage.
International Dance Supplies is the UK’s largest wholesale dancewear supplier, providing dance teachers and dance shops with quality dancewear worldwide. In 2012, their headquarters, based in Devon, was seriously damaged by water escaping from a mains water pipe connected t o a hot water dispenser. The water spread, saturating carpets and floors in the first floor open plan office area and travelling through the ceiling and ground floor, bringing the ceiling tiles down with it.
This type of damage can have a significant financial impact, with the Association of British Insurers reporting that escape of water claims cost £730 million in 2010, with the average claim cost for damage being around £2,000.
The company called in their local branch of ServiceMaster Clean and we sent a team of professionally qualified contractors trained in specialist restoration techniques to British Damage Management Association standards.
Specialist drying equipment was used as an initial containment measure, followed by the installation of a more advanced drying system involving entering the affected areas for concentrated drying.
Prior to the installation, all the affected carpets were uplifted for restoration, exposing the concrete beneath. A thick layer of adhesive was discovered on top of the concrete, which was removed so that it did not hinder the drying time, allowing the moisture to be released from the concrete.
For health & safety reasons, temporary traffic lanes were set up throughout the offices with warning signs so that the premises could remain open and business could continue as usual. Temporary entrance matting was laid until the restoration work was complete.
Going above and beyond
It’s no longer enough to just think about caring for our environment, we need to take action now to prevent greater damage in the future. Simple measures like regular maintenance of our flooring might seem insignificant when compared to more immediate green issues like shredding and recycling plastic for example. However, with such dramatic statistics, including the fact that only 1% of almost 600,000 tonnes of flooring waste is currently recycled, a small change to the way our customers maintain their premises can make a huge difference to what ends up in landfill .
By using a specialist cleaning provider, businesses across the UK can not only enjoy cost savings and the kudos that comes with being operationally greener, but can also help make real inroads into growing that 1% into something greater.
