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When cleaning agents go wild
By Scott Warrington
October 13, 2010
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Your upholstery tool simply will not bend to conform to the curve on the arm of that sofa, and the result is a waterfall of chemical on the side of a wooden end table.
Your in-line high-pressure sprayer decides to fan out a bit more than you expected, and the chemical coats an expensive stone floor.
The product that makes the tile and grout kitchen floor sparkle decides to splatter onto the front of the stainless steel refrigerator.
These are just a couple of examples of how overspray can ruin your day.
With our clients selecting a variety of flooring surfaces and cleaners diversifying to clean different surfaces, the opportunities for overspray problems increase.
What can you do?
An ounce of prevention
In almost every situation, prevention is to be preferred over dealing with the results of a cleaning agent gone wild.
Upholstery — Low moisture upholstery tools often have the spray jet recessed into the vacuum chamber.
Using a low-moisture tool greatly reduces the chance of overspray.
Low-moisture tools have undoubtedly avoided hundreds of potential problems of water marks on walls or drapes (move the sofa out when cleaning), finish damage to end tables and white spots in the finish of hardwood floors.
If your tool of choice makes it difficult to clean a rounded arm or a narrow surface without getting cleaning solution a few inches outside the target area, try blocking the spray with your free hand or even a credit card.
Use a drop cloth and keep anything that can be damaged out of range.
Carpet — Move fine wood furniture out of the area before you pull the trigger on the preconditioner (whether it’s a pump-up, battery powered, electric or in-line).
A spray shield such as is used by a spray painter is a helpful tool along walls or where the carpet being cleaned meets a hard floor surface.
Most emulsifiers or rinse agents are highly diluted.
A little mist on the baseboards is not likely to be harmful.
In fact, it may be a helpful additional service to knock the dust off the baseboards behind the heavy pieces of furniture that seldom get moved out.
Be cautious with protectors. Despite what some techs may think, they don’t clean off easily.
Area rugs — Removing area rugs or Oriental rugs from the home and cleaning them in plant is the preferred method of cleaning.
But the fact is that many rugs will be cleaned on location in the home.
If the rug will be on hardwood or laminate floor, use an absorbent tarp under the rug.
It should extend at least a foot beyond the edges of the rug. This method may also be helpful on other hard-surface floors.
Some hard surfaces only require wiping up any dampness after you are finished.
A tarp or towels around the edges of the rug also should be considered when cleaning a rug on a carpeted surface.
You don’t want to trap moisture under the rug. The resulting slow drying could cause problems.
Tile and grout — Tile and grout cleaning agents are likely some of the strongest chemicals you use.
They have the potential to do considerable damage. Observe the precautions on the label.
Cover areas adjacent to the floors you will be cleaning. To do otherwise is asking for trouble. Protect nearby appliances.
Hard surface cleaners, especially those on the acid side, can wreak havoc with stainless steel appliances. Even the standard painted metal appliances should be protected.
Cover adjoining floors to reduce slip and fall accidents, as well as to protect the floor.
Any baseboard can be damaged by strong cleaning solutions.
However, baseboards made of MDF should be treated with special caution. MDF will swell if it absorbs water.
Surfactants in any cleaning solution allow it to absorb moisture very quickly. If the floor is not level, water can also reach the baseboard from underneath or the backside.
Use plastic and/or painter’s masking tape to cover surfaces that need protection.
Window treatments — When cleaning open-weave window coverings, you can hang lightweight plastic behind the fabric being cleaned.
When overspray happens
Let’s say that you ignored the advice mentioned above.
What can you do about overspray short of replacing the damaged item?
Be prepared for this contingency before it comes up.
Be ready to wipe or rinse any unwanted cleaning products from nearby surfaces.
Clean towels and even an extractor should be available no matter the job being done.
On porous or semi-porous surfaces, use the towel to blot up overspray, rather than wiping.
pH, solvents and protectors
High alkaline upholstery or carpet presprays and products with lots of solvents are rough on wood finishes.
The solvent breaks down the finish and allows moisture to penetrate. The result is white spots.
If the finish is already damaged, you’ll see the same white spots with any moisture. Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) can displace the water, forcing it out.
Take a white cotton towel saturated with alcohol and rub the spots, or simply lay the towel on the problem area for a short period of time.
If this does not complete the job, you can use 0000 steel wool to help get alcohol in and water out. Even a wood cream that restorers use for soot cleanup can be helpful.
If the product on the wrong surface is OMS (odorless mineral spirits) or other volatile solvent, usually the best thing is to do nothing.
Wiping it up will only result in a smear. Just let it evaporate.
The exception to this rule is fluorochemical protector in a solvent carrier.
Carry a clean white towel in your pocket. Wipe it up immediately. Once dry, protectors will not clean off easily.
Cleaning the hard stuff
If your hard-surface floor cleaner gets on the appliances, wipe it off immediately.
Flush and dilute with plenty of water.
If this was an acid cleaner, neutralize it with an alkaline immediately. You still may still find damage to stainless steel surfaces.
In some cases, stainless or abrasive polish compounds may allow you to feather out the damaged area and blend in with the rest of the surface.
If replacement is necessary, try to replace just the stainless panel rather than the entire appliance.
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Scott Warrington has more than 35 years of experience in the carpet cleaning industry and related fields. He serves as the technical support specialist for Bridgepoint Systems and Interlink Supply. He can be contacted at scottw@bridgepoint.com.
