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For crew and clients at Club 13 Boxing Gym in Thanet, Nel’s Carpet Cleaning delivers a knock-out punch.

Blood and water spotting make a mess of a boxing ring’s canvas floor. Faced with this and the prospect of re-opening post-pandemic, Andy Morris, boss at Club 13 in Thanet, called in Billy Thomas at Margate-based Nel’s for help.

“Andy’s a pal so I went round right away to check out what needed doing,” says Billy. “I saw right away that we were going to need to clean and sanitise boxing rings and some of the communal areas in the gym.

Billy selected B124 Odour Fresh and B109 Fibre & Fabric Rinse from the van for the building’s carpet tiles and sanitised the boxing rings with D500 Microsan^®.

“They did the job perfectly,” says Billy. “I hope to get back in the ring again!”

NCCA member Billy began using Prochem cleaning solutions after attending the company’s training courses when he started Nel’s in 2020.  “Great training and fantastic products,” Billy sums up.

Formerly fund-raising for the air ambulance service, Billy’s career change came on the back of his uncle’s work in the business.

“I wanted to create a company that went above and beyond when it comes to innovative cleaning. I’m very excited because we’ve quickly become the go-to for all of your textile fabrics cleaning requirements in the south east.”

Why Nel’s? “My daughter Nelly – when she arrived, became the catalyst for me starting this business and I wanted to name the company after the thing I love most in the world.”

Looking ahead, Billy is looking to buy a Prochem Bravo Spotter next and get a second van on the road. “I’m flat out with residential work and holiday lets and I’m out for more commercial work, too.”

nelscarpetcleaning.co.uk

club13boxing.com

Even though offices, restaurants and public buildings have inevitably seen a decrease in footfall over the past six months, demand for carpet and upholstery cleaning has continued unabated with deep cleaning a paramount client requisite.

Cleaning companies have used this time effectively to implement rigorous cleaning regimes for clients in both commercial and domestic sectors: with more of us working from home, residential carpets have taken a battering and require a refresh, if not restoring.

Many clients have also been requesting that carpets and fabrics, once cleaned, are sanitised additionally against viruses.

Prochem Europe responded to demand, carving a dedicated solutions and application portfolio out of its extensive product range comprising four key products.

The company attained WoolSafe approval for its D500 Microsan® and B125 Clensan® solutions so that they can be used safely on wool carpets and rugs.

EN14476-approved, D500 Microsan is a multi-surface, biocidal cleaner. Popular in schools and hotels as well as in residential properties, it serves as an effective cleaning pre-treatment as well as a viricide.

Even more relevantly, it is proven effective against Coronavirus, Ebola, measles and HIV and bacteria such as E-Coli, Salmonella and MRSA.

B125 Clensan (also EN 14476 approved) is a multi-surface biocidal sanitiser designed to tackle Listeria, Influenza (H1N1), and enveloped viruses such as Coronavirus and Norovirus.

Highly suitable for use on fabrics due to its neutral pH, it’s been applied in large volumes to UK furniture showrooms over the past few months, reports the company.

WoolSafe approval has certainly helped raise these products’ profiles as they may now be sprayed onto carpets and fabrics and left to dry without the need to rinse-extract, although this is always still advisable.

In terms of application, Prochem’s response has been the REB15 BM4308 Battery sprayer misting system, using the fine mist hollow cone disinfection nozzle BM5042.

With 15 litre tank capacity, this battery-operated back-pack allows operators to move freely about cleaning environments to mist the sanitisers onto all regular touch-points such as door handles, bannisters and gym equipment, as well as school tables and chairs or any other surface that may harbour the virus.

Battery run time is a generous six hours at 1-Bar with full re-charge in only 80 minutes.

It’s a highly practical and cost effective alternative to fogging, which as a process can waste a lot of product into the atmosphere and also requires more rigorous safety procedures in application, say Prochem.

For larger institutional interiors, the company has introduced the larger, M500 Micro-Mist spray unit.

Based on the successful Galaxy carpet cleaning system, this unit features a 15 litre capacity tank with a powerful 250 psi pump capable of misting Microsan or Clensan onto all touch-point surfaces with ease.

With reach extendable up to 30 metres from the machine, it’s being used now in schools, cinemas, care homes, supermarkets and even football stadiums.

Prochem has always favoured a systems approach to cleaning under specific circumstances and where Covid-19 challenges, these four products fight back with a deep clean/sanitising solution that’s good to go with wool carpet and upholstery, too.

Prochem’s CR2

Prochem Europe returns to the Cleaning Show this November with a roll-out of solutions and technologies geared to resourcing cleaning operatives through the coming months of the UK’s return to work.

Deep clean, spraying and multi-surface sanitising systems are the order of the day.

Technologies include the Micro-Mist professional surface disinfecting system, coupling a 15 litre capacity tank with a powerful 250 psi pump capable of misting sanitising solutions to all touch-point surfaces with ease.

Also on show, on Stand C11, the CR2 Multi-Surface is a versatile ‘touch-free’ restoration system that not only does away with the need for mops and brushes, but – with the addition of a carpet wand or upholstery tool – can also be used for carpet and upholstery cleaning.

And, with its clever conversion technology, the REB 15 rechargeable backpack battery sprayer,is suitable for disinfection misting with the hollow cone disinfection nozzle, or prespray and carpet protection with the fan jet nozzle.

Key solutions to task will be Prochem’s top-selling Clensan® and Microsan® chemicals, WoolSafe®-approved, as well as approved to EN14476, for sanitising and cleaning respectively.

Rounding off this year’s technology offer will be a wide range of Prochem’s cleaning and restoration solutions and speciality spotting stain and removal products.

The Cleaning Show is from 2^nd – 4^th November, 2021, inclusive at Excel, London.

Phil Jones, Prochem Sales & Training Manager discusses…

A maintenance regime prolongs the life of a carpet. If cleaning and maintenance is not programmed, then pretty much anything will become soiled more quickly.

In the case of carpet, the abrasiveness of walked-in dust, grit, sand soiling could start to damage and wear out the carpet and reduce its lifespan. The main issue is that most sectors, both residential and commercial, try to extend the periods between cleaning regimes to save money.

When cleaning periods are extended to save money, the flooring naturally becomes more soiled and then the technician has to spend more time attempting to restore the carpet to achieve the client’s expectations. This increase of time will increase the charge.

If clients understood the financial value of the carpeted areas, they may well take a different attitude.

Enhancing the environment

Quite often, carpets are suggested by the architect to give an impression of space and light to the location. Many manufacturers of fitted carpets or tiles produce a wide range of styles and colours to choose from because they understand this.

Regular cleaning also removes impurities, such as pollen, dander, dust particles, etc. Many more people suffer from allergies these days and cleaning can help to improve their work or home environment. This can greatly improve the natural air quality of the office, hotel or home and make it a far more agreeable place to live.

Let’s suppose this sort of result (above) is somehow acceptable to a home or commercial building owner.

If a restaurant or a hotel refrained from floor cleaning what would your thoughts be upon arriving to eat or stay there, particularly greeted with a sight like this?

Leave is the word that comes to mind.

Soiling, if left to increase, would lead to a re-soiling cycle, where further greasy soiling is deposited over greasy soiling, and the carpet becomes a sticky mess – blacktop!

Bacteria are more likely to form and create a health risk as well. Cleaning is a skill: untrained cleaning staff can also cause this issue on flooring, by not adhering to the manufacturer dilution rates for cleaning detergents.

Health & Safety

And then, for the commercial user, there is the not so small matter of health and safety.

Every business has a duty of care to ensure that it offers staff, visitors and customers a healthy environment.

Regular carpet cleaning is an integral part of the hygiene programme for that property. It can all start with correct dry vacuuming, ideally with an upright vacuum machine with a brush roller or beater bar, to help to remove the dry, particulate soil, further down the pile fibre.

Effective removal with one of these machines will help maintain the lifespan of the carpet and remove the potential food source for bacteria.

Regular deep cleaning, such as hot water extraction, can also greatly improve the effectiveness of eliminating bacteria and viruses from materials.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have noticed a large increase in enquiries from managed apartment blocks and hotels, where a selling point is offering residents and guests a cleaner, healthier living space.

Prochem has been busy promoting and demonstrating its Polaris range of walk-behind, hot water extraction machines to clean communal areas such as corridors and foyers.

We are also finding that clients have re-focused on hygiene with awareness of carpet cleaning raised dramatically.

Return to normal

This will only increase in the, likely slow, recovery from Covid-19 and a gradual return to the workplace.

In fact, we are finding a healthy increase in new companies starting up to help with the return to normality. This increase is predominantly driven by new starters aiming at the residential market, as many of us (and our families) marooned at home for months on end are now starting to look at carpets and furnishings and decide that they need cleaning.

Which brings us to solutions: most technicians start hot water extraction cleaning using a compact, portable machine such as the Galaxy. We have recently seen a large volume increase in sales of these as well as the larger, more commercially-aimed Steempro range. These systems can deal with a deeper clean and can help to restore neglected carpet like our friend at the start of this article.

If the commercial contractor is looking for a more regular, maintenance system, then the dry and wet carpet and floor cleaner like the PRO 35, together with WoolSafe approved S745 Procaps soil encapsulation spray cleaner for interim maintenance, can make carpets cleaner and brighter – and provide a quicker way to keep what is clean, looking clean!

Prochem has announced another WoolSafe^® Fibre Care Course at its training centre in Chessington, Surrey this October.

WoolSafe has reported growing instances of bleaching, colour and fibre degradation to carpets and soft furnishings caused by the application of incorrect cleaning solutions, usually by untrained operatives.

The next WoolSafe Fibre Care Course will be held in the Prochem Training School at Chessington on 14^th October, 2021.

From wool fibre from fleece, to yarn, to carpet, it describes all aspects of textile processing and carpet manufacture, as well as detailed fibre information not covered on any other cleaning course.

Spaces are limited, but for more information visit Prochem WoolSafe Training or call 020 8974 1515.

When it came to adding ‘shine’ to the reception floor at a prestigious block of apartments in London, a solution was found in the Floor Pro rotary machine, made by Wirbel and marketed in the UK by Prochem Europe.

Four options bring a means of stripping or deep scrubbing hard floors and carpets by either bonneting or rotary shampooing; a general workhorse that also serves floor sanding (with suction accessory); a dedicated polishing unit that enhances metalised-emulsion polishes and polymerised maintainers to give a high shine on all flooring types; and a multi-purpose two-speed machine which comes with a drive board as standard.

The contractor chose the H16 high-speed version and, with a light misting of Prochem’s C502 Protreat floor maintainer, the 400rpm machine, fitted with a red polishing pad, gave the tiled reception area, a lovely high shine that is appreciated by the residents.

Accessories can make those cleaning tasks easier: the addition of a sanding board and a suction kit (GH3149) will remove any dust and debris when wood sanding; plus an extra weight pack if more downward pressure is required.

And that suction kit can be used for more specialised cleaning tasks such as maintaining ESD/conductive floors by being attached to any of the Floor Pro units.

If you want to use one machine for scrubbing and wet-vacuuming the stripped polish and slurry, then simply fit the 12 litre solution tank with manual gravity feed and use the same suction kit to pick up any slurry, just as a wet or dry pick up.

Floor Pro fitted with suction kit

Floor Pro units are tough, reliable and with just the weight you need in a rotary machine, yet lightly-balanced when operating.

All the units have 17” disc heads, feature heavy-duty gear drive and induction motors. More on the range here

Prochem Europe has added a new guide to removing adhesive tape residue to its Technical Help Guide library.

With restrictions easing, cleaning technicans removing yellow and black social distancing tape from carpets and hard flooring are left with its glue residue to contend with.

Pre-empting this, Prochem has been testing its products on a selection of tape and variety of flooring types such as Milliken and Interface carpet tiles over recent months.

The free guide summarises how to solve the problem of glue and adhesive marking using a selection of its specialist solutions, with recommended application techniques.

Free and available here

The latest contractor to take up the offer of bespoke training from Prochem, London-based GreenZone Cleaning and Support Services specialises in commercial and tenancy cleaning, specialist and window cleaning, as well as waste management.

Award-winning, with exceptional sustainability standards at the heart of all it does, the company is also holder of the prestigious HRH The Prince Of Wales Royal Warrant for continued service within The Royal Household.

Improving the knowledge of team members is a day-to-day goal at GreenZone for whom Prochem Training Manager, Phil Jones, put together a four-day package based around two days of specialised carpet cleaning training and two of hard-floor cleaning and maintenance. Attendees included operations and contract managers, specialist technicians and members of the sales team.

During the carpet course, all learnt about the pitfalls of carpet cleaning and how to avoid them, as well as receiving a detailed explanation of the differences in carpet types that they may encounter in both commercial and residential settings.

On the hard floor cleaning course, the Prochem training team explained which flooring types can take a seal and polish and when the staff can use both or neither.

Many attendees were amazed at the various ways that carpets can be cleaned and actually learnt some more cost-effective methods, which will only improve the service GreenZone offer.

“And the sales team admitted that they now have a much better understanding of the job that the specialist cleaning teams do, out in the field!”

GreenZone uses both Prochem products and machinery for carpet cleaning and hard floor maintenance, and wanted to learn more about the product range, as well as the methodology of cleaning each surface.

Inevitably there was strong interest in Prochem’s ‘Natural” range of cleaning detergents: biodegradable products with sustainable ingredients and fragrances whose attributes comply with GreenZone’s own ‘green’ credentials.

Attendees were particularly impressed when Prochem Area Sales Representative, Jon Ewing, restored a very heavily-soiled carpet with E717 Natural Carpet & Upholstery Prespray and rinse-extracted with E772 Natural Carpet Cleaner – and all with cold water!

The GreenZone team themselves enjoyed plenty of hands-on time with both carpet and hard floor cleaning machinery during the course, right down to applying new layers of C503 Proshine metalised-emulsion polish on one floor.

Says Phil: “All GreenZone staff that attended seemed to thoroughly enjoy the event and walked away with a certificate to prove their attendance!”

GreenZone have already signed Prochem up to a set of two specialist stain removal courses later on in the year to further enhance their skills and quality of customer service.

If your company wishes to invest in your staff and increase their skills, quality and knowledge, please contact training@prochem.co.uk  

To find out more about GreenZone, their ethos and the services they offer visit www.gzcss.co.uk

Cleaning industry returnee, Penrith-based Robert Smiegel has added carpets and upholstery care to an enterprise founded on home repair.

His choice of technology is the truck mount and his choice of provider, Prochem.

“I was in carpet cleaning some while back,” he says. “I got into property maintenance and management and then back in September last year decided to add cleaning to my service offer.

“Prochem brand products are industry-renowned and recommended, so it made sense to invest in the best.”

For Robert’s Empire Carpets Cleaning, the solution comes in the form of a new Prochem Legend GT truck mount hot water extractor.

With single-stage finned tube exhaust heat exchanger, a corrosion-resistant aluminum frame, and revised oil cooler, the Legend GT is a long-lasting, high performance cleaning machine.

Robert has had his Legend GT fitted by Prochem into a brand new fully-fitted out Citroen Relay van.

“Yes, it’s a big investment but then this machine will consume work at a faster rate than most cleaning technology,” he says.

“It’s running well and I’m next going to start using Prochem chemicals with it.”

When his current level of work drops slightly, Robert is heading south to Chessington and some Prochem training.

www.empirecarpetscleaning.com

We all are aware of the huge amount of plastics being used in everyday items. Too much ends up in the ocean or in landfill instead of being recycled.

Helping protect the environment and trying to reduce our use of virgin plastics is a day-to-day consideration at Prochem.

All of our bottles are recyclable. However, to try and reduce the amount of virgin plastic the company puts out to the market, it is looking at introducing post-consumer recycled plastics (PCR) to its product range.

The first task was to see what was available from current suppliers as well as alternatives in the market in terms of PCR bottles.

Most offer between 20-30% recycled plastic bottles. The Government’s proposed plastic tax from April 2022 will decree that bottles with less than 30% recycled plastic would be taxed per tonne, so that was a logical starting target.

Prochem’s supplier offered 30% and 100% PCR bottles: going with the 100% PCR bottles future proofs the company against any changes made to the plastic tax. It made sense, therefore, to go with the most sustainable option.

So, how do they compare?

The one thing that stands out is colour. PCR bottles are grey. White is not achievable because the recycled plastics used to manufacture the bottles come from different sources.

Otherwise, they perform as well as traditional plastic bottles.

Drop testing with the bottles filled with water and placed into our 4 x 5L cartons ensured they do not get damaged when dropped.

Bottles were also checked to make sure they do not leak when placed on their side.

Initially the plan will be to introduce the PCR bottles to Prochem Natural and non-hazardous products with the aim to have all the company’s product ranges using the 100% PCR bottles in the future.

Last November we reported on how they sanitised The Beatles!

Now Liverpool’s Vaxinol are at it again, this time cleaning up Del Boy’s act at the city’s amazing Only Fools & Horses themed bar.

Only Fools is a fan-created bar celebrating the history of one of the UK’s favourite TV shows, starring David Jason.

The bar itself is themed around the show’s sets and iconic props. Nelson Mandela House, The Nags Head and Del Boy’s iconic garage all feature as does his three-wheeler Reliant van.

Says Vaxinol joint boss Craig Howard: “we were asked in to undertake a full spraying and misting disinfection of the premises to make sure all areas of the interactive bar were completely sanitised for customers.

“We’ve been exceptionally busy with leisure environments like this and have been sanitising a number of other restaurants and gyms in the city.”

Vaxinol are commercial, industrial and residential cleaners specialising in disinfection and decontamination using electrostatic spray systems.

Prochem D500 Microsan features heavily in day-to-day terms and when they’re not busy sanitising the team offers carpet, upholstery and mattress cleaning using a Prochem Steempro Powermax extractor running Prochem solutions such as S710 Trafficlean, B108 Fabric Restorer and B107 Prespray Gold.

Craig’s been on the Prochem courses, too. “Great products, great training,” he sums up.

Vaxinol have been making something of a name for themselves with these high-profile celebrity-related jobs: it’s the kind of work that gets you under the media spotlight. “And it’s a lot of fun, too” laughs Craig.

vaxinol.co.uk

onlyfoolsbar.com

If you’re not too sure of the difference between a linoleum or a vinyl floor, unsure if you can put a polish on a wooden parquet floor or how to remove social distancing yellow tape, then a Prochem Hard Floor Cleaning & Maintenance course could be for you.

From learning how to strip polish, re-seal and then re-polish (often called strip & seal), to teaching how to give marble, granite or terrazzo a high gloss, we’ve been demonstrating both machinery options and suitable detergents to our hands-on classes.

Our sales team were out most of the summer, demonstrating and helping school site managers, hotel housekeeping teams and commercial cleaning teams deal with various flooring types.

Prochem ran a training session for a carpet tile manufacturer that had recently purchased a rubber flooring company on how to keep their products in the high level of appearance that they desire.

Our team learned that, while most rubber flooring can be sealed, this particular manufacturer doesn’t recommend or support the process by warranty and only recommended regular use of a polymerised-maintainer.

This is because, often, if polished, rubber flooring can be damaged when the polish is stripped off causing dye bleed issues again not covered under warranty.

As more and more offices and buildings open up and more staff returns to the workplace, the requirement to clean flooring grows.

Prochem runs regular, advertised courses on how to clean and maintain all types of flooring.

Further information at prochem.co.uk/training-courses

Looking for bespoke, in-house training? Email training@prochem.co.uk

Your questions, our answers …

Q

A customer has asked me to clean their carpets but, because they’re wool, they don’t want it wet cleaned, in case it shrinks. They’re not that dirty I’m told, but I only have a Galaxy machine. How can I do the job?

A

Your customer is under the misapprehension that wool shrinks. Only if woven, is there a risk of carpet shrinkage

You could wet clean a wool carpet with your Galaxy, but let’s discuss the ‘dry clean’ option. Dry carpet cleaning compound such as Prochem C803 Fiberdri® (it’s WoolSafe-approved) is an inert, natural organic damp compound that’s sprinkled onto the carpet and brushed in, either mechanically or manually and left to dry over about 30-45 minutes.

The detergents within the Fiberdri release and absorb the soils and once dry they are simply vacuumed away.

It is in fact a very easy way to clean and maintain high-quality moisture-sensitive carpets, such as wool, silk, viscose, coir or any other natural fibre.

If this is going to be a one-off clean for you, Fiberdri can be brushed in by a carpet pile brush (about £20) or a small mechanical brush machine (for less than £200). This machine, a PB14E DCS, is also ideal for brushing in presprays.

Q

How can I safely clean a silk rug and silk upholstery?

A

Silk and water-sensitive fabrics should not be wet-cleaned. The silk rug can be cleaned with dry carpet compound like Fiberdri (see above): sprinkled down, agitated and left for adequate dwell time (40 minutes) then vacuumed away.

Hand cleaning with B137 Fine Fabric Solvent Cleaner is also an option and can be carried out by lightly spraying the fabric with the solvent then towelling off with a clean white terry towel.

Q

I’ve cleaned a wool carpet with excellent results initially and now 48 hours later brown/orange marks have appeared, the customer wants it resolved as soon as possible.  What can I do?

A

It could be one of two things have occurred. It could be soil wicking back up to the top of the carpet fibre so test to see with a mild alkaline detergent sprayed onto a terry towel and blot. If you get transfer you know this is what has happened, extraction clean and dry ASAP.

The second possibility could be cellulosic browning where the carpet has been over-wetted or too much alkalinity has been used to release the lignin dye in the natural fibre (Jute) in the backing of the carpet. To resolve this use B175 Browning Prescription as per the bottle label instructions: this should lighten and reduce the stained marks.

Dull stain indicates marble

Q

How do I tell the difference between marble and granite as they can look the same?

A

In a small inconspicuous area of the stone, place a teardrop size of an acid (acidic toilet cleaner or rust remover etc). If it begins to ‘fizz’ or if you wipe away the acid and there is a small dull area where the acid has taken off the shine, then this is marble. If no change, it is granite.