The olefin cleaning challenge

by Jeff Cross 

Cleaning olefin carpet - especially olefin Berbers - must not be among some carpet cleaners' carpets of choice.

Some charge more for cleaning these types of carpet.

There has to be a reason.

Olefin's characteristics

As most carpet cleaners know, olefin fibers like oil. So if oil is tracked onto an olefin carpet from the garage, street or anyplace that has high oil content, you have a tough job to contend with.

That's why olefin is a bad choice near floors with high oil content... Olefin loves oil, but resists water.

You football fans are about to watch a bunch of guys wrestling on an olefin carpet.

That's right. Astroturf is olefin, although artificial turf can be anything artificial.

Interesting fact: Did you know that the name "Astroturf" came from the Astrodome, because that's the place this stuff was first used for sports? If it's not true, it's a great urban legend.

Olefin should be where it belongs

It's a mystery why carpet salespeople tell customers they should put that olefin Berber in the kitchen - the kitchen that is not only going to have cooking oils permeating the air, but also will have lots of oily soils tracked in from the attached garage.

Your typical cleaning process isn't going to get you good results - at least most of the time.

After all, isn't it true that most carpet isn't cleaned until it looks really soiled?

Some good places to put olefin carpet: A room where water is tracked in, around a swimming pool, a room where the kids love to spill Kool Aid, laundry rooms, etc. - all because olefin is resistant to water and chemicals.

Getting out the big guns

There are many olefin-specific preconditioners on the market today. Typically, they have more surfactancy and solvency to remove oily soils.

You can use virtually any chemical on olefin without fear of harming the fiber.

Although you can spill a gallon of bleach on an olefin carpet and get no color loss, it's not recommended to use bleach to remove oil tracking.

But you can use other bleaches, safely.

Add oxygen, reduce problems

Many olefin carpet, especially Berbers, suffer not only from oil tracking, but also wicking.

The use of oxygen in your cleaning process helps with this problem.

We're talking about either liquid peroxide or sodium percarbonate (a powdered-type of peroxide).

Liquid peroxide is low on the pH scale, and safe for many fibers. Some strengths are harmful to bare skin.

Sodium percarbonate is very easy and safe to use, except when high alkalinity is a concern.

The problem is the end result of mixing sodium percarbonate in water: Alkalinity is released, which activates and accelerates the peroxide element so better bleaching can take place.

That's why you shouldn't use it on stain resistant carpets or natural fibers.

You can use it on any olefin carpet because the pH level does not matter. Olefin doesn't have stain resistance added at the mill like most nylon fibers.

The results you will get with this product will amaze you. It will add oxygen to the carpet fibers and thus bleach away that dull appearance or yellow sheen typically found in light-colored olefin carpet.

Some peroxide-based products can be applied to olefin carpet and allowed to dwell, giving the chemical more time to "bleach" the carpet.