The Reasons Why You Should Clean Your Carpets

When we think of cleaning our carpets, we tend to believe it’s to remove stains, odours and to enhance the carpet’s appearance. However, this is a common misconception as these reasons are often the least important. 

In fact, it’s our health that’s the most imperative of all. Unclean and dirty carpets can harbour a lot of organic and chemical ‘nasties’. These can include microscopic bugs, fungi, pollen and bacteria. When it comes to harmful chemicals in our carpets, the list can quadruple. Whether you come into contact with chemicals inside or out, they’re sure to travel onto your shoes and eventually onto your carpet.

The second reason you need to maintain a clean carpet is to improve its longevity. Carpeting your home can easily become one of the biggest investments you’ve made, so taking care of them should be one of your main priorities. What many people don’t realise is that dirt particles are often sharp and jagged, so when walking on the carpet it’s constantly being cut, the dirt actually shears parts of the pile at the base next to the weave.

Having a general clean once or twice a week will help improve the longevity of your carpet and your health, as well as providing you with an aesthetically pleasing carpet.

For all your carpet cleaning needs, you will find a great range of products at Click Cleaning.  You’ll find everything from detergents and protectors to carpet sanitisers and carpet stain removal products in this unique range.

Carpet Fact File

•    The first carpets were hand-knotted pile thought to originate from southern Central Asia, between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BCE.
•    The earliest group of surviving knotted pile carpets (often referred to as Konya Carpets) were produced under Seljuk rule in the first half of the 13th century on the Anatolian peninsula.
•    The Pazyryk Carpet is the oldest surviving carpet in the world dating from the 5th-4th century BCE, discovered by Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko in 1949.
•    The Pazyryk Carpet is richly coloured, measures 200 x 183cm and is framed by a border of griffins.


The future of the cleaning product industry

The cleaning product industry turns over more than €83 billion worldwide on an annual basis and has become the key driving force behind the development of innovative chemistry, technology and engineering. However, this may all be set to change.

According to new research conducted by IntertechPira, a panel of experts have identified the 21 most disruptive cleaning product technologies that have the potential to change the direction of the industry over the next decade.

From an initial list of 37, the experts narrowed down the list to 21 technologies that could radically affect the industry. So what does the future hold for the cleaning product industry?

The 21 most disruptive developments in cleaning products include:

•    Textile surface treatments will reduce the need for washing
•    The elimination of phosphates in domestic detergents will be extended to include all detergents
•    The detergent, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) and biocide regulations will make it more difficult to introduce new substances into cleaning formulations
•    The low-temperature performance of surfactants will improve
•    Biotechnology (e.g. genetic manipulation) will enable the molecular structure of renewable bio-ingredients to be modified to improve their cleaning performance
•    The low-temperature performance of enzymes will be improved
•    The compatibility of enzymes with other detergent ingredients will be improved
•    The concentration of cleaning formulations will continue to be increased, reducing the need for packaging
•    The popularity of wipes will increase, particularly for surface-cleaning applications
•    Research techniques such as high-throughput screening, modelling and simulation technologies will be introduced
•    The increased use of microprocessors, sensors and automatic metering of detergents will reduce the energy, water and detergent required

According to the panel of experts, biotechnology is tipped to be very likely to disrupt the industry. Through recent reports, it’s claimed that consumers prefer purchasing cleaning products that contain only natural ingredients.

The panellists were also convinced that the detergent legislation banning the use of phosphate builders would be extended to automatic dishwashing detergents and eventually to institutional and industrial detergents cleaners within the next decade.


The best in cleaning kits

Having a wide selection of cleaning products is fantastic, especially as there are so many types of stains to contend with. Whether you’re a professional in the cleaning industry or have children, it never ceases to amaze you how stains get in the most unlikely of places. With this in mind having a convenient and adaptable set of stain removal products could prove essential. This is why Click Cleaning are pleased to offer a range of cleaning kits that can combat most stains.

With these Prochem cleaning kits many professionals are given the tools required to complete the task at hand to the highest of standards.

One of our most popular cleaning kits is the Prochem Magnificent Seven, which includes:

• B144 Stain Pro for blood, vomit, wine, ink, fresh tea and coffee and most food based stains.
• E840 Citrus Gel for oil, grease, tar, gum and other oily spots on fabrics and carpets.
• B195 Coffee Stain Remover for tea, coffee, beer, tannin, water marks and other yellow or brown stains on carpets and fabrics.
• B123 Solvall Spotter for oil, grease, adhesives, tar, gum, oil based paints and many other solvent soluble stains on carpets and fabrics.
• E400 Red Rx for red food colourings, carbonated drinks, fruit juices and wine stains from carpet and fabrics.
• A277 Solvex for difficult ink spots and paints on carpets, fabrics and other surfaces.
• B117 Lemon Refresh, which can be used as a concentrated fragrance additive and air conditioner that can be added to extraction, shampoo or any general cleaning solution.

Whatever you’re looking for in an effective and adaptable stain removal kit, Prochem have created it for you.

Take a look at the full range of Prochem stain removal products to find out how easy it can be to combat those tough cleaning jobs.



Cleaning up after festivals

The festival season has begun with the most notable, Glastonbury, already been and gone. A reported 140,000 Glastonbury revellers went home packing after a weekend of extraordinary live entertainment, leaving behind copious amounts of rubbish behind them. Worthy Farm had been transformed from a green paradise to a rubbish tip. So what’s in store for other festivals and worse, the environment?

As a result a coalition of UK festivals has been brought together by 10:10 campaign to reduce each event’s carbon footprint by 10%. Under this festival programme, event organisers will reduce carbon emissions from onsite energy use, water consumption and most importantly waste.

According to 10:10 Global: “Festival-goers leave behind hundreds of tonnes of waste, much of which ends up as landfill. This ranges from small items like cigarette butts and used cups, to costumes and entire tents. On-site waste separation and recycling is crucial to minimising emissions from landfill. Lovebox has committed to having 100% recyclable or biodegradable drink vessels in 2010, and Bestival sends recycled goods to a nearby gasification plant to be turned into electricity. All cups and cutleries sold at Latitude, Reading and Leeds arenas are either recycled or composted. Reading and Leeds work with several charities to prevent tonnes of re-usable goods from going to waste, even broken tent fabric can find a new life as a jacket or a bag!”

Even with the amount of bins around the arenas across UK festivals, if you take a look at previous photographs after the event you’ll see litter everywhere. The rubbish left behind takes a lot of man hours to clean up, but it’s good to know that this rubbish is now being recycled into consumer goods such as packaging for cleaning products.

It isn’t just at festivals where people can make a difference to the environment; you can do it at home too. At Click Cleaning there is a great range of environmentally friendly products to use including biodegradable refuse sacks. The smallest changes can make a big difference; even if you don’t want to change some of your cleaning products, simply recycling your rubbish and swapping a few things with eco-friendly alternatives can help.

Health Benefits of Green Cleaning

One of the greatest benefits of using green cleaning products is the effect they have on your health. If you have asthma or other breathing difficulties, traditional cleaning products, especially some aerosol cleaning sprays, may have an irritating effect. When you use these products you may be left feeling breathless or have a persistent tickle in your throat.

According to the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine:

"The researchers found that cleaning sprays, especially air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass-cleaners, had a particularly strong effect [in creating asthma symptoms]."

"Frequent use of household cleaning sprays may be an important risk factor for adult asthma ...The relative risk rates of developing adult asthma in relation to exposure to cleaning products could account for as much as 15 percent, or one in seven of adult asthma cases."

However, there is a solution that can help improve your health; environmentally friendly cleaning products. Many traditional cleaning products contain chemicals that are potentially dangerous if used incorrectly, which is why it’s important for people to promote a healthier living condition by using green products. Green spray cans are now using carbon dioxide as an alternative to aliphatic hydrocarbon, which is used in traditional aerosol sprays. The CO2 provides many advantages; it’s non-flammable, essentially non-toxic and doesn’t fall within the definition of VOC (volatile organic compounds).

Other benefits of turning your cleaning products green

•    Allergies Reduced
•    Less Toxic Risk
•    Reduce the impact you have on the environment
•    Could save money
•    Avoid exposing your family to harmful toxins and dangerous chemicals.

You can find a great range of environmentally friendly products at Click Cleaning, which are sure to help you minimise the effects cleaning has on your health.