carpet protection tape residue article

Mikey P

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@Chet may have had something to do with this excellent article I found on the DEMA site


Protecting Carpet During Renovations

By Michael Wright, DEMA Global Vice President
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Recently a DEMA member oversaw a renovation project on a second floor of the estate and it needed to be completed during the summer months between June & August. The home recently had new carpeting installed on two sets of stairs and a large hallway. Of course, it wasn’t just any carpet, but a very unique cotton chintz woven carpet. For the renovation project, the contractor was taking precautions to make sure the carpet was still in new condition after the project was complete and recommended using “carpet mask” to protect it. The contractor installing it told the Estate Manager “this stuff works great and you have nothing to worry about”. In most cases this is absolutely true, but the carpet mask in this example was left down for approximately 90 days.

Carpet mask is plastic sheeting that is sticky on one side that can be laid down to protect any flat surface. Once it’s applied it doesn’t move when walked on, thus preventing most slips and falls all the while protecting the floor. Carpet mask should be used for short-term situations perhaps a few days or a week.

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For 90 days multiple contractors walked up and down these stairs and in the hallway going in & out of the rooms during the renovations. With each step, each boot, each turn of the heel, the glue from the sticky side of the carpet mask was pushed into the carpet with pressure. Another dilemma was the carpet mask was applied to cover the steps wall to wall but the hallway just had a few strips running down the center leaving exposed carpet on either side of the carpet mask in the hallway. The exposed carpet looked different after the carpet mask was removed and a visible line was discovered. This created another concern in the cleaning process.


Doing some research on carpet mask, you will find the glue that holds the plastic down is water based or a solvent acrylic based adhesive that is recommended for use only on synthetic carpeting. Most carpet mask will use the solvent acrylic based adhesive in their construction. We now know that the glue residue left behind on the carpet is most likely solvent based. Even in the off chance it is a water based glue it has been on the carpet for approximately 90 days and has somewhat bonded with the natural fibers becoming extremely difficult if not impossible to remove with only a wet cleaning process.

Fast forward, about two weeks later, the carpet had noticeable discoloration. The carpet mask left a residue that you couldn’t see or feel to the touch. The Estate Manager called his favorite cleaner and had the carpet cleaned like they always do and the carpet seemed to be back to normal… for a couple of weeks. The flooring was even more soiled looking than before. Why?

The cleaner had used a portable cleaning machine like many companies do in large homes. It is easier in an estate to not use a “truck mounted” steam cleaner that requires a bunch of hoses to be brought in and ran though large areas of the home. The problem is sometimes the steam or water used in this type of cleaning isn’t powerful enough or hot enough to break down the bond from the glue left behind on the carpet. But that may not be the right method to clean up this problem. What is the right answer to this predicament? First we need to assess the type of carpet we are dealing with. The carpet in our story is a natural fiber woven carpet. Woven carpet is prone to shrinkage so it’s important not to get it to wet and to dry as quickly as possible.

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Image courtesy of chetscleaning.com

Let’s look at basic cleaning principles using a very simple example from everyday life. When we wash our hair we are “wet cleaning” it. First we get the hair wet usually with hot water (heat), run our hands through it a few times (agitation). Then use some shampoo (solution) and scrub that in (agitation) and let it sit for a few minutes (time). The last step might be the most important one, we always, always rinse out the shampoo until it is completely gone so there is no residue left behind when the hair is dry. If there is residue the hair will get dirtier quicker.

We’ve discovered glue residue left behind from the carpet mask caused the carpet to attract dirt faster even though it was cleaned using a safe process not to damage the carpet. However, it probably wasn’t cleaned at a hot enough temperature to release the glue from the carpet and wasn’t rinsed thoroughly. Most cleaning companies use a cleaning solution that doesn’t need to be rinsed when steam cleaning, however it does not remove 100% percent of the cleaning solution, which may leave behind a slight residue. So now we have residue from the glue and residue from the cleaning solution. What now?

The Solution! A multi-step process needs to be applied when removing carpet mask residue that has been left down for a long period of time on carpeting. A combination of dry cleaning the carpet to remove the glue residue most likely will be done first followed up by a wet cleaning to rinse and remove the soil. It should be noted that a multi-step process may not remove all the residue or soil on the first cleaning and may need to have a light cleaning touch up a few days or weeks after the initial cleaning to be sure it is completely removed.

1) Here are a few suggestions to prevent this issue from happening. Communicate with the interior designer and schedule projects accordingly.
2) Hold off on installing the carpet until all the projects in the home are completed. If this is not possible, have the contractor tape down plastic or paper/cardboard ensuring that it covers the carpet from wall to wall
3) Know your carpet. Educate yourself on the fabric and proper cleaning techniques to be used prior to projects. Do your homework!
4) Hire a cleaner that has encountered this problem before and knows exactly how it should be remedied and can communicate the process in a crystal clear fashion.

In conclusion, there is an old saying “You don’t know what you don’t know” and the faster we realize that we are never done learning we can all do our jobs better. So we encourage you to learn all you can when it comes to fabric types, construction and maintenance of the fine items that exist in our Principal’s homes to protect their investments and your credibility.

Click Here For The Carpet Reference Guide
 

J Scott W

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In addition tot he problem of residue left behind resulting in faster resoiling, newly installed carpet and/or cushion may be off-gassing. No problem when those gasses can mix in the air and dissipate. But when those gasses are trapped under a layer of plastic, the gasses can interact with dyes and cause a color change.

Such a colo9r change, even slight, may not be corrected by cleaning.

Good information in the article. A good one to keep in the file to show a customer when this subject comes up.
 

Bob Pruitt

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That plastic is a common solution for Model Homes and the Parade of Home events. I didn't realize that there were 2 choices for the adhesive backing. Issues like this generally go to Developer or General Contractor Insurance Companies and from there to us Cleaners or as likely to the Flooring Contractor to tear out and replace. These are the Clients that keep it interesting.
 

Loren Egland

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Had a job like that a month or two ago. Contractors had laid down some cover with sticky on the back over a new soft nylon white carpet. Was told to use a citrus solvent and steam clean to remove the adhesive that seemed to be collecting soil.

How stupid, when common sense not used.
 
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From our experience, "masktic" as we refer to it, is not supposed to be down for more than 30 days per the instructions.. We've had great success using Ultra-Dry's bonnet cleaning method to remove the sticky residue... We've used it since the early 1990's..

Most people who install before finished are behind schedule and poorly managed imho...
 

Old Coastie

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Tomorrow I am looking at a wool carpet and synthetic carpet which has been covered with plastic mask for a few weeks.

The lady says it has “a sticky residue.” After reading this thread through, I still need to ask: how does one remove the adhesive?
 
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Desk Jockey

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There are many solvents that will easily remove the residue. However the areas are generally larger than reasonable for hand spotting.

We use a solvent booster in our precondition and agitate it with a Cimex. Followed by a thorough flushing using an emulsifer and a ZIPPER SPINNER.

That usually does it. Rare if ever do we have a re-service when using the Cimex for agitation and rinsing with the ZIPPER.
 
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Old Coastie

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I have to ask; what solvent? I remember trying to remove the adhesive left by duct tape. It cleaned perfectly, but of course was not gone, so the lines came back within a week.

I had to scrub them with d-limonene and a brush, followed by extraction. Is that how to tackle the carpet protector residue? Essentially, three cleanings?
 

J Scott W

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Tomorrow I am looking at a wool carpet and synthetic carpet which has been covered with plastic mask for a few weeks.

The lady says it has “a sticky residue.” After reading this thread through, I still need to ask: how does one remove the adhesive?

The keys are solvent and some agitation.

A product like Citrus Solv or Citrus Solv II will work well on a variety of adhesives. I am sure you won't know specifics about the adhesive, but a solvent that has a blend including some d'limonene and maybe OMS.

As Richard says, it can be hand cleaned in small areas, but normally find this sticky residues over many square feet. So, some mechanical agitation works well.

Personally I have used an encapsulation product (for agitation) boosted with Citrus Solv. Rinsed with high temps using the CX15 and it worked well.

You may need to adjust depending upon the fiber and specifics of your situation.
 

Desk Jockey

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So many variables. If its tape lines we would hand spot and agitate with a volatile spotter. Maybe a POG if that doesn't cut in.
Generally the carpet film is not that bad. It just needs more solvency than your regular precondition or you'll be fooled and end up with a re-service down the road. 2-4 oz of Prochem's Citrus Pro is what we use but any solvent additive would likley do the same.
 
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Larry Cobb

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Larry, how would one use that for about 65 inear feet of 3 foot wide residue? Spray, then use a 175 pad?

Pad agitation would be fine.

Immediate extraction should follow the pad since it is a fast acting solvent blend.

Total time from application to extraction should be about 10 minutes.

All "citrus solvents" that I have seen have a residue of at least 1%.
 

Brent Norman

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I had one last month that the plastic had been down for a year! Really really bad residue! It was a white older nylon, I used Harvards dissolve all product which is a citris solvent. Took two tries with that, high heat, and 360i and brush head, but cleaned up nice!
now on Tuesday next week I have to restretch and clean one that has been down for a couple of months while they remodeled. Problem is she has allergies to fragrance. So I don't think I can use the Harvard product. Might have to use just Acetone.
 

Mikey P

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I had one last month that the plastic had been down for a year! Really really bad residue! It was a white older nylon, I used Harvards dissolve all product which is a citris solvent. Took two tries with that, high heat, and 360i and brush head, but cleaned up nice!
now on Tuesday next week I have to restretch and clean one that has been down for a couple of months while they remodeled. Problem is she has allergies to fragrance. So I don't think I can use the Harvard product. Might have to use just Acetone.


What about their soy solvent, does it stink?
 

Old Coastie

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Before #1: It is easy to see where the plastic runner left adhesive on the carpet.
743887C7-F604-4D34-A54E-EE48C562D2C9.jpeg


Before #2: The steps and landing show how soil has adhered to the residue.
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After #1: Using a 50/50 mix of Citra-Solve II and distilled water, I presprayed the adhesive. I then ran the 360i brush head over it with no water or vacuum, to scrub.
Then I applied Saiger’s Free and Clear to emulsify (“DO YOU KNOW WHAT EMULSIFICATION IS?”) the Citra-Solve II and extracted the whole shitterie. Customer showed her husband the gunk pumping out of the apo hose and he lost his appetite, hahahahaha!
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After #2: the whole place looks like new carpet. Job was done at .51/foot.
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Not shown was a furniture stain spot from whenever; it came right out. Ditto for numerous other spots that I shot with Citra-Solve II. I plan to bottle the remaining solution for future spotting.

I also left them with a quart of Releasit DS2 made four times normal strength, as a sailor proof spotter.
 
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