No one likes dealing with a sticky mess. It could be stickiness on your hands, on a table, or even on the floor. While your workplace may not be somewhere that you’d anticipate needing to clean up sticky residue, sticky still happens. And if it’s your carpets at work, clean up gets more complicated. So, how do you remove gum, wax, and other sticky substances from your office carpets? Let’s take a closer look.
Removing Sticky Substances from Workplace Carpets
Depending on what type of sticky substance has gotten stuck in the office carpets, a variety of techniques can be applied to remove it. Saving the carpet as much as possible is the goal. Plus, taking the time necessary to remove a sticky material can help extend the life of your carpets and provide an overall nicer appearance to the space.
How Do You Remove Gum from Carpets?
When gum is still freshly stuck in the carpet, place an ice cube in a plastic bag and set it on top of the gum for a few minutes. In an attempt to freeze the gum, it should get cold enough to pick the gum off in a chunk and not pull it up in a sticky mess.
From here, you want to use an adhesive remover to loosen the remaining gum pieces from the carpet fibers. If the remover solution comes in a wipe form, that can assist in the process to gently pull the gum particles from the carpet.
How to Get Sticky Residue Out of Workplace Carpets
Shampooing can be the quickest way to remove sticky residues on carpets. A vinegar solution in the shampooing machine can assist in loosening the sticky material if it hasn’t settled into the carpet fibers for too long.
Soaking the carpet in a vinegar solution on a clean cloth and gently scraping the sticky area can also help pull away some of the tacky substance.
Applying mild heat over a paper towel can also assist in the removal of wax or sticky adhesive from carpeting. Repeat the process with new paper towels a number of times until the carpet area starts to loosen and look better. It might not come completely clean, but can certainly improve the appearance and extend the life of the carpeting somewhat.
What is the Best Way to Remove Gum, Wax or Other Sticky Residue?
Each type of sticky material can require a different removal process. It can be time-consuming and tedious to get the carpet area back to a nice appearance. And, sometimes you will only return the look partway. But, it’s certainly worth the effort.
If the sticky substance or residue is too difficult to remove or tricky to remove completely, a professional should be brought in. Often, commercial cleaning professionals have seen the problem before and can assist in the best options to solve the problem.
If the carpeting can’t be cleaned fully or the problem isn’t fixable with a cleaning solution, adhesive remover, or heat, the carpet might be repairable. A carpet cleaner or carpet repair professional can expand on the necessary process and whether it’s possible in the specific location.
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When You’re Ready for Consistently-Clean Carpets
The easiest way to keep your workplace carpets clean on a regular basis is to hire a professional team to clean. Let us do the cleaning work for you – either on a regular schedule or for your one-time cleans. Click here to learn more about the carpet and floor care services we can help you with.
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