Tuesday's Ask the Experts: Disinfecting carpet

September 15, 2009

Tuesday''s Ask the Experts question from a cleaning professional on the International Custodial Advisors Network (ICAN) "Ask the Experts" page: We are considering purchasing a backpack sprayer to apply a disinfectant to the carpet before vacuuming.

What would be the proper disinfectant to use to rid our carpets of virus and germs?

The answer:

There is some concern over using cationic disinfectants on stain resistant carpets so you may want to ask the carpet manufacturer for this information.

My first response, however, is to ask why you are contemplating attempting something that might have fostered the phrase "hopeless endeavor."

A study presented at the Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) conference a year ago dealt with the various sorts of contamination found on shoe soles.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) and many others were present, and what that means is that ... — Lynn E. Krafft, ICAN/ATEX associate editor, lekrafft@juno.com

To read the rest of this response, click here.