Housekeeping

On the carpet

Carpeted floors in star category hotels have almost become a necessity these days. Sanjeev Bhar finds out how housekeepers keep them clean and spotless.

A hotel room is a home away from home for guests. This means that they expect rooms to be unstained and immaculately clean. Floors are no exception, especially when they are carpeted, which means extra care.

Carpets are not only comfortable but have an aesthetic appeal as well. Trouble is maintaining and taking care of them. Carpeted floors, feels Lopa Chakraborty, executive housekeeper at Radisson MBD Hotel Noida, are very delicate and need to be treated with care. "They are a necessity for five-star hotels - they absorb noise as well as protect floors thereby increasing floor life. They also create an aesthetically pleasing environment in rooms, especially in corridors where housekeeping and room service trolleys would otherwise create noise," she adds.

Meanwhile, Reetha Thomas, executive housekeeper of Uppal's Orchid - An Ecotel Hotel, has more reasons for using carpets. She says, "It is a great décor for hotels and gives a very royal look to an organisation. They are expensive and the senior management/interior decorator has to decide the kind of carpet to be used." In public areas like the lobby or restaurant, carpet forms an integral part of the décor, whereas restaurants may or may not opt for carpeted floors, depending on their interior design.

Type and maintenance

The ideal carpets for hotels are usually machine-made and have low pile height, which makes cleaning and removal of stains easier. Chakraborty says, "The best quality of carpet is an ideal mix of nylon and wool in the ratio of 20:80." The demand for non-woven is increasing as against woven carpets. Thomas adds, "They are either needle-punched or fiber bond. The most common type for non-woven carpets is available in acrylic, nylon, polyester and wool. In our hotel, the eco-friendly carpets comprise 80:20 of wool and nylon, respectively using natural dye."

The Park Hotel Delhi uses hand-tufted Australian woolen carpets used in the form of rugs, and regular vacuuming is undertaken to maintain its effect. Ruchika Kapoor, associate director for housekeeping at the hotel suggests, "A carpet can become saturated with dirt and harbour dust mites, bacteria, etc. Proper cleaning keeps a carpet healthy and prevents premature wear of the fibre. Vacuuming is the most important and cost-effective element in an efficient maintenance programme."

Vacuuming can remove more than 80 per cent of dry soil on a daily basis. For cleaning stains shampooing using mild detergents is the best solution. Chakraborty says, "After shampooing, the carpet should be left to dry naturally for minimum of 12 hours and company specifications needs to be followed while using chemicals on it." The detergent used for shampooing a carpet should be a mild and gentle.

No odour please

Apart from the concerns about cleaning carpets, odour arising from them warrants special attention. A major cause for concern is the underlying moisture trapped inside. Chakraborty explains, "The underlying coir (which was used by most hotels in the past) acts as a trap for any liquid spillage due to which carpets develop an odour. The dampness inside the underlay is also the main reason for pest growth. Whenever the carpet gets wet due to leakage or heavy soiling that particular area should be ripped off to leave the underlay area to dry." Proper upkeep of carpets is vital for odour prevention. Thomas says, "A few important points can help keep foul odour from carpets at bay like using the correct ratio of chemicals for cleaning, storing carpets in a well-ventilated area and properly rolled, and using a powder called Shake & Vac while vacuuming that helps absorb any bad odour."

Maintenance also entails preventive methods whereby damage from spills can be minimised by immediate action. "As soon as a spill occurs, blot with a clean, white absorbent and repeat until the spill is fully absorbed. There are kits available that contain a variety of cleaning agents that can be used for spot removal," says Kapoor. In unison, Chakraborty adds, immediate blotting/dabbing action or a wet suction vacuum cleaning is effective against spillage. In practice, it is often difficult to deal with spillages immediately, but a programme to remove stains/spillages on a frequent basis is recommended as this will extend the interval between the main cleaning operations. She concludes, "Prevention is better than cure and therefore, barrier matting is used to service areas like entry to kitchen to minimise the effect of soiling."