Improve your cleaning results, by improving your T.A.C.T.
Did you know there are four elements to cleaning? Most likely not. Odds are that you’re probably NOT a cleaning scientist. While that is most likely due to “cleaning scientist” being a made up term for this blog entry, you likely did not seek a local floor cleaning service website as a result of being an expert cleaner… …or at least not on a conscious level. When you hear “Bubble gum in hair”, you undoubtedly think of peanut butter. More specifically peanut butter being massaged into hair, sitting for a while, potentially with ice being involved.
Time, Agitation, Chemical & Temperature (T.A.C.T.) are the four elements of cleaning. A balance of these elements is necessary to achieve an effective clean, so as one element is decreased, the others must be increased to compensate.
Chemical is the first element in cleaning. “But wait… “C” is the third letter in the acronym T.A.C.T.”. Well, acronyms aren’t fun unless they spell a word, and “C.A.T.T.” wouldn’t have had the same satisfying flair. Matching the ideal chemical properties (such as PH level) to the task, plays a crucial role. As with getting gum out of hair, selecting a chemical with hydrophobic properties, such as the oils present in peanut butter, counteract the sticky characteristic of the gum, making it easier to remove. This example probably did not match the perception you originally had when you read “chemical”. The reason we immediately imagined a harsh “industrial” cleaner, is that for a cleaning solution to have the desired effect in a typical residential or commercial setting, with their lack of effective equipment, it must be more aggressive to balance the lack of Temperature and Agitation.
Agitation is the working of a Chemical deeper into the soiled spot. By rubbing peanut butter into the hair, you are improving saturation by coating more of the gum, and penetration deeper by pushing it past the loosening gum. In most residential and commercial settings, Agitation is limited to a scrub brush and elbow grease, necessitating a more aggressive Chemical to result in an effective clean. A professional cleaning service introduces specialized equipment, which provides a significantly increased agitation no longer limited by stamina.
Temperature is a powerful factor in cleaning when properly matched to the task. Like peanut oils, ice reduces the sticky properties of gum, and allows it to harden and be more easily removed from hair. The introduction of steam to applicable soiled spots further reduces the need for a Chemical to be aggressive, allowing for a more effective eco friendly clean.
Time is necessary to provide an opportunity for the other elements to work effectively. Simply touching peanut butter to the gum in the hair will not cause the gum to instantly fall out. When more Time is introduced into the situation a Chemical is able to adequately dwell, more Agitation is possible and steam (Temperature) is able to more effectively penetrate the area.
A professional cleaning service will have a diverse lineup of chemicals to most precisely match the task, and equipment to provide increased Agitation and Temperature allowing for the use of more neutral solutions to achieve a truly effective eco friendly clean. It’s also just nice to have someone else clean those floors.