Rather than run off at a tangent in another thread, I thought I'd answer a question Len raised here.
How do I bonnet mop, and what equipment do I use?
Firstly, some background. As I am the proud owner of a Dry Fusion System (which I prefer) my only bonnet work over the last 2 years has been in 2 exceptionally large office buildings, and being used for maintenance. Many will criticise bonnet cleaning as being merely "Interim Cleaning" requiring a deep extraction every so often in order to maintain standards. I never found this to be the case. The one site had been maintained by me from installation about 20 years ago. It has only been recarpeted this year, so the maintenance program developed betwen myself and the facilities manager has certainly paid off. The sister site in London which had the same nylon tiles fitted at the same time back in the mid 80's, was replaced after 5 years. They didn't have a maintenace program, just a clean when dirty policy
So how did I do it? Apart from chairs, we did not move anything. Staff were required to clear the floors. 3 man team(s). Body #1 will be dedicated to the vacuum. Body #2 will pre-spray, moving castor chairs back and forth as required and will hand bonnet stairs. Body #3 is 100% on the rotary machine. For this maintenace work, we would pre-spray the carpet, dampen the cotton pad to reduce friction at start up then bonnet away. Turn the pad as required then continue.
What did we use? Over the years we used most branded bonnet cleaners with good results. My favourite was Prochem's Bonnet Buff until, a few years ago, I tried One Step. Now I'm 100% micro splitting. The machine I used was a Victor Sprite 400. At 230rpm on nylon loop tiles it's as fast as I dare go. The 450 diameter version (which I have tried) although the same rpm has a greater speed at the edge of the bonnet so at a higher risk of damage to the carpet (it's absolutely lethal on Polyprop). With the One Step, Solutions and Easy Step products I've used, the results have been equally good. A lot of the apparent soiling in these buildings was down to beverage spillages. The rest areas frequently looked like a battlefield
The pre-spray would deal with most stains but sometimes it would be necessary to pre-treat with Sodium Metabisulphite. Any gum or Blue Tac was dealt with by placing the tip of the sprayer on the carpet, then a quick squirt of hot (60 to 70deg.) One Step solution, agitate/scrape with steel spatula and gum gone in about 20 seconds or so. As we were cleaning every 3 months, never had old gum to contend with.
Over time, I have experimented with dilutions, especially with the micro-splitters. I even tried 1:100 and this was only as effective as plain water (yes I did try that!). 1:50 worked on one of the cleaner areas but it was slower. I must add that this area had the computer room adjacent to it, so it was always an area where the pre-spray dried out very quickly, so we tended to over apply to compensate. Perhaps if it had been overwet it would have been fine in performance, but I didn't want to go there :
On the last 2 occasions I have substituted the cotton bonnets with Dry Fusion Pads. Cleaning performance has been the same, but these pads are much easier to launder and dry quicker too.
You may ask why have I not re-tendered? There are several reasons, some political, but the main reason is I wanted more time for myself. 2 sites at 4 visits each per year, working Saturdays and Sundays takes a big chunk of a years weekends away from you. And although Bonnet work is easy, we reckoned we walked several miles a day on these sites as they are soooo big. And none of us are getting younger.
Safe and happy bonneting
Ken
