Professional Sisal Cleaning
Sisal is a natural fibre derived from the sisal plant. It yields a stiff, hard wearing fibre used in making carpets, rope, rugs & other useful items. From a carpet cleaner’s perspective, it is part of a group of cellulosic fibres (such as coir & seagrass) which cannot be cleaned using techniques involving much water. If it is over-wet, it is prone to structural collapse & damage.
How we clean sisal
As with any professional carpet clean, the first stage is to remove the loose soil & debris with careful vacuuming. We use a commercial grade Sebo BS36 for all our vacuuming, as its dual motors ensure a professional level of soil removal.
The second motor provides power to the beater bar (brush) alone. When we vacuum sisal, we adjust the brush height to 4 to sure the bristles are engaging deep into the weave of the flooring.
– Unless told otherwise, expect us to move most furniture as standard –
Once the vacuuming stage is complete, we will move systematically throughout the property moving items of furniture to one side to prepare each room for the specialist sisal cleaning compound.
Applying the sisal cleaning compound
As we’ve pointed out, we cannot clean sisal using traditional hot water extraction or ‘steam cleaning”. This is a real shame, as water would allow us to penetrate deep into the pile and apply various solutions that emulsify or encapsulate greasy soils & deposits.
The only safe method professional cleaners have at their disposal is known in the industry as VLM, or Very Low Moisture cleaning. This involves applying a loose compound to the sisal carpet that looks very much like sawdust. Those of you seasoned enough to remember “Shake ‘n’ Vac” will find the concept familiar…
The VLM compound is a natural, biodegradable, material which enables us to clean carpets and rugs with zero drying time. The mix is impregnated with specially formulated cleaning agents with an orange-y fragrance. The natural fibre acts like multiple micro-sponges that absorb the soiling (that resisted the initial vacuuming).
Once dry, the VLM is ready to be lifted with a second vacuuming. When complete, your sisal will have an improved lustre, feel refreshed & be deodorised.
Recovering the dry compound after it has worked its magic!
If you have an enquiry relating to sisal carpet cleaning, or have any questions relating to sisal maintenance or sisal repair, please do get in touch.
You can phone your local Green Man branch or use our Contact page.
Sisal repair at Kenilworth Castle
A short while ago, English Heritage were in touch with us to ask whether we would be able to carry out repairs to some sisal flooring in Kenilworth Castle. Standard carpet cleaning can be challenging, but sisal is often extremely tricky & is impossible to repair…
