Carpet Cleaning Issues - Carpet construction, upholstery cleaning, stain removal, equipment, events, etc.
staple hammers?Posted by ALEXDH (ALEXDH), 6 November 2003
Hi
Do you gentleman ever use staple hammers when you are cleaning, do you leave them in if you do.
Do you ever come across joined parts of capets is this when you use them.
cheers
AlexPosted by Fintan_Coll (Fintan_Coll), 6 November 2003
I never hammer anything into a floor , you dont know when you might hot an underfloor water pipe or wiring. Always take care and never attempt anything like rhis without first getting the customers OK.
FintanPosted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 6 November 2003
Alex,
Staples are often usefull for secureing a shrinkable carpet which has been overwetted (flood), except when the floor is concrete. However with a large carpet nails are a safer option.
In normal cleaning this situation should not arrise.
More normal uses of a staple hammer for the cleaner are:
1] Where a carpet has, in a doorway perhaps, has been addrift from its' smoothedge gripper for a while and the edge frayed beyond refitting, except by getting involved in a major carpet fitting job - The carpet is moved over the gripper with a knee kicker and the staples go through the carpet into the wood of the gripper. With care the staple can often be hidden between the pile.
2] When cleaning a Belgian Wilton I always thake the time to explain to the customer how the carpet is constructed and its' propensity for 'shrinking' if not properly secured. I then make an extra-carefull inspection of the fitment and staple where I feel appropriate.
However, in both the above instances, a staple gun is preferable because the staple can be placed more acurately, without bending the spike of a gripper and without the risk of takeing a chunk out of a skirting board.
John.Posted by Derek (Derek Bolton), 7 November 2003
Hi Guys
From Staple hammer to Staple gun.... does this constitute changing the subject? 
I know of cleaners who regularly use a staple 'gun' to pin the box pleats on furniture in case of shrinkage / buckling.
Anyone tried it?
I have in the past used pins but not staples as such
Regards
DerekPosted by Dynafoam (Dynafoam), 7 November 2003
Derek,
Subject not changed - just slipped sideways!
Regarding the change to box pleats like yourself, I have in the past used fine pins but the problem of distortion seems most common on cotton prints and most often caused by distortion of an interlining. I was unhappy that the pin holes showed on this fabric and imagine that staple holes would be more apparent.
I now prefer to spend some time with my favourite 5" curtain tool to near-dry the pleated area and produce a 'freshly ironed' appearance.
The time taken to do this is no greater than pinning and certainly less than tack-stitching 
John.Posted by Dave_Lee (Dave_Lee), 7 November 2003
On an early training course 20 odd years ago we were told to secure badly fitted, and all Acrylic Axminster carpets with one inche nails every six inches. The last nail I ever hamered in hit a water pipe causing a small flood. I had to pay the plumbers bill, and rescue the carpet, lay new underlay etc. It wasnt all bad news however. The client contacted her insurance company, about here 'burst' pipe and as I did that companies flood work, I got the well paid job. The nail and staple thing used to be standard practise then, but I never find the need these days.
Dave.Posted by Shorty (Shorty), 8 November 2003
Good morning all, or good night for you people over there.
I use a hammer stapler regularly in water damage restoration work.
When a carpet is to be lifted and an air mover installed under the carpet, I hammer staple the carpet to the smooth edge, so that the turbulence from the air movers will not lift and rip the carpet.
At the opposite end/side of the room, directly opposite the air mover, I will lift the carpet to let the resulting air from the air mover out. This prevents the carpet from stretching whilst wet.
Again, I hammer staple the carpet on either side of this opening, for the reason mentioned above.
Hope this helps
Cheers,
Shorty.
This page is a thread posted to the cleanitup forum
at www.cleanitup.co.uk and
archived here for reference. To jump to the archive index please
follow this link.