Carpet Cleaning Safety – Are Your Cleaners Safe On the Job?

Safety Considerations When Cleaning Carpets

Carpet cleaning can be a tough job. However, most people don’t consider it as dangerous as many other household projects. You probably won’t express as much concern for a carpet cleaner as you would with someone climbing scaffolding to paint a tall building or a pest controller getting into tight spaces. Regardless, carpet cleaning comes with its risk too. This is why it is important to consider the safety of cleaners on the job.

Carpet cleaners typically utilise cleaning solutions that are commonly made from potentially toxic chemicals. Some of the ingredients used in cleaning chemicals include acids and solvents. Careless exposure to these toxic ingredients can cause serious skin burns and injury to the eyes and nose.

Even so-called green cleaning solutions can be toxic. Although they have limited environmental impact, they are not totally chemical-free. Professional carpet cleaners like NO1 Carpet Cleaning Melbourne takes necessary precautions when handling these potentially hazardous chemicals. Asides from this, there is also the risk of slipping and falling while working among other possible hazards.  Below are legitimate concerns you should not ignore.

Protective Gear

Carpet cleaning technicians need to understand the importance of wearing protective gears. This is because they come in close contact with chemicals when mixing and while working. Every year, thousands of cleaning technicians sustain injuries from exposure to toxic chemicals and fumes during cleaning. This is why you should wear protective gears.

Protective eyewear: Eye injuries is common when working with chemicals without wearing proper protective eye gear. There are different types of protective eye googles designed for different applications. Protecting your eyes isn’t about wearing just any googles. There are specific safety standards and regulations regarding the use of protective clothing when handling chemicals and this applies to googles too. Do your research properly and select the proper eye gear to ensure your eye is properly protected while working.

Generally, non-vented face gear or those with indirect ventilation are more recommended. These types of eye gear offer better protection against chemical splashes than the vented ones while you still get unobstructed view to do your work properly.

Gloves & Other Protective Clothing

Another piece of protective clothing that carpet cleaning technicians should use is gloves. There are different types of gloves, but be sure to select one that is resistant to acids and solvents that technicians are likely to handle. Typically, the manufacturer will specify the chemicals the gloves can efficiently protect your hands against. Carpet cleaners should check the chemical resistance guide for the glove they intend to buy and compare it to the safety data sheet of the chemicals they’re likely to be working with.

Sizing is another important consideration. Correctly-fitted long-sleeve gloves are more recommended. These types of gloves do a better job at protecting the hands since they cover the forearm and not just the hands. You should also consider other physical characteristic of the glove such as flexibility, durability and comfort.

Asides gloves, carpet cleaning technicians should also wear other safety gear when working with chemical carpet cleaning solutions. These include chest to toe apron to protect their clothing and skin, and covered foot for the feet from chemical spills.

Slip Hazards

Asides the obvious risk of chemical exposure, there is also the potential for slip hazards to occur.  This can cause slip accidents especially when moving on smooth surfaces like tile flooring. This is a valid concern during carpet cleaning projects. Carpet cleaning technicians must therefore wear work shoes. These offer high traction and efficient slip protection.

Conclusion

These are some of the important safety considerations for carpet cleaning technicians. As a homeowner that requests carpet cleaning service, you should ensure your technicians follow all of these safety considerations and they have all the right gear before they begin work. Professional carpet cleaning technicians are aware of these important safety considerations. If you run a carpet cleaning service, you must ensure that all your cleaners have all the gear they need to prevent injury and liability.