Cleaning carpets

Jennifer Gayman <gayman [at] nurse-1__umaryland__edu> writes

>We are preparing to install a new exhibition gallery, and would like
>to have the carpet cleaned before the furniture goes in.  The
>cleaning would occur a month before the artifacts would be
>installed--is this sufficient time for any off-gassing?  Are there
>good and bad professional carpet cleaning products?

My predecessor at the Glenbow researched this problem and concluded
that Amway Carpet Shampoo was the best solution. According to her
findings (1996):

   "The product is carefully put together, has no acid, ammonia or
    solvent, is based on biodegradable surfactants that are
    supposed to be harmless to organic or metallic materials. It
    contains no fillers, thus should not leave any particulate
    matter in the carpet pile."

The product is diluted with water, 1:4 by volume. Presumably, you
could mount an exhibit as soon as the RH has returned to a desired
level.

You may also want to contact a cleaning outfit that has experience
with "clean rooms" (eg., computer rooms), where particles must be
reduced to a minimum.

Sandy Easterbrook
Conservator-Paintings
Glenbow Museum
130-9th Ave SE
Calgary AB Canada T2G 0P3

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:21
               Distributed: Thursday, September 23, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-13-21-003
                                  ***