Clean and maintain soft floors and furnishings

This standard is about cleaning soft floors or furnishings, including the removal of stains and applying independent treatments to carpets and soft furnishings. It is for staff who have been specially trained to carry out these tasks with regard to soft floors and furnishings regularly. They could be housekeeping or cleaning staff.
When you have completed this standard you will be able to demonstrate your understanding in and ability to:

• Clean and maintain soft floors and furnishings

1. Check your level of personal hygiene meets the standards of the specification and is maintained throughout the cleaning process
2. Identify the correct material for treatment and decide on the most effective and economical treatment to provide
3. Examine the material to make sure that it is suitable for the planned treatment, given the nature of the material and the type, position, form and amount of soiling
4. Identify whether the material is colourfast and shrink-resistant
5. Identify and report damaged or deteriorating surfaces and/or those which may require restorative work
6. Look for and note any factors that will affect how you clean the material
7. Follow any standards that need to be applied to the work other than your supervisor's instructions relative to the material you are to treat
8. Check there is enough ventilation in the work area for your comfort when carrying out deep cleaning, and to aid any drying process
9. Move portable objects which may get in the way while you are working
10. Prepare your working area and your equipment so that you can do the job efficiently, correctly and safely
11. Remove dust and debris before you apply the cleaning agent or treatment
12. Soften ground-in soil and stains before trying to remove them
13. Apply the treatment safely, according to the manufacturer's instructions and without over-wetting or damaging the material
14. Examine the treated area and apply more treatment if it will help to remove the stain safely
15. Check that surfaces have an even appearance when you have finished your work
16. Leave the material free of excess moisture and ground-in soil when you have finished
17. Put everything back as you found it
18. Dispose of waste according to workplace guidelines
19. Tell the relevant person about any stains you cannot remove

1. Why it is important to have an up-to-date cleaning specification and from whom it can be obtained
2. The level of personal hygiene required for the area in which you are working , why it is important to maintain personal hygiene and why it is necessary to remove your personal items and where they should be stored during cleaning
3. Why there are checks and restrictions in place for the use of deep cleaning equipment and why these must be adhered to
4. Organisational health and safety instructions and why these should be checked against workplace procedures
5. The available methods of treatment and the most effective and economical to use
6. How to assess whether the material is suitable for the planned treatment and what factors to take into account
7. Why it is important to remove superficial dust and debris before commencing the deep cleaning process
8. How to soften ground-in soil and/or stains, when it is soft enough and why it is necessary and important to do this
9. How to identify the most appropriate place to carry out test cleans and why this should be done before applying treatments
10. The circumstances under which equipment and surfaces should be pre- treated
11. Why treatments should be applied to materials evenly and the effects of not doing this
12. How to clean methodically, how you can reduce spreading dust and why this is important
13. How to avoid damaging the surface and the possible results of damaging the surface
14. Why it is important to take precautions in cleaning unsecured items such as rugs
15. The dangers of working at height using step ladders and how to do so safely
16. Why it is important to remove any excess moisture