Using Proper TACT in Home Cleaning

Do you remember your mother telling you to wash your hands for
dinner after coming into the home from playing outside? Remember
the first time you learned the proper use of soap and hot water
in hand washing? I know it was a long time ago. But Mother was
a genius. Here's why.

Imagine in your mind's eye a pie. This pie has four slices.
Unlike the traditional pies, this one only has the four
ingredients: Temperature, Agitation, Chemical and Time. The
acronym TACT comes into play here. The interesting thing about
this pie is how dynamic and universal it is. Understanding the
role of this pie will immediately benefit any cleaning task you
can think of whether it be as simple as washing a car or cleaning
your home's furnishings.

Temperature is the most dynamic of all I think. It is a
scientific fact that cleaning solutions (soap and water for
example) work at 100 percent using a temperature of 118 degrees
Fahrenheit. Any colder requires more of the three remaining
ingredients in variation: agitation, chemical and time. But
increasing the temperature just 18 degrees Fahrenheit you have
just DOUBLED the power of the same cleaning process. That means
at 136 degrees Fahrenheit, you have cut in half the remaining
three ingredients: agitation, chemical and time.

But hang on it gets even better! Increase the temperature again
just another 18 degrees Fahrenheit to 154 degrees F and you have
just DOUBLED the cleaning solution AGAIN thereby cutting the
remaining ingredients in half: agitation, chemical and time. How
many more times before the temperature reaches a boiling point
can the cleaning effectiveness double? Does the term 'steam
cleaning' come to mind?

Agitation is the next ingredient and the one I most despise. You
know it as scrubbing, scouring, scraping, etcetera. If you have
fewer ingredients of temperature, and chemical, you can be
assured that agitation and time will be the larger slices. If
you perform agitation incorrectly, your biggest slice of pie is
time.

Chemical is another dynamic ingredient. There are several
chemicals on the market available to multitudes of different
cleaning tasks. Among them are different classifications such as
natural and organic as opposed to synthetic.

There are also considerations of pH (pHydrion Value) factors.
They determine the level of alkalinity or acidic values where
water alone is considered neutral.

They continue to be classified as volatile (bleaching) and
non-volatile. They may contain solvents (oil based) or
non-solvents like odorless mineral spirits also used in dry
cleaning (having no water).

They can also be categorized by an electrical component. These
being Cationic (Positive charged ions), Anionic (Negatively
charged ions) and nonionic (neutral or no electrically charged
ions).

Some chemicals contain 'surfactants' which is a name given to
agents in a chemical to help in making water 'wetter' by removing
hard water mineral deposits thereby softening the water.

Some chemicals even display an EPA registration number and
Federal Law Prohibits using the product in any matter other that
the prescribed use listed.

It is most important to ensure that proper measuring and mixing
of chemicals, also known as a cleaning solution, be met and to
test in an inconspicuous area of the cleaning job or undesirable
results may occur.

The last ingredient is time. The goal in any cleaning task is to
minimize time performing it. If you understand the proper use of
temperature, agitation techniques and chemicals for a given
cleaning task, then you will clean safely and effectively in a
minimum amount of time. The cleaning job will be like a breeze.
However, if you violate any one of the three main ingredients
then you will be served a huge slice of the fourth key ingredient
known as 'time pie.'

So in closing, you can now appreciate the true genius your Mother
was in getting you to wash up for dinner. She did not need to
understand why it works; only that it does work.

And now armed with the knowledge of the TACT cleaning pie chart
you can increase your success in ANY cleaning task around the
home.

You now have more knowledge about the principles of cleaning
concept than most professional cleaners. It will also aid you in
choosing the right method of cleaning your carpets and
upholstery. This knowledge also helps you in choosing which
company is the most knowledgeable and had the credentials to back
up their service performance claims. Most of all, knowing the
TACT pie chart can make any cleaning job, well, sweet as pie!
 

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