Carpet Spot Removal
Carpet Spot Removal (carpet stain removal)
Did you Know? Carpet stain removal is easy! Most carpet cleaning
solutions (stain removers) can be found under the kitchen sink. There is no
need for a professional carpet cleaner once you understand proper stain removal
procedures.
No carpet is stain-proof! While many retail salespeople may paint a picture
that a product is bullet proof and most spills clean up with water, this is
not always the case. However, armed with the proper knowledge, proper carpet
cleaning solutions, a little practice, and a boatload of patience, you should
be able to remove the majority of spills before they become permanent stains.
For clarification, we should distinguish between spills, spots, and stains.
A spill is a fresh accident. With most carpet, fresh spills will come out with
ease, if removal is attempted quickly. Most spills require time to attach to
carpet dye sites before you have difficulty removing them. Bringing in a professional
cleaner on a 2-3 year basis to reapply a fresh topical treatment will help prolong
the time before this attachment occurs and is well worth the money. These treatments
increase surface tension (like a Teflon® frying pan) to allow spills to
bead on the surface. These treatments wear away and wash away over time, so
a reapplication is necessary.
If the spill remains for an extended period a spot will likely develop. A spot
will remain visible after the spill has dried and may require more time, expertise,
and possibly even specialty carpet cleaning solutions to remove. An ordinary
soda spill with high sugar content may fall into this category. If not properly
removed the sugar will continue to attract soil and the spill will reappear.
A red drink spill would be a more difficult spot because these drinks use the
same dyes that the carpet industry uses to dye its fiber. These spots may require
professional assistance with specialty chemicals if no dealt with immediately.
They may develop into a permanent stain.
Permanent stains are…well…permanent. These may be stains where
color is added to the fiber like iodine or betadine, or they may be stains where
color has been stripped, as with bleach or acne medications. In some cases,
a carpet cleaning professional may be able to bleach this area devoid of color
and redye the area. A good redye professional can return this area to its original
color with little or no visible color difference.
Other stains may be removed and might reoccur. Reoccurring stains may be attributed
to a number of factors, including the use of detergent solutions that attract
soil. Another common reason for resoiling is wicking. Wicking is the evaporation
or drawing up of soil/stains from the base of the carpet tufts or from the carpet
backing itself. The photo below shows a red food dye stain on the carpet surface
and on the backing. As you can see, some stains may be absorbed by the carpet
backing and spread. This is a primary reason why you should act quickly in removing
any carpet stain
The recommendations under this heading are a general rule of thumb for most
spills. Follow these recommendations carefully and the number of permanent stains
that you encounter will be limited.
Article by Michael Hilton of carpetbuyershandbook.com - the Largest Online
Source for Unbiased Carpet Information (http://carpetbuyershandbook.com)
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