Often times when professional carpet cleaners are called upon to take care of stains or spots in carpets the first question will inevitably be “can you get it out”? If the tech answers “yes” before seeing the area then you might want to consider hiring someone else. The truth of the matter is not all stains are removable. Any potential hire should tell you this right off the bat. A more realistic response would be “Let’s take a look at it and if it can be removed, we have what it takes to get it out”.
Most dark colored, brown or black, spots are sugar or oil based. These can be removed nearly 90% of the time. Cola, tea, coffee, and non-red juices would all be examples of stains from this category. Traffic lane cleaners are usually an effective way to remove cola stains. Stains from tea and coffee can be a little more difficult and may require a combination of traffic lane cleaner and an acid rinse. Orange and apple juices are relatively easy to get out. Most problems occur when you encounter red juices such as grape or cranberry, especially on light carpets. Red juices fall into the red dye category and sometimes the only way to get those out is a heat transfer dye process. And even though this process is usually saved as a last resort, it still offers no guarantees.
So what about stains such as blood, vomit, and urine? Well these, like all stains, need to be addressed quickly. The sooner you have them removed the better. The trick with blood is to not clean it with hot water or alkaline cleaning products. Using these treatments may seem like a good idea but they are actually setting the blood in the carpet. You would be better off leaving it to the professional. Vomit and urine are similar in that they are both removed through a process. Urine should be removed as soon as possible. As long as it is in your carpet it will continue to deteriorate. These types of spots are usually removed by using a pre-treatment to break down the stain. The spot is then thoroughly extracted. These steps will be repeated as necessary and afterwards an enzyme is sprayed that will continue to break the spot down.
Sometimes you can get stains through no fault of your own. Yellowing, water rings, and filtration soiling would be included with these stains. Yellowing is one of those stains that can either be easily neutralized or near impossible to remove. It is very common and can be treated with an acid rinse or citric acid. Water rings are also hit or miss. They are treated with traffic lane cleaner or an acid rinse. Filtration soiling is usually found where the carpet meets the baseboards or in hallways near air conditioning units. These are black lines caused when your carpet “filters” soil. Ridding your carpet of these stains requires using a special spotter, a towel, and some old fashioned elbow grease. Due to the extra labor involved, this process may cost a bit more than you would like.
The bottom line is that there are no guarantees with spot removal. A seemingly easy to remove stain could prove terribly difficult, and vice versa. But if handled correctly and in a timely manner your odds of removing a spot or stain can increase greatly.
To get more cleaning advice see Carpet Cleaning Superior
Posted under Cleaning Carpets
This post was written by admin on September 11, 2010
