Dealing with Stains
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by Jason Neale
Tips on Handling Carpet Stains
Dealing with stains can be tricky, so using a professional carpet cleaning company that knows how to remove stains and has the right knowledge is important. It can be a stain in carpets, rugs or upholstery. When it comes to removing a stain, it is important to get expert advice. Some marks are easy to remove, whereas others can be a little more difficult.
When it comes to effective stain removal techniques, it’s not just down to applying a magic spotter and then the stain is gone. It comes down to experience knowing what sort of material the stain is in to start with and how long has the mark been there for. This one factor is the key to how well a stain will remove from any type of fabric.
Red Wine or Cordial
Stains like red wine or cordial are best to be treated as soon as possible. The dyes in these types of drinks can permanently mark carpet or upholstery very quickly, so a quick response is paramount. The best way to remove red wine is with a cloth, preferably a white towel. By using a white towel, you reduce the risk of the colours in the towel running into the red wine mark and just making it all worse.
Without rubbing, just blot up as much of the wine as possible. Then using a new damp towel do the same thing again blot up as much as possible. The stain will soak into the towel if just left there for a time. Once this has been done, the next step is to call a professional carpet cleaner to remove the residual and protein part of the wine. This will need to be done with an extraction machine or a cleaning solution that can absorb the remainder of the stain.
Urine, Fizzy Drinks, and other Sticky Liquids
This same principle can be used for most stains such as urine, red cordial, fizzy drink. When it comes to stains like vomit or curry powder, these will need to be handled by a carpet cleaner from the start. The best thing to do is just get up as much of the spill as possible and then call a cleaner. If curry or vomit is rubbed with a solution of any kind, it will transfer the stain and the smell to the underlay of the carpet or the backing of upholstery.
If a stain does seep into the underlay by over wetting it from trying to clean the mark up, then the underlay will need to be cleaned and sanitised. This is not done by pulling up the carpet but by using a specialised extraction tool called a moisture claw. The affected area will have to be soaked in a solution that will kill the bacteria and that will also remove the smell. This solution is left on the carpet to soak into the underlay and then it is extracted using a powerful cleaning machine. This is the only way to fully and properly remove any part of a stain or odour that has seeped into the underlay.
Dog Smells
Odours like dog smells are treated by also having to apply a cleaning solution on the underlay of the carpet. This can be done by using a needle or by mixing the solution up in a bucket and pouring it directly onto the affected area. But this should not be done without the aid of being able to properly extract it. If the solution was to be left in the carpet and underlay it would cause long term damage like browning if it is a wool carpet, or even leave a water mark in other carpets such as Polypropylene, Nylon or solution dyed Nylon.
Gum
Stains like gum can be frozen out of carpet or upholstery. After the gum has been removed, it will still need to be cleaned. This will just eliminate any germs and bacteria that the gum had left behind. Gum can be taken out of any type of material, but it is still best to remove it as quickly as possible.
Most liquid spills are invisibly to the naked eye when they are first done unless they have a strong colour in them. But what happens is the dust in the air will settle on the affected area over time and then it becomes darker. This is where most stains appear from. This is because spills of any kind have a sticky substance in them and it’s this that the dust sticks too. So removing spills early will save your carpets and upholstery in the long run.
Fabric Protection
The best way to help prevent staining to carpets, rug or upholstery is by applying a protection to them. This will make it much easier to remove spills from all sorts of fabrics and will also prolong the life of the material. Fabric protections can be applied after any cleaning process and is best done by a trained professional.
