How to remove stains from your carpet.
Quickly get to any spillages or stains, this decrease the opportunity that the stain will penetrate the carpet fibres. Especially liquids, particularly hot liquids must be attended to straight away. If allowed to cool or dry, the stain will be almost impossible to remove. Care must be taken during stain removal as carelessness can result in permanent stain setting, pile distortion and loss of colour.
Basic Carpet Cleaning Steps:
To Begin
1. Immediately remove as much of the spill as possible. For solids use a blunt knife or spoon. Blot up liquids by applying pressure with white paper towels or tissues. Use a wet / dry vacuum for large spills. NEVER scrub or rub the carpet during the stain removal (or rinsing) process as a fuzzy area may result. Always work from the outside of the stain or spillage towards the middle to avoid further spreading using a blotting or dabbing motion.
2. Triexta carpets: Cold water is all that’s needed to remove most stains from Redbook triexta carpets. Always work from the outside of the stain or spillage towards the middle to avoid further spreading the stain. Apply clean cold water to the affected area with a sponge or spray while avoiding over wetting the carpet and blot up with a sponge or use a wet/dry vacuum to remove the water. Repeat until no discolouration is evident in the carpet or removed water. Once this has been achieved repeat the cleaning 4 or 5 times to remove any remnant stain hidden in the pile.
Once the stain has been removed with cold water, press dry with a clean white cloth or white paper towel.
Other carpets: Most common household food and beverage stains (not including stains containing strong dyes or substances which destroy or change the colour of carpet) need to be treated solely with cold water immediately applied to the stained area. Repeat treatment
above until no stain is evident on the cloth or towels used to press dry the area.
Ensure carpet is press dried with a clean white cloth or white paper towel to remove excess moisture. Do not rub, as rubbing can alter the carpet’s texture.
Should the stain remain, using a clean white cloth or sponge, treat with a mixture of 1 teaspoon of laundry detergent and one teaspoon of white vinegar in 1 litre of warm water. Rinse with cold water, repeating treatment until no stain is evident on cloth or towels.
Next Steps
3. After the spill or stain has been treated, place several layers of white paper towels over the area and place a flat weight on them until dry. A hair dryer may be used to speed up the drying process but do NOT overheat the area. Do not walk on the carpet until dry.
4. Sometimes stains will reappear due to ‘wicking’ as stains hidden in the pile resurface as the carpet dries. If so, allow the carpet to dry fully and repeat the above treatment until no stain is evident (this process may need to be repeated over several days).
5. If stains fail to respond adequately to treatment, call a professional carpet cleaner immediately. It is important professional steam cleaners continually treat any areas affected by stains until there is no sign of discolouration in the carpet or removed water, following which the cleaning cycle should be repeated a number of times to minimise the risk of wicking.
Stains should be differentiated from soiling. Ensure that any residue from spills or cleaning mixtures are fully removed. For example, many sugar based spills, such as soft drinks and coffee, leave a sugar residue after removal. Similarly, when spills are cleaned with a detergent solution and the area is not sufficiently rinsed, a sticky detergent residue can remain. This sticky residue attracts soil from ordinary foot traffic and the resulting discolouration appears to be a stain. If so, repeat stain removal procedures above.