The Seven Deadly Carpet Stains
By Dean Assiff
My professional carpet cleaning career spans more than a quarter century. Thats over 25 years. Back then carpets were dark brown, red or green and hid all the stuff that you spilled on it. The work of the carpet cleaning guy was so much easier.
Nowadays carpets are lighter in color. Whites, greys and earth tones which hide almost nothing. Over the years, I have encountered many different kinds of spots and stains. Some easy to remove, others are can be removed with a lot of work. Some may be permanent or have discolored the carpet. Carpets are usually easier to clean when a carpet protector such as 3M Scotchgard is applied. My method of cleaning residential carpet is using a powerful truck mounted unit. But at times even the mighty truckmount will not remove some stubborn stains. Our stain removal guide at http://www.handmcarpetcare.com will give advice on how to tackle easy to remove spots and stains.
Some stains require calling a professional carpet cleaner. A qualified proffessional will have the tools and expertise to know what to do. This may be the best route to take before doing any further damage.
From my experience here is a list of the 7 toughest stains to remove. In most cases the fresher the stain the easier it is to remove. The more the homeowner plays with it the harder it may be to take out.
The Seven Deadly Stains (for your carpet of course)
7. Cooking Oil - Whoops. I dont know how that got onto the Livingroom carpet. Wont come out by hand. It looks nasty especilally when its been there for a mobnth and all the dirt is sticking to it. A good enzyme and a hot water extraction should get it out. Success 95%
6. Coffee, tea - Can use a coffee remover - a special bleach made for these beverages. the dye remover dyes the beverage but not the carpet. Chances of Success 90%
5. Pet stains - Its always the guest dog never your dog. Because pooches is such a good dog and she would never pee on mommy's rug. Pet stains are a strong acid and if left for too long can actually bleach the carpet yellow. Fortunately good cleaning products and urine spotters can get the job done. Dogs keep many a carpet cleaner very busy. Chances of success 75%.
4. Colored Drinks - Orange pop, Kool Aid, Red Wine etc. are beverages with food color in them or some sort of natural or synthetic dye. They usually never come out with steam cleaning alone. However if the client has not played with them we can use a dye remover to try to get them out. Chances of Removal 70%
3. Nail Polish - Moms usually blame it on the kids or teenagers. Can take a bit of work with solvents and rinsing. Depending on the type of carpet it can be removed. However at times it wont come out at all, Ill give it a 50/50 chance. (Which just means it may or may not come out).
2. Green tea - This so called wonder beverage may be good for your digestion but not good for your carpet. The popular beverage has a green dye that loves to be prominent on your fine area rug. The green dye is sometimes impossible to take out. Dye removers may do it. Success 15%
1. Yellow Mustard - Cursed is the day you gave little Johnny that hot dog and he ran into the livingroom and dropped it. I give up before even trying. Although I did get it out a few times. Yellow mustard dyes the carpet and is nearly impossible to get out. The champion of all deadly stains. Chances of removal 2%.
If the stain is in a corner and cannot be seen then it may not be a big issue. However if it is clearly visible we refer our clients to a Carpet Dyeing company. They may be able to "paint" the stain to match the carpet.
Visit http://www.handmcarpetcare.com for more information on getting a great carpet cleaning.
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