Spot Cleaning For Your Carpet In Eatontown, Little Egg Harbor Township And Toms River, NJ
"I cleaned the spot on my rug and a month later the stain came back"
When it comes to carpet care this is one of the most common complaints we here from customers. If the stain was gone immediately after spot cleaning, you were successful at removing it from the carpet fiber. The question is, WHERE DID IT GO?
If you didn't extract the stain from the carpet, it will move down into the carpet backing and wick back up the fibers over the next few weeks. And there you have it! The stain has indeed come back!
"Why does the stain come back even worse then before I cleaned it?"
Chances are you reached for the miracle cleaner the Australian guy on TV told you to buy. Possibly you had a home remedy you found from Heloise or Pinterest. Even worse, the only thing available was dish soap or laundry detergent so you mixed it with water and went to town. The problem is, the original stain has moved to the carpet backing and you now have a soapy residue in your rug that attracts dirt even after it dries. Everytime someone walks across the spot it pulls dirt off their shoes. The spot gets darker and darker until it's professionally cleaned.
How Do I Properly Spot Clean?
Carpet manufacturers have spent millions of dollars and many years developing carpet fibers that will resist staining. By nature, they do not want to absorb a stain or spill. Therefore, always start off simple and be patient. We want to pull the stain out of the rug, not push it into the rug. Follow the simple steps below and you can't go wrong!
Protein Stains ( Food, blood, drinks, etc.)
Tools needed: 3 white cotton towels, pure enzyme, spray bottle and hot water. (Pure enzyme can be purchased at RV suppliers. Pure Power Blue is one example and costs about $2.00.)
Procedure 1:
- Rinse first cotton towel with hot water and wring out till damp. Fold in quarters or large enough to cover stain.
- Place damp towel on stain.
- Fold remaining 2 dry towels to the same size as the damp towel and stack on top of damp towel.
- Tamp with your foot and let sit for a couple of hours ( let sit overnight if possible) Stain should be absorbed into towels when finished.
If the stain is blood or urine use procedure 2.
Procedure 2:
- Mix 50% Enzyme with 50% hot water in spray bottle.
- Test on inconspicuous area for color fastness.
- Spray enzyme mix moderately on stain.
- Go to procedure 1
Petroleum Based Stains (Motor Oil, ink, nail polish, etc.)
Tools needed: 1 white cotton towel, protective gloves, Chemical Odor Valved Respirator, odorless mineral spirits (paint thinner) and acetone
Do not attempt this procedure which requires the use of solvents on natural fiber rugs such as wool or cotton. Will cause damage. Natural fiber rugs should only be treated professionally. Avoid breathing in solvents.
Procedure 1:
- Wear Protective gloves and respirator.
- Pour moderate amount of mineral spirits into cotton towel. (Do not pour mineral spirits directly on carpet. Can cause damage)
- Test on inconspicuous area for color fastness.
- Blot stain
- Repeat if necessary
Procedure 2:
- Replace mineral spirits with acetone or nail polish remover when removing ink or nail polish.
- Wear protective gloves and respirator.
- Pour moderate amount of acetone or nail polish remover into cotton towel. (Do not pour solvents directly on carpet. Can cause damage)
- Test on inconspicuous area for color fastness.
- Blot stain
- Repeat if necessary
If the above procedures do not work it's time to call CleanTech Systems.
Red Stains usually require a special process called heat transfer. This should only be done professionally. Call CleanTech Systems.
Do not use solvents (mineral spirits, acetone, nail polish remover) on wool or cotton rugs. Will cause damage.
CleanTech Systems is not responsible for any damage that occurs due to the improper use of these spot cleaning techniques.