A lot of people ask me what to do if they need to clean a spot off the carpet. Many of my customers have tried spot cleaning products that they bought at the store, such as ‘folex’ and ‘resolve,’ and even though some of these products get the spot out pretty good, they also have extremely negative consequences for the carpet and are not recommended.
Some of those consequences are:
- permanent stains caused by the stain remover because it was never properly rinsed out and caused a chemical reaction which damages the carpet.
- Foamy, soapy spots left in the carpet that then have to be removed by a professional with soap removing agents such as a “defoamer.”
- And in most cases the do-it-yourself spot cleaners leave residue in the carpet which attracts dirt and makes your carpet look ugly, (even when they say they don’t on the label.)
What is recommended is actually quite simple.
- If you spill something on the carpet such as wine, coffee or tea you should try to clean it up right away with a towel and COLD water. The cold water flushes out the spill while contracting the carpet fibers which wont allow the stain to penetrate too deeply.
- If you invest in a home spot cleaning machine that simply uses water and some basic spotting cleaning solutions that can go along way in ensuring your carpet never is permanently stained.
- Call a professional carpet cleaner or learn to clean like a pro
The difficulty with coffee, tea, wine, blueberry, or pet stains is that they have to handled right away and there is no guarantee you can remove these stains which is why the sooner they can be addressed with professional equipment and specially designed chemicals for those unique problems the better.
The product line I use and highly recommend for these types of stains are “Pro’s Choice.” They are sold at locally at Routley Enterprises in Costa Mesa.
They have an industrial strength hydrogen peroxide solution that is extremely effective at removing Urine Stains and Odors and many other types of stains. Their Red Stain remover really works. They have products available for both Natural and Synthetic fibers.
These products truly are for professional use only simply because they can be slightly dangerous to work with. You should wear latex gloves and goggles in some cases to protect your safety when handling these chemicals.
For routine spot cleaning I use Goof Off quite often. Its a very effective spot remover, and unlike other solvents it is extremely mild, does not leave a lasting odor or vapor, evaporates extremely quickly and is totally safe to use on carpet. They sell Goof Off at Home Depot. Its very inexpensive and a little goes along way.
If you are not a professional some things I can recommend, are cold water, club soda, ammonia or better yet Goof Off (for black, greasy, gummy, latex paint spots)
Never brush the carpet with a stiff brush, this damages the carpet fibers and will ruin your carpet. Handle the carpet fibers gently when removing a spot.
Buying a small professional spot extractor to handle emergency spills and learning how to use it is the best way to prevent permanent stains.
Spraying a professional stain protecting product after a professional cleaning also helps to safeguard your carpet against stains and is another very good way to protect your carpet.