How To Clean Carpet Stains and Care for Carpet
Date Added: December 20, 2007 07:28:49 PM
One of the most important ways to have clean carpet is to react quickly and clean up spills as they occur. Do not rub a spill when cleaning it up, that will only force the stain deeper into the carpet. Instead you should blot the stain with a clean white towel or white paper towel.
· If you are dealing with a fresh stain you should try to pour a little of plain club soda on it. Don’t soak the area and just give it long enough to sizzle for a few seconds on the carpet before blotting it up thoroughly with a white towel or paper towel.
· When dealing with an older stain combine 3 tablespoons of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of detergent with one quart of warm water. Work that solution into the stain then blot it dry.
· Another method is to apply some shaving cream and let it foam on the carpet. Then rinse it with a damp, clean, white towel and blot dry.
· After using any of these three general methods you should cover the area with a clean, dry, white towel or paper towel and apply pressure to soak up the moisture. When one towel becomes damp, replace it with a dry one.
To keep any carpet in its best condition it should be deep cleaned once per year. If you have children or pets it should be done even more often. Some of the different methods for deep cleaning include aerosol spray foam cleaners, home carpet cleaners, a rented carpet cleaning machine or a professional cleaner.
Prior to a deep cleaning you should address any stains using the methods above or at the end of this article. If is also important to vacuum prior to a deep cleaning. A thorough vacuum means repeating the same area two to three times. For best results you should remove the furniture and do the entire room rather than trying to clean around the furniture.
If you have a carpet that is not very soiled and does not receive much traffic, you may try an aerosol foam spray cleaner. Do make sure to test an area prior to using for colorfastness by spraying a small and out of the way area, letting it set as required and rubbing with a white towel. If you find that no color bled onto the towel, you should be safe to do the rest of your carpet.
If you are using a rented carpet cleaning machine or a home steam cleaner your carpet should not be very heavily soiled. Make sure to do follow the instructions with the machine and do a colorfastness test prior to cleaning the entire carpet. Make sure not to over wet the carpet with these machines because it could soak through the padding and into the sub flooring below.
If you are dealing with heavily soiled or heavily trafficked carpet, your best option will be having them professionally cleaned. You should get two or three estimates and make sure to ask them about moving and getting under furniture. I have found in my experiences that I get the best results with independent carpet cleaners as opposed to large chains. The independents tend to be run and operated by individuals that have years of carpet cleaning experience while the chains employ part time cleaners on a short term basis that may not be fully trained.
A professional cleaning will also last longer than one done on your own. The chemicals used by professionals and the powerful suction they have to extract the cleaning solution leaves far less residue from the solutions and that residue will attract dirt quicker.
A good carpet cleaning will make a whole room look cleaner and smell fresher. When a carpet is clean it will smell fresh and feel soft to the touch.
Now we will go over some carpet stain removal methods that have been offered by homeowners for various types of stains.
· Candle Wax Stains – Cover the area with either a brown paper bag or an old white cloth. Then run an iron over the cloth that is warm enough to melt the wax. As the wax melts it will be absorbed into the cloth or bag so you will need to reposition it occasionally to a dry area until all the wax comes up.
· To Remove Gum – The best way for removing gum is to freeze it by placing an ice cube on it or by spraying it with a can of compressed air (the kind used to clean computer keyboards would work) and after the gum is frozen remove it from the carpet.
· Carpet Indentations – Indentations caused when moving around furniture can be treated with an ice cube. Just run the ice cube over it and it will pop right up.
· Oil or Tar – If you have one of these stains, try to clean it with rubbing alcohol.
· Red Wine – Immediately pour a little white wine on the spot which will help neutralize the red color. Then take a white towel and blot up the spot. Next place a damp towel over the area and step on it a couple time to apply pressure. Now do the same thing with a dry towel to absorb the moisture and repeat until reasonably dry. Or you can try dissolving one tsp of Oxi-Clean in warm water and squirt it on the spot. The stain will turn blue so blot up the moisture and repeat if necessary.
· Windex – it is said that Windex will remove almost any stain, even red Kool-aid on carpet. Just spray it on and blot it up.
· Other stain removers – Denture tablets dissolved in water, Isopropyl alcohol, 3 to 1 mixture of vinegar and water, Dow bathroom cleaner scrubbing bubbles, Huggies baby wipes,
· Remove urine smell – To remove urine smell use a half and half mixture of white vinegar and water.
I have not personally tried all these methods for removing stains. I have had many people recommend them and they all believed in the methods, but you should always use with a little bit of caution.
