Spot Removal Tips

Whether they are big or small, food and beverage stains are part of everybody's life. Don't  be stuck with them forever. Read through our tips and suggestions below to learn how best to rid your carpet of the worst stains.

Avoid The LOW PRICE Scam.

You probably have seen the ads before, they read:
$9.95 per room, or $49.00 whole house cleaned!
Such carpet cleaning ads are seen everyday by consumers, but, too often unsuspecting consumers who are lured by specials find themselves victims of bait-and-switch advertising. They realize, often too late, that these advertised specials have conditions, either written in small print or not stated at all. They are often told that "preconditioning" costs extra or that the carpet is too soiled for normal cleaning at the advertised low price.

Bait-and-switch operators are prevalent in many industries, and the carpet cleaning industry is no exception. This does not mean though, that all carpet cleaners are rip-off artists. But how do you know who is, and who is not? The professional carpet cleaning industry has cited these scam activities as a major industry concern, and is taking action to help eliminate unprofessional workmanship and unethical tactics. A leader in the campaign is the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), which certifies cleaners who meet prescribed levels of technical proficiency and pledge to operate by a "Code of Ethics". To help educate consumers so they will not become victims of fraudulent practices within the cleaning industry, the IICRC has released a list of guidelines to consider when selecting a carpet cleaner.

Keeping your Carpet clean.

By keeping your carpet well maintained and clean you can make a difference.
You can extend the carpets life, make sure your carpet vendor honor your carpet warranty, prevent damage to the carpet fibers and  prevent permanent stains and spots.
Warranty.

Copies of specific warranties on your carpet purchase are available for you upon request. Stain resist warranties can vary from 5 to 20 years. ALL STAIN RESIST WARRANTIES REQUIRE REGULAR CLEANING AND IMMEDIATE SPOT REMOVAL.
Vacuuming.
Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum. Vacuuming removes the sharp soil that can cut and slice the fiber causing premature wear. Much of this soil is not visible to the eye. Vacuum before the carpet looks soiled. Remove any loose particles such as loose food, leaves, pieces of crayon, bugs, etc. as these items can cause a spot on the carpet.
Entrance Mats.
Using mats both on the inside and outside of your home can keep most ( up to 75%) OF THE DUST AND GRIME OFF YOUR CARPETS AND RUGS.

Professional cleaning as a general rule, professional cleaning by a professional, certified firm, should take place about once per year.MANY STAIN RESIST WARRANTIES REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL CLEANING EVERY 6 to 24 MONTHS. (Depending on your traffic level.) Have your carpeting cleaned by a professional at least every 12 months. If you have extremely heavy traffic areas, clean more often. Rule of thumb: If there is any visible soil whatsoever on the carpet, it is time to be cleaned. For extremely heavy traffic areas, cleaning may be required more often. Proper professional cleaning will not leave a sticky residue behind and can be done as many times per year as needed.
Protective Coatings
Residential carpets are treated with stain resist properties and soil resistors. The soil resistor part is known as Dupont Teflon or 3M Scotchguard. After a period of 2 to 3 years, much of the soil-resistor wears off, depending on traffic. At that point you should consider having a professional carpet cleaner re-apply the treatment after professional cleaning. The soil resistor will help the soil slide off of the carpet easier when vacuuming, spots will be easier to remove, and professional cleaning will be more effective the next time it is cleaned.

Filtration Soiling

If you have a light colored carpet, you may have experienced dark lines around the baseboards, under doors and especially near the HVAC return. This soiling comes from air passing through the carpet as the air is attempting to go through the edge of the carpet pile, microscopic particles of soil are deposited there (hence the term air filtration soiling). This occurs over a significant period of time and is not noticed until a build up has occurred.

This type of soiling is difficult to remove because the soil particles are so fine that they penetrate deep into the carpet pile, sometimes into the backing of the carpet. Can it be removed? Sometimes. With special products, time and effort, reasonable results can be achieved, although not in all cases.

To help prevent air filtration soiling in the future, vacuum the edges of the carpeting on a regular basis, then wipe with a damp, white terry towel. Be careful around the tack strip under the edge of the carpeting, you could nick your fingers.

Pet Urine Stains.

We all know  to well that pet urine can cause permanent damage to your floors and fabrics. More importantly, it also create an unhealthy indoor environment. When urine is first deposited onto a floor or fabric, it has a pH of about 5 or 6, which is on the acid side of the pH Scale. It is easier to remove right then when it is fresh. Once it dries it turns “alkaline” or to a high pH between 10 to 12 on the scale and becomes more difficult to remove. The warm acid state of the urine offers a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, which begin to flourish almost immediately. In this original acid state the urine begins to oxidize and react with the carpet to create a color change, which will become permanent if the urine is not removed immediately. Some of this color change can be attributed to the strong ammonia that forms as the urine passes through bacterial and chemical change. If left for days or weeks, depending on the fabric or floor type, it will change the dye structure, therefore causing permanent staining. Even if the soluble deposits are removed, the damage to the dye structure may already be done.

There are two sources of odors associated with urine. The first comes from bacteria that grow abundantly in dark warm places with a never-ending food source. A pet can feed the bacteria daily! This bacteria growth and breakdown of the urine creates amino acids. These complex organic compounds will often work deep into the fibers to a point of becoming part of the fiber. This can present a challenging situation. The waste materials and gases from the decomposing urine create an unpleasant odor. When dried urine is remoistened, it gives off an ammonia gas. If smelled once it is seldom forgotten.

The second source of odor is chemical odor (ammonia smell) that is present even when the bacteria have been killed. This explains the reason that more than sanitizing is necessary to neutralize odors from urine. Urine also presents additional odor problems when the relative humidity is high. The salts and crystals that are left behind as the urine dries are hydrophilic and draw water to them. Dried urine is often easy to smell in the humid months because the salts attract the moisture, the moisture evaporates putting out a greater proportion of odorous ammonia gas. You must get rid of the urine salts in and under the carpet to get rid of the odor. That’s why improperly cleaning existing urine spots WILL NOT remove any associated odor. In fact, it could INCREASE the odor and bacteria in the air space for a temporary or prolonged period of time.
DO NOT USE OVER THE COUNTER, GENERAL SPOTTERS OR EXTRACTION DETERGENT. USE ONLY THOSE PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED BY A CLEANING PROFESSIONAL.