Carpet Cleaning Dilemma: Is It A Spot Or Is It A Stain?
Sometimes it is easy to forget that the carpet in your home is a textile much like a white T-shirt. Both need to be taking care of to stay looking nice and fresh. Spill a glass of red punch and ice cream on a white T-shirt and even if you immediately throw it in the washing machine, when it comes out, it will be clean, with the “spot” of all the ice cream removed, but it will still be “stained” red from the punch.
A “spot” usually adds substance or texture of fibers making them sticky, crusty, slick, greasy or stiff. Spots are more easily removed with general spot cleaning techniques and chemicals.
Stains are a “horse of a different color.” Stains add color to fibers and sometimes may be “set” by cleaning chemicals or heat. Red wine, coffee, ink, mustard, vomit, furniture stain, copier toner and certain medicines all cause stains that even professional carpet cleaners can have trouble removing. These coloring materials contain dyes or pigments that are transferred to fibers when contact is made. Dyes are typically soluble coloring materials and pigments are insoluble. In other words dyes are like watercolors and pigments are like oil-based paint. Dyes are transparent, you can see thru them, pigments you can’t. With either, once they become fixed on the carpet fibers, they are no longer affected by the medium in which they were suspended (usually water). Similarly, when dry deposits of substances, such as furniture stain, carbon, graphite or copier toner become wet, they may be infinitely more difficult to remove.
Carpet Protector can help strengthen and re-new the invisible barrier that your carpet was purchased with. This barrier will help give you a “window of opportunity” to clean up and remove the material spilled on the carpet. However it is impossible to “bullet-proof” your carpets from all permanent stains. Your care to not spill and abuse your carpet is the best carpet protector available.
Some Helpful Hints To Maintain Your Carpets
Carpet Cleaning – Some Helpful Hints To Maintain Your Carpets
Like everything else in this world, carpet durability has improved over the years. Carpet fiber composition has improved every year, giving consumers added value for their investment. New improvements will continue to be made, giving carpet owners more choices and improved performance at competitive pricing. On the other hand, “the more things change, the more they stay the same” is also still true. Here are some basic things that you can do to keep your carpets looking their best for as long as possible.
1. Vacuum at least every other day. This is the #1 thing you can do to keep your carpets looking good.
2. Vacuum the edges at least once a week. This is a little different than the regular vacuuming. Using your edge or crevice tool will help remove dust and dirt not cleaned with the normal vacuuming job. This will help the dark lines around the edges or the walls, (soil filtration lines) from appearing so quickly.
3. Clean your carpets at least once a year. If you have a lot of traffic in your house, you might need to
clean your carpets more often. Dirt particles will damage your carpet fibers, and once damaged cleaning will remove the dirt, but the damage will remain, making your carpets look darker and worn even when clean.
4. Use a reputable carpet cleaning service that does not damage your carpet by over-wetting them. Too much water on your carpets can cause mildew and mold to start forming in the pad underneath your carpet. Shrinkage and stretching can also occur, and wood floors under the carpet and pad can sometimes warp from too much moisture.
5. Do not use a carpet cleaning service that uses soaps on your carpet. When cleaning solutions contain soap, your carpet will dry with a slight stickiness in it. It might look nice when first done, but 3 weeks later, it looks dark, dingy, and spotted.
6. Apply carpet protector when cleaning your carpet. Carpet protector will renew and refresh the coating that was originally on your carpet. Spot and spills will clean up easier and better when the carpet fibers are protected.
Like everything else in this world, carpet durability has improved over the years. Carpet fiber composition has improved every year, giving consumers added value for their investment. New improvements will continue to be made, giving carpet owners more choices and improved performance at competitive pricing. On the other hand, “the more things change, the more they stay the same” is also still true. Here are some basic things that you can do to keep your carpets looking their best for as long as possible.
1. Vacuum at least every other day. This is the #1 thing you can do to keep your carpets looking good.
2. Vacuum the edges at least once a week. This is a little different than the regular vacuuming. Using your edge or crevice tool will help remove dust and dirt not cleaned with the normal vacuuming job. This will help the dark lines around the edges or the walls, (soil filtration lines) from appearing so quickly.
3. Clean your carpets at least once a year. If you have a lot of traffic in your house, you might need to
clean your carpets more often. Dirt particles will damage your carpet fibers, and once damaged cleaning will remove the dirt, but the damage will remain, making your carpets look darker and worn even when clean.
4. Use a reputable carpet cleaning service that does not damage your carpet by over-wetting them. Too much water on your carpets can cause mildew and mold to start forming in the pad underneath your carpet. Shrinkage and stretching can also occur, and wood floors under the carpet and pad can sometimes warp from too much moisture.
5. Do not use a carpet cleaning service that uses soaps on your carpet. When cleaning solutions contain soap, your carpet will dry with a slight stickiness in it. It might look nice when first done, but 3 weeks later, it looks dark, dingy, and spotted.
6. Apply carpet protector when cleaning your carpet. Carpet protector will renew and refresh the coating that was originally on your carpet. Spot and spills will clean up easier and better when the carpet fibers are protected.
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