Carpet Cleaning: Spot Removal Guide©
Author: Vartan Khazadian, owner of CleenCarpet®
04/19/2007
You’ve just had your most recent carpet cleaning last month and your carpets looked great. That is, until this past weekend’s Super Bowl party-after your husband’s best friend spilled what looked like a half gallon of tomato salsa at the entrance to the great room. What do you do?• Avoid panic, because most carpet cleaning companies offer spot removal services separate from regularly scheduled carpet cleaning appointments. You may have to wait a day or two, in which case you should place something over the stain so as you don’t accidentally walk on it. Try using aluminum foil instead of a cloth, to avoid transferring the liquid from the carpet to the cloth.
Call your carpet cleaning professional immediately to schedule a spot removal visit.
• Try to figure out exactly what the stain is. Vomit or blood require different cleaning agents than pet urine. So do your best to investigate the stain.
Make note of the type of stain.
• It is tempting to try to remove the stain yourself from the carpet, but this is advised against. It is common mis-knowledge that you must immediately attempt to try and remove the spill or stain. However, without professional cleaning agents and know how, you will probably only remove 50-75% of the stain. After any type of liquid has touched the stain and/or blotting has occurred, it is too late to call a carpet cleaning professional, because the stain molecules have seeped too far into the fiber and/or broken down into much smaller finite matter, making it nearly impossible to remove all of the stain at this point.
It is best to leave the stain alone, quarantine the area, and wait for the professionals to do the job right.
• This won’t be the last time you or somebody else spills something on the carpet. While well-known stain protectors cannot give 100% protection, especially as they wear down over time, they can make the job of removing tough stains for carpet cleaning professionals much more effective.
Consider a stain protector on your carpeting, to help protect against future stains.
Now that your are fully prepared for the next spill, you can rest easy the next time your kids run through the house trailing a substance that looks like it’s from outer space.