Have you bought a new carpet for your home? Are you concerned that your investment may be shortlived due to stains and damage caused by day-to-day life? Nothing can ruin a luxurious carpet more than a stain, especially if it is in a prominent location. Whilst it’s very frustrating at the time, there are many possible kinds of stains that you can deal with and get out quickly. Whether there’s a previous stain you need to fix or being prepared for a future situation, many resolutions are available to ensure that carpet stains are a thing of the past in your household.
Here at QC Flooring, our team have provided carpets to clients for several years; during this time, we have seen carpets ruined simply because homeowners do not know how to take care of their carpet. We want to help you understand how to look after your investment.
Carpet is an expensive investment, and you want to ensure it lasts as long as possible. The lifespan of your carpet depends on many things: the quality of the carpet, how well you take care of it, and whether or not you have pets or children in the home. You need to try your best to keep your carpet in good condition; continue reading our latest blog post to find out more, or if you have further questions and queries, be sure to reach out to our team today.
Spot Cleaning; The Basics
Have you ever heard of the term ‘spot cleaning’? This is a term used across cleaning industries and refers to only specific areas that need to be cleaned; regardless of whether your carpet is brand new or old, there are always some rules to follow with spot cleaning to ensure you do it properly.
One main point we want to highlight does not to scrub a stain. By scrubbing a stain, you will likely embed it deeper into the carpet fibres, in the long run, making it much harder to remove. The best way we can recommend carrying out a spot clean is by using a cloth to blot out the stain; this method is carried out by simply pressing and removing the liquid or mark with a damp cloth.
Another thing to consider when spot cleaning is we recommend using a white cloth; you do not want dyes to transfer from the cloth you are using to clean your carpet. When you are spot cleaning, we recommend working from the outside of the stain to the middle; if you work inside out, you are at a higher risk of dragging the stain across the carpet.
Spot cleaning is a great way to keep on top of minor stains that have just appeared, it is one of the best ways to keep your carpet in good condition, but this process does only work for stains that are new or just happened.
Steps To Remove Carpet Stains
Noticing stains on your carpet can be incredibly frustrating; having worked in the carpet industry for several years, we have come across a handful of ways to help clean your carpet; these are the steps you should try and follow to remove a stain;
- Always blot the stain, do not scrub.
- Dry the liquid or spill from the outside in.
- Use clean, hot water. Not boiling or cold.
- Blot, wash, repeat.
- Do not panic if it doesn’t lift immediately.
Top Tip: If you can try and carry out the stain removal on a small section of the stain before tackling the whole thing, by doing so, you can find out if the process will discolour your carpet in any way.
Water vs Non-Water Stains
When it comes to stains, they will be made by either a water-based or non-water-based product, with the water-based stains and spills being the easier of the two to clean up; this is because they respond well to the blotting process we have discussed above and also to a range of liquid cleaners.
There are two types of carpet stains: water-based and non-water-based. Water-based stains are usually easier to remove as they respond well to liquid cleaners. Non-water-based stains, on the other hand, can be more challenging to clean as they require a different approach.
Water-based stains are everyday things such as washable ink that children play with, berries, mud, dirt and other products such as drinks that are water-based. When we talk about non-soluble stains, it is items such as wine, coffee, blood, any mess made by pets and of course, chocolate.
It is much easier to remove a stain when you know exactly what it is; if you do know, you can determine whether it is a water-based or non-water-based stain and, from there, decide how to clean it. But should you have moved into a new home that already has a stained carpet, we would recommend you take the time to try a couple of cleaning methods on a very small area.
Tips For Using a Solvent
When cleaning stains with diluters, always work from outside the stain towards its middle; you do not want to work from the inside out as there is always the chance you can make the stain bigger. This averts you from spreading the stain and doing more and more damage to the carpet or rug.
The procedure should involve applying the solvent, blotting it with a cloth, rinsing, eliminating the solvent and repeating the procedure until the stain has completely vanished. Always make sure that you don’t leave any remains behind, and let the carpet dry as soon as you are done cleaning.
If the stain has gone more profound in the carpet fibres, dry it rapidly with a fan or hair dryer to prevent any leftover stain from working its way up to the surface of your carpet.
How To Remove Some Common Carpet Stains
Coffee or tea stain
Getting that coffee or tea stain out of the carpet may seem like a mission; however, if you pour a bottlecap of beer onto the carpet or rug and rub the beer lightly in circular motions with a cloth into the carpet and the stain should disappear.
Don’t worry; if the stain doesn’t go straight away, just repeat the process. It may just be it’s sunken a bit deeper into the material. You can combine white vinegar and water in equal parts with coffee and tea stains and blot the stain.
Wine
Spilt red wine on your light-coloured carpet can be every homeowner’s worst nightmare; while the red wine is still wet, pour some white wine on it. This will make the colour a lot less vibrant; then clean with a sponge and cold water, sprinkle the area with table salt, wait about 10 minutes, and vacuum up the mess.
Juice stains
Your little one spilt juice on the carpet – no worries, remove the stain with no elbow grease, just a little shaving cream. Blot the stain with a wet sponge, squirt some shaving cream onto the cloth and blot until the stain is gradually coming out, then wipe clean with a damp sponge.
Do You Have Home Cleaning Remedies?
Home cleaning remedies have been passed down through families for generations; whether it is vinegar, salt, or bicarbonate of soda, they all have different uses. Try these different proven formulas for homemade carpet stain removers:
Light carpet stain? 2 tablespoons of salt dissolved in ½ cup white vinegar. Let the solution dry, then vacuum, and the stain should be cleaned without effort.
Add two tablespoons of borax to the mixture for much larger stains and use it in the same way as the above method.
For the thorny ground in dirt and stains, make a paste of 1 tablespoon vinegar with one tablespoon corn starch and rub it into the stain using a dry cloth; let the paste set in for two days and then vacuum.
Been decorating? Spilt paint? Use 1 ½ teaspoon of vinegar, 1 ½ teaspoon of fabric conditioner and 2 cups of water to sponge the paint before it sets; rinse away with cold water.
You Can Use Baking Soda
Need to clean up vomit or urine? Look no further than your kitchen cupboards. Baking soda will remove the stain effortlessly. Wipe up what you can with tissue, pour baking soda over the affected area and pat with a paper towel.
Let the baking soda dry entirely before vacuuming up the residue. Baking soda will clean, sanitise and deodorise the messy stains. Baking soda can also eliminate grease stains when combined with equal parts of salt. Baking soda is also beneficial for cleaning your oven glass!
Have You Considered Cleaning Your Entire Carpet?
Even though your carpet might look spotless, it may be filthy because the fibre on your carpet can trap dirt and grim inside, getting stuck and clogged, making your carpet dirty without you realising it. Our team would recommend you have your carpet cleaned at least once a year, at the absolute minimum.
You can hire a professional team to come and deep clean your carpet for you, or you can hire a carpet cleaner from a handful of supermarket chains. But if you choose to deep clean your carpet yourself, we would keep a handful of things in mind to ensure you do it properly and efficiently.
The carpet cleaning machine you choose needs to be powerful enough to dry the floor quickly once you have wet and cleaned the floor. This is because if you don’t, the floor can stay wet for too long, and it will end up causing damage to the underfloor.
One of the best ways to help the drying process is to use fans or dehumidifiers; this will help ensure your carpet dries out quickly and is a powerful machine.
With the carpet machine, make sure the PH level of the cleaning materials you use is suitable for carpets and remove every last bit of cleaning product before you put the carpet machine away.
Finally, you should always ensure you understand the warranty attached to the carpet machine you use and any products you use. Stain-resistant carpets need to be cleaned using specific products; make sure you double-check.
Get In Touch With QC Flooring Today For More Top Tips And Tricks
Stubborn stains on your carpet can be frustrating and challenging to remove. However, with the right tools and knowledge, you can get those pesky spots out and have your carpets looking new again in no time.
QC Flooring is here to help guide you through the process of removing stubborn stains from your carpets. We provide various services that suit your needs, so contact us today for a free consultation!
