Accidents happen.

If you have carpets or rugs you will no doubt have had to do some spot cleaning. But do you really know how to spot clean your homes carpet?. It sounds simple but there are some things that you need to know in order to successfully spot clean.

Nobody can predict when a glass of wine, a cup of tea, plate of food or many other things will accidentally end up on your carpets or upholstery. Accidents do happen, and when they do the best defence is to be prepared and know how to properly treat the spill for the best results.

The first thing you need to be aware of is that there is a difference between a spot and a stain. Spots on the carpet are generally a contaminant or foreign substance that can usually be removed completely by using sound spotting techniques. Stains are almost without exception chemicals that have altered or destroyed the carpet dyes, face yarn or backing material.

You need to be patient! Spot removal can be a simple straightforward chore, or a incredibly complex and time consuming. Complete removal of the spill may require repeating the same step several times. Various factors such as the substance of a stain, how long it has been in the carpet, the fibre type and dyes in the substance or carpet will affect your success in removing the stain.

Two important things to remember, act quickly and always blot, just blot, blot, blot, and blot. Soak up as much as you can with a white towel or cloth.

Many stains can be removed quite simply when they are fresh. Do not rush into rubbing or scrubbing with what ever is under the kitchen sink. Scrubbing will bust and fuzz the fibres and cause permanent damage. The spill can be removed, the damage cannot.

Work from the outside of the spill inwards, this will stop the spill spreading. Keep alternating between spraying water mixed with white vinegar onto the spill and blotting gently with a fresh piece of towel each as not to transfer the dye back into the carpet.

If in doubt, just give us a call.

Carpet cleaning in Fleet, stain removal tips

Carpet cleaning is the easiest part of my job.  Unlike rugs and fine fabrics, carpets are “made to be cleaned”.

As a carpet cleaner in Fleet and Camberley, I am often asked about dealing with spots and spills and how to approach them.

There should be no need for you to call out a carpet cleaner for simple everyday accidental spills if you act quickly. Sometimes blotting is all you need to do, it really can be that easy. Some stains will need more patience than others and as long as you can remove a portion of the stain with each application of cleaning solution just keep repeating until no more transfers from the carpet to your absorbent material.

You can avoid those horrible shop bought spotters and can use a variety of solutions in the kitchen cupboard. Vinegar really is great for cleaning and deodorising, detergent you use for washing woollens, baking soda, corn flour and even hairspray will remove stains. If you are a client of mine you will have a bottle of safe to use spotter. Having said that always make sure you test anything in an inconspicuous area first, under a sofa that’s never going to moved or inside a closet and do not over saturate the stain.

 Ketchup Stain Removal From Carpet

•  Gently scrape off the excess Ketchup from the carpet.
•  Mix up your cleaning solution of detergent, one tablespoon to two cups of water. Spray onto the towel and place over the stain.
• After a few gentle taps with the back of the spoon, start blotting the stain. The stain should start lifting into the towel.
•  If stain is remaining, repeat the blotting with a fresh part of the towel.
•  Now the stain is removed, mist the area with one part vinegar and four parts water. Just blot with a fresh towel.
•  Dry the carpet by placing a terry towel or paper kitchen towels over the damp spot. Put a plastic bag on top this towel and then a heavy weight like a book. Leave this in place for a couple of hours or overnight and any moisture will lift up into the towel and the stained area should be clean.

For more stain removal tips, refer to our blog. http:/www.elbowcarpetcare.co.uk/blog/ or call us to find out about our stain spotter.

Stain remover from Elbow

How you can remove candle wax

I sometimes get calls to remove candle wax spills, but if your confident enough to have a go yourself here a quick guide. Good luck.

This all you require.

• Brown paper bag and an iron
• Break off any large pieces before applying heat
• Cut paper bag larger than the wax spill and place on top
• With iron on high setting, run the iron over the bag with short strokes.
• As the wax melts into paper rotate the bag to continue absorbing wax.
• Continue until no more wax melts into bag.

Wine and Silk

Silk and alcohol this week, not the best combination to hear on the phone but I have some very nice solutions and a lot of experience. The first job was upholstery cleaning to a silk cushion that had a number of red wine spots on it. Luckily the client left well alone. Spills I can do, damage I cannot. So if you spill anything on an expensive item or any item for that matter just blot, leave alone and give me a call, I will come and give it the Elbow.

Red wine on silk

The second job was carpet cleaning where there were some spills onto a wool carpet with silk inlays. Well, just where you would expect a spill to be. Spots out, happy clients and drinks are round their friends next time. I will wait for the call.

Spot cleaning red wine

Pet stains on carpets

Pet stains on carpets.

Pets have accidents, and if you find a fresh deposit it needs to be removed as soon as possible. I know how important this is, not because I am a carpet cleaner but because we used to have a Great Dane and when they deposit they really do deposit.

Stains that are left or unnoticed can dye the carpet by the uric acid crystallizing. As the urine dries out it will encourage bacterial growth which is where the smell emulates.

If the area is still wet you need to absorb as much of the urine as possible, by following these recommended steps.  If you are able to lift the carpet, place a towel beneath the affected area and lay the carpet back down. Pour some water down to rinse the area to dilute the stain. Refrain from using hot water as this can make the colours bleed in the carpet or set the stain.

Fold a towel in half, place it over the stain and step onto it, give a gentle squish with the ball of your foot. Do this all over the area until you have soaked up as much as possible. You may need to repeat this with several times with fresh towelling until no more can be absorbed up.

The next step is to mix equal parts of white vinegar and cool water, you will not need a whole lot, just enough to drizzle over the area. Let it soak into the patch and repeat the blotting process again. Leave a clean towel on the patch with a bit of weight on top for a few hours and there should be no more lingering odour remaining.

Red wine Spill, Whoops a daisy.

Whoops a daisy, there goes another glass of red wine down onto your lovely new light coloured carpet. Okay do not panic, you can always get more red wine. Why never the kitchen floor or an old carpet?. Always new and always white carpet.

Everyone has an old wives tale on how to deal with this problem, but old wives tales may cause you more damage.

Two important things to remember, act quickly and always blot, just blot, blot, blot, and blot. Soak up as much as you can with a white towel or cloth.

Many stains can be removed quite simply when they are fresh. Do not rush into rubbing or scrubbing with what ever is under the kitchen sink. Scrubbing will bust and fuzz the fibres and cause permanent damage. The spill can be removed, the damage cannot.

Add water to the spill, this will dilute the red colour. If you can add white vinegar to the water this would be good as the vinegar neutralizes the red pigments. (Vinegar and water share some chemistry with white wine.) The exception to this advise would be on natural carpets like Coir or Sisal.

Work from the outside of the spill inwards, this will stop the spill spreading. Keep alternating between spraying water onto the spill and blotting gently with a fresh piece of towel each as not to transfer the dye back into the carpet. If you keep repeating this it will work.

When no more wine transfers to the cloth, place a clean towel on top and weigh it down with some books. Keep replacing the towel when it gets damp with a dry piece. Any liquid left in the carpet will wick up and should be gone.

Myths on fresh red wine removal.

Everyone has advice on removing a fresh red wine stain, look at the internet and you will see the same removal methods time and time again. The most common  advice you will read is white wine, salt, club soda and hydrogen peroxide. I am not saying that they do not work, they do sometimes, but they come with a risk. Just be careful not all carpets are the same. When I am carpet cleaning in Fleet and Church Crookham I see a lot of well intentioned mistakes.

White Wine

This is the most common one, why would anyone waste a good bottle of white wine by deliberately pouring it into the carpet?. Apart from the fact that all you are doing is making a different coloured stain you are making a bigger one. It is said that the white counter acts the red, yes it does but the sugars and other non volatile organics in the white caramelize and darken the stain making it harder to remove.

Salt

This works as well, but will it work on your carpet?. It is suggested that you sprinkle salt, baking powder or talcum powder onto the spill and vacuum up later. Salt poured onto a liquid spills can bleach or set the stain and change the colour of the dyes in your carpet permanently.

Club Soda

Okay you can try this one, but only the unflavoured type. But why not just use water?. What I like about the advice given on carbonated soda water is that the bubbles lift the stain off the fibres easier, there is no scientific evidence to support this.

Hydrogen Peroxide

This is promoted as the king of red wine removers. Peroxide is a bleach and so you are not removing the stain, just bleaching it. Wool carpets can fuzz and degrade when subjected to harsh chemical treatments. Professional textile pros do use peroxide, but with caution and as a last resort. It is not a short cut to stain removal.

Stain Protection is it worth it.

New carpets can be expensive and there is a certainty that they will get dirty and soil, there will be the occasional accident.

Dirt and soiling can be dealt with, but it is the spots and spills your carpet needs to stand up against. Stain protection can help but it is not a magic treatment that will make your carpets immune to staining. Stain protection makes it impossible for stains to permanently stay in the carpet and dust and soils do remove easier when vacuuming. Having said that it is still subject to how you look after the carpet. If a coffee, red wine or a soft drink is spilled onto a protected carpet and left to dry it will seep through the protection and stain the fibres eventually.

The idea of stain protection is having an invisible barrier reducing the dirt and stains embedding into the carpet fibres, with  untreated carpets this happens much more quickly. Every step onto the carpet grounds more and more dirt deeper into the fibres. With routine maintenance a protected carpet will last longer than an unprotected one.

How long should a carpet last?, impossible to tell, it depends on a number of things. The carpet quality, maintenance  and foot traffic. If a carpet has regular periodic cleaning, is regularly vacuumed and does have protection it will last many years in a good condition, far longer than an unprotected one. Please bear in mind that protection does diminish with time, this is due to normal wear and tear. So when you have your carpets cleaned you should consider a top up.

Spots and Spills

Spots and spills

If you have carpets or rugs you will no doubt have had to do some spot cleaning. But do you really know how to spot clean your homes carpet?. It sounds simple but there are some things that you need to know in order to successfully spot clean.

Nobody can predict when a glass of wine, a cup of tea, plate of food or many other things will accidentally end up on your carpets or upholstery. Accidents do happen, and when they do the best defence is to be prepared and know how to properly treat the spill for the best results.

The first thing you need to be aware of is that there is a difference between a spot and a stain. Spots on the carpet are generally a contaminant or foreign substance that can usually be removed completely by using sound spotting techniques. Stains are almost without exception chemicals that have altered or destroyed the carpet dyes, face yarn or backing material.

You need to be patient! Spot removal can be a simple straightforward chore, or a incredibly complex and time consuming. Complete removal of the spill may require repeating the same step several times. Various factors such as the substance of a stain, how long it has been in the carpet, the fibre type and dyes in the substance or carpet will affect your success in removing the stain.

A common problem of spotting is the use of products which leave excessive foam or residue that remain in the carpet. This residue then acts as a magnet to dirt and airborne soils which cause the spot to reappear more obviously than before the spotting. This would be the same as washing your hair but failing to rinse out the shampoo. Imagine how your hair may look or feel without proper rinsing, it would appear oily and matted, the same is true for your carpets. Many of the spot removers readily available to consumers only complicate spot removal. We frequently see clients try to remove spots on their own and end up permanently damaging their carpet. Time after time the carpet dye is removed and leaves a white bleached out spot in their carpets.

Pre-test  every  spot cleaning solution in an inconspicuous area to be certain the solution will not damage the fibre or the dye. After applying several drops to the test area hold a white cloth on the wet area for 10 seconds. Allow the area to dry, then examine the cloth for any colour transfer or damage to the carpet before proceeding. If there is a colour change additional cleaning should be selected.

First remove any excess liquid spills or solids. Blot do not rub or scrub. Rubbing and scrubbing tends to be our first reaction but it wrong for two reasons. First it spreads the spot,  second, aggressive agitation can permanently distort the fibres. Work from the outer edge of the spot inwards to avoid spreading the spot. Avoid pouring cleaning solutions directly onto the carpet as this causes penetration into the carpet backing.

Spray the cleaning solution onto a terry towel or absorbent paper like kitchen roll, apply light pressure and gently agitate for a short while. This to lubricate the stain and help release it from the fibres. Gently agitate the spot by alternately moistening and blotting. Keep repeating until there is no more transfer.

Final Rinse Procedure.

Mix one part of white vinegar and four parts of water, pour this into a spray bottle and mist over the stained area. Blot the dampened area to remove the excess moisture. Finally lay  a terry towel or 6 to 8 sheets of kitchen roll onto the area and place a weight on top. Leave this on top for as long as possible to allow the moisture to wick up into the towel.

Free “Carpet Spotter”

Many over the counter spotters sold in supermarkets can do damage by leaving residue in you carpet. Our effective spot and stain remover is non resoiling, leaves no sticky residues and will not bleach. This product will allow you to clean up those little spot and spills in between professional cleaning. When you become an Elbow Carpet Care client we will give you a bottle free, it is one of our ways to say thank you because we really do appreciate your business.