“This article will show you how to prevent staining, remove stains and overall protect your carpet and increase its life. Follow these professional carpet cleaning secrets and remove stains like a pro!”
Always Blot Stains, Don’t Rub
Always dab stains with a cleaning solution and a clean cloth, paper towel, terry towel or sponge. When you ban or blot a stain it puts a small amount of pressure on the carpet fibre which helps to soak it up. When you rub stains it breakdown the particles and grounds them in the fibre of the carpet, this can lead to a breakdown of these fibres.
Removing Paint
For water-based Paint: first rinse the fabric in warm water and washing detergent while the paint stain is still wet. (Once paint is dry, it will be A LOT harder to be remove). Blot Dry and repeat until removed. For oil-based paint and varnish you can use a very small amount of turpentine. Pretreat, then rinse the fabric with warm water and washing detergent or a bar soap. Blot Dry and repeat until removed.
Freeze Chewing Gum
Chewing gum can be a daunting carpet stain but it’s actually fairly easy to remove if you know how. The best way to remove gum is to freeze it! Head to the freezer and grab some ice cubes and hold them on the chewing gum for 1-2 minutes. Once the gum is frozen solid, use a spoon or blunt knife to lift the gum from the carpet.
Brush Mud & Vacuum
When removing mud, the worst thing you can do is add water unless you have a suitable professional carpet cleaning machine to extract it. For light soling, simply wait for the mud to dry and brush gently. Once all the mud particles are loose from the carpet fibre, run the vacuum over the treated area. For heavier soiling you may need to consult a professional carpet cleaner.
Removing Chocolate
The first thing to do when you stain your carpet with chocolate is scrape away the excess chocolate from the carpet fibres. Once all visible chocolate is removed, soak the area in cool water and detergent powder. If the stain still persists make a white/white vinegar solution by combining one cup of white vinegar with two cups of water. Gently blot the area with the solution until the stain is removed. Once again, rinse the area with cool water and detergent and blot dry.
Apply Heat to Candle Wax
Candle Wax can be a real pain to remove, especially if it’s a really oily, scented candle. Depending on how bad the stain, candle wax can be removed. Place a terry towel or cloth over your iron,then put the iron on top of the wax to warm it up (be careful not to have your iron up to high, the last thing you want to do is burn your carpet). Once the wax has warmed up, scrape the wax with a blunt knife. Once all the excess is removed, lay a paper towel over the surface area and iron on the paper. Repeat until the stain is removed. For tougher candle wax stains a professional carpet cleaner will be required who can safely remove the stain with a solvent based cleaner.
Removing Blood
This one is important and worth a mention as there are 2 important routines you should follow when trying to remove blood from your carpets. For fresh blood stains soak/dilute in cold water and blot dry. Repeat this process until the blood is removed. For dried blood stains use warm water with a product containing enzymes to help breakdown the blood stain and blot dry.
Don’t Use “Miracle” Cleaning Products To Remove Stains
There are lots of products on the market that claim to remove any stain. Admittedly, they do, to an extent. A lot of these “miracle” products do remove the stain but many of them can actually end up bleaching your carpet. Avoid these types of product and use lukewarm water with washing non bio washing detergent, then follow any of the example stain removal tips listed above.
Deep Clean on a Regular Basis
Cleaning your carpet is essential to keeping it looking fresh, new and smelling great. Not only does professional carpet cleaning deep clean your carpets but it helps increase the carpets life span. We use a hot water extraction cleaning method (often mistaken as steam cleaning). Hot water extraction works by using a cleaning solution under pressure injected deep into the carpet via water-jet nozzles. Then the machine extracts the solution along with the dirt and debris in the carpet.
Apply Carpet Protector
A good quality carpet protection helps protect your flooring from stains and spillages and ensures common stains are easier to remove in the future. It also helps prevent dry soil from bonding to the fibres and causing permanent damage to your carpet. We recommend carpet protector if you have a particular area that is exposed to high traffic such as hallways and stairs.