Carpet Spots and Stains

Nothing in your home says you have let your floors go like spots.  They inevitably appear in the most high profile of places, like your living room.  Which is where your guests gravitate to.   As a homeowner, your proficiency in spotting is essential when you have kids and pets.

According to Jason Bailey, President of Bailtek Carpet Cleaning, “One of the first things you will need is an understanding of what constitutes a spot versus a stain. While we may use the words spot and stain interchangeably, there is an important difference between the two.”  A spot is defined as the result of a material adding substance or texture to a fabric or surface.  While a stain is the result of a material adding color without texture to a fabric or surface.

Understanding the difference between a spot and a stain

This is significant because it may be easy to remove a spot from a carpet fiber.  However, stains become part of the structure of the filament due to color absortion. To further complicate stain removal, the dyes found in most common spots and spills are acid dyes.  These are the same type of dyes used to color many commercial carpets. Therefore, spotting agents designed to remove color must be used with care and patience to prevent color loss.

One of the most common mistakes when attempting to clean a spot or stain is not identifying what type of problem it is.  Or not using the correct cleaning agent for treatment.  There are multiple ways to identify a spot or a stain. One way is by appearance. If the appearance is shiny, it could be oil based.  Whereas, if the appearance is dull and crusty, it could be sugar based. Another way to identify the type of mess you have on your hands is to feel the spot or stain while wearing gloves. If you can’t feel any difference in texture compared to the rest of the carpet, there’s a high possibility it’s a material that added color, making it a stain. If it has a texture to it that you can feel, then most likely you are dealing with a spot.

The most common problems for carpet

A common problem is spots that reappear within 24-48 hours  Which is also known as “wicking.” Wicking is the result of soil migrating from within the pile of the carpet through capillary action. Generally, we only remove the spot on the surface of the carpet that we can see.  This means there is more to our problem than typically meets the eye.

Consider a spot on the carpet the size of a baseball that you physically see with your eyes. If we were to pull the carpet up and look at the backing, the spot could be the size of a bowling ball. This is caused by the spill spreading out when it hits the backing of the carpet.  Therefore, creating a much larger spot than we usually see on the surface.

The best way to avoid spots appearing through wicking is to blot or extract the carpet.  Keep it as dry as possible during the spot cleaning process.  Then use air movement to finish the drying. The faster you dry the carpet, the less chance you have of spots wicking back to the surface.  Here are more ways to remove spots on carpet, see Good Housekeeping.

The most effective method for rinsing and removing residue from a spot is through extraction.  Since you’re able to clean the spotted area more thoroughly. Extraction will also reduce the wicking effect.  Because you can recover water, detergent, and soil more effectively. Bailtek’s Truck Mounted Steam Extraction Machines allow for our carpet cleaning professionals to get effective and efficient results cleaning carpet in your home.

Call Bailtek Carpet Cleaning and Water Damage today for more information 269-484-1011.