(Blueberry Smoothie on Cream Colored Rug: Bad News)
I am a professional carpet and rug cleaner. Every day, my customers ask me about the best way to clean spots out of their carpet, and naturally I say, “Call a professional. I recommend me.” I have found that a lot of customers do more damage than good when they try to do their own carpet spotting and cleaning because they get the “spot” out, but leave a lot of residue from the spotter behind, which attracts more soil and sometimes bleaches the fibers. Spotters need to be rinsed and extracted.
That being said, the other day I got a text from my sister, Ann, who lives in Georgia. The text, with attached picture, said: “Blueberry Smoothie on cream colored rug. Blotted with cold water. What next?” I live in Madison, and try as I might, I couldn’t figure out a way to turn carpet spotting in GA into a profitable job, so I went ahead and gave her my best advice. I replied “Try a woolite/water solution on it and use a shop-vac (wet/dry vac) to suck it up (extraction), then rinse with water only, and then suck that up again with the shop-vac (extraction). Or, you could call a pro to come take care of it for you.” I didn’t really think that she would be able to get the stain out, because a lot of soft drinks contain dyes that can cause permanent damage to a rug, but that was the best advice I had at the time.
She texted back, “Wet-vac worked wonders! You are a lifesaver! Thanks and have a great week!” I was thrilled that I was able to help her out. I think the reason that it was so effective is because she addressed the spot very soon after it happened, and the spot didn’t have time to oxidize and become a permanent stain. When extracting with a shop vac, use the smallest head/attachment because this will create the most concentrated vacuum and enable you to extract efficiently. If you have kids or pets, do yourself a favor and keep that shop vac handy and extract those spills and leaks as soon as they occur. You can make a good carpet spotter for synthetic carpets with a quart of water, ½ teaspoon of clear dishwashing liquid, and a few drops of ammonia (but NEVER use ammonia or bleach, or any alkaline cleaners on wool rugs). Always test a small, inconspicuous area (e.g. under the sofa) to make sure that your carpet is color fast, which means that the dye is stable and the carpet will not bleed. If the rug us wool, don’t mess around with it. Scoop up whatever was dropped, or spilled on the rug, blot the rest of the stain with a little water, and then call a pro.
My customers also always ask me “How often should I get my carpets cleaned? Does cleaning carpets make them wear out prematurely? “ The largest carpet manufacturers, Shaw and Mohawk, both recommend professional, truck-mounted steam cleaning every 12-18 months. This will extend the life of your carpet. Professional cleaning will extract the sand, pollen, dust-mites, etc. that your vacuum cleaner cannot pull out. These pollutants act as abrasives in your carpet and cut into the fibers every time you walk across the carpet, causing premature wear patterns. The Shaw and Mohawk websites have a lot of other good advice on carpet spotting, cleaning, and maintenance, and the links are http://www.mohawkflooring.com/care-maintenance/carpet-care.aspx, and http://shawfloors.com/tips-trends/luxurious-carpet/carpet-care/carpet-cleaning.
Please let me know if you have any questions about anything. Email me at christhecleaner@gmail.com, or or call us at 203-245-4427.