How to clean carpets. Getting stains out of the carpet

How Pilgrim Payne offers total care for carpets

It has happened to us all…………….we have spilled something on our carpets! You can now either call a carpet cleaning company or try to do the job yourself. If the carpet or rug is relatively cheap to replace home treatment may be worth trying, if not the consequences could be expensive. Doing the wrong thing can set a stain, and you may not have a lot of knowledge on how to clean carpets.

So, you are going to try to deal with the matter yourself. The sooner you deal with a staining agent the better. The best and safest way is to carefully scrape up any solid or semi-solid matter, with the blunt side of a dining knife, and dispose of this. Then, gently blot any wet or moist areas with tissue or kitchen paper (always working inwards towards the centre of the stain). Never rub at a stain, as this drives the staining agent into the carpet. Once no more moisture is being recovered into the tissue lightly re-wet, with cold water, the area and then re-blot to absorb out some of the the staining agent. Keep repeating this until no more colour appears in the tissue. DO NOT OVERWET. Such work is done at your own risk.

However, beware of doing this with carpet fibres that can be adversely affected by water such as viscose and natural fibres like sea grass and jutes etc. With these types of fibres irreversible damage can be caused.

There are lots of old wives tales about stain removal……………some work but many do not, especially on many of the new fibres now in existence. What is often forgotten is that a spillage is a chemical composition and the addition of the “remedy” is also another chemical composition.The two may interact adversely and create another chemical that causes a permanent stain or, worse still, damages the colour of the carpet itself.

The use of  proprietary stain removal products can lead to permanent damage as these can contain bleaching agents which can remove dye colours. Once this is done it cannot usually be rectified successfully. The old adage ” a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” is a good guide here. It is often better to seek the advice of a long established carpet cleaning company.

When choosing a carpet cleaning company make sure that it is a member of the National Carpet Cleaners Association. These companies follow a Code of Practice and conduct business by ethical standards. Also, ensure that they have been carrying out quality work in carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning for a long time. Experience and expertise are what is needed. Avoid the cowboys.

Only employ a carpet cleaning company that will visit you to inspect the work required and give you a free written estimate and advice.Never use a company that quotes over the phone that may well charge you hidden extras when they arrive to do the job. These can quite often double the price quoted on the telephone.

Use a company that offers assurances of service and will allow you to talk to a manager at the end of the work to ensure that you are delighted with the results.

In short, if a stain can be removed easily by using safe, basic methods that’s great. If not, choose a long established, proven and trusted carpet cleaning company which will produce a high quality finished result.

It makes sense to protect your valuable carpeting. Even if you think you know how to clean carpets, protect your investment by getting the job done safely and well.

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