Sean's Carpet Care

Do you ever get off on a tangent? I did yesterday. I started out writing about removing fingernail polish from carpet and ended up talking about whether you should trust the stain-removing information you find on the Internet.

Yesterday, I digressed. Today I hope to progress. So what about fingernail polish? I don’t want to lose my male readers here. Fingernail polish is a lacquer. The principles used to remove fingernail polish from carpets may apply work on paint removal techniques also.

The answer to fingernail paint on your fingernails is easy—acetone. It works, and it makes up ninety percent of the nail polish removers on the market. There’s just one glitch. Acetone could ruin your carpet. Acetone can dissolve your carpet fibers. The article to which I referred to yesterday recommended diluting the acetone with water. Acetone and water will mix; however, it makes a milky solution. It will lessen the harshness of the acetone but may protect your carpet. Try it on a sample piece of your carpet before you move to the real thing.

You might even try the non-acetone polish removers. Again, do it on a sample. Many people recommend hair spray. Hair spray? Really? I can’t imagine using hair spray on my carpet. I don’t even like it on my hair. Hair spray contains alcohol. You’d be better served to use rubbing alcohol. I provide carpet cleaning in Vancouver WA and have met about every kind of stain out there. Sometimes you can do things physically to get the job done with using solvents that would otherwise damage the carpet.

The article mentions a pumice or a pumice stone. Examine the stain. If you have a stain protector on your carpet, the fingernail polish may not have saturated the fibers. In other words it may sit on the surface. Take a dull spoon and see if you can gently scrape it off without damaging the carpet. Sometimes these things will just peel off the slick surface left by the carpet protectors.

Many people have had success with a solution of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. See this link How to Remove Fingernail Polish for the ratios. I have heard of people using carburetor cleaner. It is pretty strong stuff. It removes oil, grease, and gummed up fuel deposits. It will take the oils right out of your hands. If you are going to use it try in a well ventilated room. Try it on your sample piece as it again might dissolve the carpet with the fingernail polish.

Of course, your local building supply store will have a variety of miracle stain removers. You never know. Many of them do work well and may just do the trick. Try them out on the sample. Make sure you rinse the carpet with clear water between cleaning solutions. Mixing chemicals can produce dangerous fumes.

If you are nervous about trying to remove your own nail polish or if the methods above fail then call in a professional. A professional carpet cleaner has options for stain removal, such as using various carpet stain removal techniques or adding a patch to the carpet.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time….Sean your local Vancouver WA Carpet Cleaner

Do you know what type of carpet you have? No? Don’t feel bad. Many types, names, and brands fill that sample book at the carpet store. Let me see if I can simplify it for you a little. I provide carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon and sometimes I have  had to double check the type of carpet fiber I was cleaning. It can be very important to know carpet types for cleaning purposes. We studied them in my training. The way I clean and remove stains from one type of carpet will differ from the methods I use on another. You will find it helpful to know your type of carpet, its strengths, and its weaknesses.

In the old days they use to weave all carpets on big looms. Most modern carpets use hundreds of needles and sew the carpet on a backing. They call it tufted carpet. The part you see are the tufts sticking through the backing. Naturally the needles going in and out of that backing form a loop.

1. Loop-Pile Carpet—When they leave the tufts in a loop, they call it a loop pile carpet.
2. Cut-pile Carpet—When they cut the top off those loops, they call it a cut-pile carpet.

Generally speaking, the loop-pile carpets hide traffic patterns well, have good durability, but are not as soft or plush as cut-pile carpet. They work well in family rooms, basements, and indoor/outdoor applications. Berber carpets, by the way, fall under the loop-pile carpet category. Sometimes manufacturers make the loops different sizes to give the carpet more texture. They call it a multi-level loop pile. When they use the same size loop throughout, they call it level-loop pile. Cleaning candle wax off a loop pile carpet is a little easier than cleaning it off cut pile because you don’t have to worry as much about damaging the exposed ends of the carpet fiber.

The cut-pile carpets generally have a softer appearance than the loop-pile style.  The Saxony carpet has the softest, most elegant appearance of all cut-pile carpets. It looks great in a formal dining room situation. However, it will show more traffic patterns than other carpets and has a little less durability.

To gain durability in cut-pile carpets, manufacturers twist the fibers tighter. When they twist the tufts of a Saxony carpet, they call it a textured Saxony carpet. The textured Saxony has more durability than the straight Saxony, and it hides traffic or vacuum marks better.

If you twist the Saxony a little more, you get the frieze carpet. The frieze has the most durability and shows the least traffic of all cut-pile carpets. However, you sacrifice some of the soft, luxuriant feel of a Saxony.

Some manufacturers have combined cut pile and loop pile in one carpet to create the patterned carpet. They usually leave the loops shorter than the cut piles to give the carpet the soft appearance of a cut pile with the durability of the loop pile. This hybrid of cut and loop does well in many different situations.

When you clean a stain in your carpet, keep in mind the differences in construction. See the following link for pictures of the different carpet types. The softer carpets require a more delicate handling. Use a soft brush rather than a stiff bristle. The loop-pile carpet will take a little more abuse than cut pile. A frieze will take more than a Saxony.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time… Sean.

Christmas eventually comes to an end, and then the big job of cleanup starts. It never seems to fail the tree has started dropping needles. You need to get it out by New Years. You need help learning to remove carpet stains. New Years day most of the family has retired to the family room for a football game. You decide to start on the tree. Before you know it, you’ve packed away all the decorations in their boxes. “Honey, will you come take the tree out.”

“At half-time,” You hear a voice from the other room just before a big yell. Someone just scored. At half-time the tree goes out the front door. As you look down you can’t believe it. Four rust marks sit where the tree stand has stood.

“Look at that. I knew we should have replaced that stand.” Rust can be a challenge even for the best stain removers. I provide carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon, so I understand that most of us use real tress for Christmas.  Real Christmas trees need stands, water. With old tree stands you can get rust. I run into rust fairly often. Usually I recommend the immediate tackling of a stain to prevent the stain from setting. I almost always recommend that you start with water. However, since metal uses water to make rust, I would recommend a little difference course with rust. Let it dry. Drying stops the production of rust.

After the carpet has dried, use a dull spoon to gently scrape the rust off the fibers. Use a vacuum to suck up the metal filings. Get rid of any excess metal. Now that you’ve removed the source of the rust you can start working on the stain with a little cool water and mild dish soap. You want to remove any grease or oil that would keep you from getting to the stain. Lightly spray the area with the soap solution and blot with a clean white rag. Do this process several times.

If the stain remains, switch to lemon juice. One article, Removing Rust from Carpet I read recommended adding salt to the lemon juice to give the lemon juice a little bit of abrasiveness. I generally don’t recommend abrasives on carpet. In fact, I usually say, “Don’t rub but blot.” Rust is one of the toughest stains you will probably encounter. It may require a tiny bit of rubbing; however, do so carefully so as not to damage your carpet.

Rust takes time to form and it takes time to remove. If you still have a stain after the lemon juice, I’d recommend a poultice. A poultice is simply a dry substance saturated with a cleaning agent. Make it the consistency of toothpaste. Cream of tartar works well with rust. Mix cream of tartar with hydrogen peroxide. Put it on the carpet and cover with plastic. Tape it in place. Let it dry a couple days.

Vacuum the poultice. If you still have stain, repeat the poultice. You’ve probably just about done what you can at this point. If you want to experiment, I would work on a sample piece of carpet. Make a rust mark on your sample. Try vinegar, oxy cleaners, or commercial rust removers. Don’t move to your carpet until you’re sure that your cleaning method is safe.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time….Sean.

Carpet manufacturing has come a long way. Today’s carpet has great durability, stain resistance, and beauty. We have olefin, nylon, and polyester to thank for the improvements. However, the gold standard for carpet still comes off the backs of sheep. An article I recently read, Cleaning Wool Carpet, said it this way, “Simply stated, Wool is a great fiber! It is the fiber system that all other fiber systems try to emulate…” The article goes on to say, “… and while wool is among the closest fibers to perfection that we will ever know, it is not without its disadvantages.”

If you have a wool carpet, congratulations. Wool truly makes a warm, luxurious, durable carpet. It’s hard to beat nature. The article linked above talks about the unique structure of a wool fiber. It has scale-like structure on the outside which prevents dirt from entering. I bet the sheep like that little feature. Wool can stretch up to thirty percent of its length without breaking and absorb thirty percent of it’s weight in water.

However, even sheep have their weaknesses. Wool can shrink, is sensitive to fading from sunlight, is ruined by the oxy cleaners, does not tolerate bleaching well, and needs residue-free cleaning agents unlike those used in most carpet shampoos. Before I started my business providing carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon I went to school to learn how to clean carpet properly. I paid special attention of how to clean wool carpet properly.

To avoid soap residue I use a low alkaline cleaning solution without the brighteners used in many commercial carpet shampoos. Residue left in a wool carpet can yellow it. Brighteners can change the color. I use a lower temperature solution to avoid shrinkage. As mentioned above wool has a unique ability to absorb water which explains why wool clothes feel warm in cold, wet weather. However, that ability to absorb liquid also makes wool more difficult to dry.

I have a commercial machine in my van that thoroughly and quickly dries the wool as I clean. Wool holds up to wear well except when wet and warm. Many of store machines and some commercial machine use brushes to clean the carpet which can damage the fibers. I have a special cleaning head called the Rotovac 360i which uses rotating jets of water to clean rather than brushes. This allows me to clean wool without damaging the fibers.

Should you have your wool carpet professionally cleaned? Wool carpet costs more than synthetic. It represents a substantial investment in your home. To me it makes sense to play it safe. Look for a professional that has experience with wool and the equipment to handle it correctly. How can you find that? (1) Ask them for proof. I took classes and have certification of my skills. (2) Ask for references. (3) Using this articles and others see what they know about wool. (4) See if they are part of a professional association.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time…Sean!

Have you ever had a ball point pen explode in your pocket, purse, or backpack? Well, maybe I shouldn’t use the term explode, but it seems like that doesn’t it? Ink gets on everything. You reach inside and pull out a blue hand. What is that? Where is that coming from? As you dig, it just keeps getting worse. I used to reach for the rubbing alcohol. The alcohol seemed to dissolve the ink just enough to spread it further. Today, I have learn a few things regarding in removal as a professionals carpet cleaner providing carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon.

For our purposes I found an article that explains the The Science of Ink Stain Removal.  This article does an incredible job of explaining ink, it’s makeup, and the science of ink removal. They refer to their own product a good deal which is okay by me.  That’s there business. I’m not affiliated with them, nor am I endorsing the product. I took you to the link for information only.

The article explains that not all inks are the same. My rubbing alcohol failed for a reason. Manufacturers make some inks to dissolve in water and other inks to dissolve in oil-based solvents. In the past I used rubbing alcohol, basically a water-based solvent, on an oil-based ink. Of course, it failed. Many of the sites I looked at recommended using hair spray to remove ink. Hair spray has alcohol in it and again will only work on water-based ink stain. It also has glues and binders in it to keep your hair in place. I really can’t imagine spraying hair spray on my carpet.

I often encourage my customers to keep or to buy a scrap piece of carpet identical to the carpet in their home. Why? You can use it as a test piece for difficult stains. Take your carpet scrap. Put a sample of the offending ink on it. Blot it from the outside of the stain to the inside. How well does it blot? Practice your blotting technique. Never rub a carpet.

Now try a little water on the ink. Blot. Does it dissolve? If not, put a little mild soap in the water. Blot. Now does it dissolve? No? Try rubbing alcohol. Blot. If you haven’t moved the ink, then you probably have a solvent based ink. Many modern inks including printer and copier ink do come in a solvent other than water. Blot the stain on your carpet scrap thoroughly to remove the water.

Now, lets move on to a solvent based ink. I read on line posts about people putting all kinds of things on their carpet including penetrating oil. I don’t think I’d want to add oil to the problem. Purchase some dry cleaning fluid at your hardware store. Drop a small amount of the fluid in the middle of the sample stain on your scrap. Blot. Does it move the stain? You know you have made process when you see ink wicking into your blotting rag. Dry cleaning fluid should move most solvent based ink stains. If not, try some of the commercial ink stain removers on your sample. Test for color fastness on the scrap.

Once you have found something which moves the stain effectively, then you can move to your in-house carpet. Work from the outside edge of the stain in to prevent spreading. Go slowly. Use the least amount of solvent necessary. Blot often.

Hope this information is helpful. Until next time…Sean.

Okay, I’m no veterinarian, but I come in contact with cats everyday in the course of  providing carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon. Pets can bring unparalleled happiness and joy to a home. Cats have interesting personalities and behaviors when compared to dogs. Among other habits, cats are famous for their tendency to scratch with their claws. I have been known to provide carpet repairs for areas where cats have scratched the carpet. When I find customers who have learned to re-train their cat’s bad behaviors I pay attention. My customers have passed on a few tips that I wanted to share with you.

First of all, understand that scratching for a cats is as natural as eating.  Cats scratch carpets for several reasons. They sharpen their claws,  mark their territory, and stretch their muscles.   You notice that sats often scratch when getting up from a nap. Punishing a cat for scratching will only serve to frustrate the cat. They will change behavior alright. They will scratch when you are not around. Cats respond well to redirection and positive reinforcement as opposed to punishment.   You have to work with their nature and train them in the way that they learn.

Provide an alternative. One should get a scratching post before buying the cat or shortly after. Once a cat gets started on your carpet or furniture then you have to break them of that habit while teaching them to use the post  It’s easier to have only one task to teach. You can purchase a cat scratching post from a pet store or for less money at a local discount outlet.  You can easily make one with a piece of plywood, a 2 by 4, and some scrap carpet. If you have a big house, you may want to get more than one. You want them readily available to your cat.  Buy some good quality cat nip to rub on the post. The cat nip will attract your cat to the post.

Protect  problems area on the carpet or furniture. Cats like most of us are creatures of habit. They like to scratch in the same place over and over. They will pick their favorite couch or section of carpet. If we can discourage use of that area, they will more readily seek the cat post. I came across a an article on how to stop cats from scratching that had some great ideas for protecting your house and train the cat. The article cited recommended that you tape tin foil, or plastic wrap, or a carpet runner bumpy side up to the cat’s favorite scratching site. Cats don’t like any of those surfaces. They will avoid touching that area. If you’ve provided an attractive alternative in the form of a cat post, they will go there.

The article mentioned spraying an area with vinegar, and it is true that cats don’t like vinegar, but neither does your carpet. They also mention squirt guns or pennies in a can to scare the cat when they attempt scratching in the wrong place. If your cover the offended areas and provide a scratching post, you really shouldn’t have to resort to scare tactics.

I did find the motion detector idea interesting.  This lady had one room that the cat liked to scratch. She set up a motion detection with a loud alarm.  I guess that would do it as long as you didn’t mind hearing the alarm during the learning process. Whatever you decide remember to not make the cat angry and want to get even by peeing or spraying the carpet. Cat urine removal and treatment can be difficult!

Hope you find this information helpful. …Until next time Sean.

On my website that provides information on carpet cleaning in Portland, Oregon I mention as a tip the danger of placing a latex backed entry rug over your carpet. I also mentioned in that tip a chemical called BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene). BHT can cause the latex on the back of a throw rug to yellow and in turn yellow your carpet. So what is this BHT?

BHT is a synthetic analogue of vitamin E. What is an analogue? Don’t feel bad. I had to look it up too. An analogue in chemistry is a compound that has the same structure of another but with different chemical elements. In other words BHT looks like vitamin E but has different elements and is made commercially rather than occurring naturally. It has antioxidant properties just like vitamin E.  It’s been around since 1940, and we eat it.

Yes, they developed it for the food industry to preserve  foods like butter, potato chips, and most fatty type products. Controversy has surrounded BHT with claims made on both sides. You can read on the the Web that it may cause cancer or it may prevent it. Evidently the food industry had some concerns at least about bad press because they came out with BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole). The food industry  uses both however.

Manufacturers found that BHT helped reduce flammability of carpet backing and underlying pads. Unfortunately, in some situations that same BHT causes the backing to yellow. For that reason many carpet manufacturers have removed BHT from their processes. However, if you buy a latex backed throw rug at the discount store, it could still have BHT in it. If you put a latex backed rug on top of your carpet it might turn your carpet yellow causing a permanent yellow stain.

Deciding if BHT is bad for your health or not is something you need to decide for yourself. For me the most worry about BHT is that it turns many carpets and linoleum bathroom floors yellow. In many types of carpet and linoleum floors the yellow is often permanent.

It can be easy to tell if a throw rug is latex backed. The easy way to tell if your rug is latex backed is to look at the back of the rug. If you can see the pattern on the front of the rug from the back then there shouldn’t be latex in the rug. If you look on the backside of the rug and see cloth instead of the pattern on the front then most likely there is latex between the cloth and the pattern of the rug. Sometimes improperly cured latex can cause odors in the rug.

We learned a couple things from our research here. One, don’t place latex backed  throw rugs over your carpet. Buy throw rugs without a backing. I learned another incidental factoid which I think proves helpful. On this website about carpet backing, they recommend the use of vinegar as an antidote to yellowed backing. If you have a latex backed throw rug in the bathroom, you might give that a try. However, I have found that once it yellows it starts to chip off shortly after. It might be better just to replace it.

Hope this information is helpful! Until next time….Sean

Yesterday I talked about cleaning “fake blood” from your carpet. If your kids have gotten past the gory stage, you will probably have another culprit trying to bewitch your carpet–chocolate. Bite sized chocolate treats often do a trick on your carpet that can haunt you for years to come. Chocolate has natural oils in it that on a carpet attract dirt and repels water. It also has dyes in it. Many chocolate manufacturers have gone to natural dyes but dyes nonetheless. Oils, dyes, and sugar make chocolate a worthy stain foe.

I advise my customers to keep several scraps of your carpet around for experimentation. With all the different kinds of carpet and various cleaning products on the market one doesn’t know just how a carpet might react to a certain product or procedure. If the product or your process takes all the color out of your carpet, it certainly would be nice to know that on a scrap rather than in the middle of your living room.

Put a piece of the offending chocolate on your scrap. Melt it in to the same degree as the piece on your real carpet. Now you have your test case. Out of curiosity I took a tour of the Internet. It surprises me the things people suggest for stain removal. I do carpet cleaning in Portland for a living. I wouldn’t do many of things I read. If you want to try stuff (which is fine), do it on the scrap piece.

Anyway, I came across a pretty good article How to Remove Chocolate Stains. The writer warns against saturating chocolate. Use the viscosity of the chocolate to your advantage. As long as it remains thick it will not penetrate the fibers as much. Scrape off as much chocolate as you can with a dull knife.

After scraping, blot the chocolate with a white cloth. Do not rub. Try to work from the bottom up rather than top down. You want to get the chocolate to the top rather than push it farther down in the carpet. Change cloths often. When you have absolutely everything off that you can using the knife and cloth move on to the following step.

Next you want to work with the oils in the chocolate. Mix a mild detergent and some water. Lightly spray the stain. Using a clean, white cloth blot the stain. Again, don’t rub it in to the carpet. The article recommend ammonia at this point. If the mild detergent has failed, try the ammonia on your test carpet.

If after cleaning, you still have a stain, you could try one of the “oxy” cleaners. WARNING: “oxy” cleaners use hydrogen peroxide to assist in stain removal. If “oxy” cleaners are used improperly they can remove color from your carpet. Make sure to read the instructions on the label of “oxy” cleaner you use. Oxy cleaners can work fairly well with organic types of stains like chocolate. They take a little time to work.

Blot the oxy cleaner. Neutralize the area with vinegar. That will remove the dirt attracting soap residue. Examine the carpet in a few days. If successful, you have totally removed the stain. At the worst, you have kept a stain from getting set. If you still have a stain, call in a professional.

Hope this information is helpful! Until next time….Sean

“Trick or Treat.”  Little voices intone at the door. Candy, makeup, costumes, glow sticks, gum, candles, decorations, and fake blood make for a viral concoction of carpet calamity. Just one of these items on the carpet can send you looking for a carpet witch. With my business providing Carpet Cleaning in Portland I think of the  list, fake blood  haunts me the most. Fake blood usually consists of corn syrup, red food dye, and sometimes thickeners like corn starch, flour, peanut butter, or even cocoa powder. Fake blood has the potential to make a real stain.

Most of us shutter to even think about bringing red food coloring onto our carpet. It usually remains in the kitchen. Under the spell of Halloween we sometimes break with tradition and do the unthinkable. So what do you do when your son spills fake blood on the living room carpet?

If you bought a commercial fake blood,  look for the ingredients on the side of the package. They may even have instructions for cleaning. Of course, the worst part of the fake blood is the red dye part. You can usually handle the corn syrup and thickeners with a dull knife or stick, warm water, mild soap, and patience.

The Internet has several suggestions for red dye removal. Separating the misinformation from the information is nearly as tricky as removing red dye. I linked to an article that covers various techniques of removal from hard surfaces, fabric, and carpet. If one doesn’t work, you could try the others. Here’s the link How to Remove Red Dye.

The corn syrup and thickeners in your fake blood work against you blotting the dye. That’s why the article recommends  scraping the fake blood with a dull knife to remove the excess. Gently scrape. Get off as much as you can. Be patient.

Move from a dull knife to a clean white cloth. Blot the fake blood with the cloth. Gently press. Don’t rub. Rubbing works the dye further into the fabric. Blot as much as you can. If you still have fake blood left, dilute it with a spray of water and mild soap. Bloat some more. You want to wick the stain out of the carpet into the rag. If that doesn’t remove the stain, try a little vinegar. Blot again.

From this point on if the stain remains, I would experiment on a scrap piece of carpeting. Put the fake blood on the scrap piece. Go through all the steps above. Then try some hydrogen peroxide. See if that works. If that doesn’t work, try an oxy type cleaner designated for carpet stains.  Some people have had success using a iron set on low with a little water inside. Put a clean white rag over the stain. Apply the iron to the rag not to the carpet for about five seconds.

If nothing works or you don’t want to bother,  call in a professional carpet cleaner.

Hope this information is helpful! Until next time….Sean