Protection from Carpet Stains and Stain Removal
Carpet is one of the most expensive furnishings in your home. But all too often, through carelessness or simple incomprehension, we let the same fate befall even the nicest carpet that we allow to happen to our shoes, our cement garage floors, or the less visible side of our shingling: stains that mottle the surface, offend the eye, and give the carpet that old, beaten down look. But protecting carpet from stains is not just about optics. It’s about protecting an investment. After all, carpet serves many important functions in the ecology of the house: it keeps the new built sheen of a hardwood floor from being scuffed away; it helps each room retain heat (and makes even a cold room somewhat bearable, since the feet are the parts of the body farthest from the heart and thus easiest to chill); and, if chosen wisely, it increases the walk through and sale values of your home by amounts that cannot be ignored by any wise homeowner. Protecting carpet from stains makes sense even if you think you can live with a bit of eyesore.
First, it’s important to understand why stains are bad for carpet -- in a more than cosmetic way. When you allow stains of certain kinds to set in, it causes the affected fibers of the carpet to stiffen and grow hard. This means that, whenever anyone walks over the stain again, the threads of the carpet itself, sharp and petrified as they are, are pushed against the bottom of the carpet with all the force of the person’s weight behind them. It’s therefore like pressing a thousand tiny daggers into the bottom weave of the carpet. A carpet stain can easily become a carpet hole --which weakens the overall structure of the carpet in ways that may not be easy to repair. Why let a mere stain become a gaping wound in an otherwise perfectly healthy carpet?
Protecting carpet from stains is easiest done by prevention -- keeping drinks and food in the uncarpeted portions of the house or apartment, etc. But for the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that this ship has already sailed: you’re looking for information on how to clean set in stains that already exist. You’re protecting carpet from the stains that someone (not you, surely!) has allowed to form on your carpet. The following home remedies, of course, are guidelines only and should be used on a test area first!
Stains caused by most beverages are embarrassing and problematic (if not carefully wiped up, they can attract flies, which long for the sugar contained in that bottle of Jones Soda from two weeks ago). But cleaning up beverages like alcohol (in all forms), coffee and tea, soft drinks, and juices can be done to some extent by mixing certain detergents with warm water and wiping gently at the stain. (Specifically, add a teaspoon of detergent to eight ounces of water.) This is not a perfect remedy, but it reduces stains to some degree, and thus is valuable to know for those of us who attempt protecting carpet from stains. A similar mixture, but with more detergent -- two ounces’ worth, to eight ounces of water -- can help with chocolate stains.
Fats leave a different kind of residue than do sugars (which are found in most beverages besides water, which, thank goodness, does not leave a stain -- though in severe enough cases it can leave you with water damage). If a candle has dripped on your favorite carpet, or your careless friend has let a dollop of greasy pizza deface the rug in front of the sofa, there are two things you can do for protecting carpet from stains. The first is to stop inviting that sloppy friend over. The second is to refer to the mixture mentioned in the previous paragraph -- a teaspoon of detergent and eight ounces of water. Add to this, also, an equal amount (one teaspoon) of white vinegar. When applied to the stain, this strange mixture will fizz and then form a strange compound. Do not disturb the mixture while it is doing its work. Let it dry and attach itself to the stain. You should be able, after the mixture has dried to the stain, to scrape the stain away (it will now be hardened and brittle) with a putty knife.
It’s important to note that none of these remedies is foolproof. Nor are they perfect. They each represent ways of using not terribly abrasive chemicals, found in most homes, to do the work of cleaning away stains. But protecting carpet from stains also means protecting carpet from harsh chemicals and the scrapings of a putty knife, the abrasions of detergent, etc. So if you’re really serious about protecting carpet from stains, a non harsh, non abrasive, all natural stain remover is probably the way to go.
About StainHotline.com
StainHotline.com, operated by The Casite Company, offers safe, environmentally friendly stain removal and upholstery protection products.For stain removal products to help with leather stains, carpet stains, wine stains, ink stains, and for odor removal, please visit http://www.stainhotline.com.
First, it’s important to understand why stains are bad for carpet -- in a more than cosmetic way. When you allow stains of certain kinds to set in, it causes the affected fibers of the carpet to stiffen and grow hard. This means that, whenever anyone walks over the stain again, the threads of the carpet itself, sharp and petrified as they are, are pushed against the bottom of the carpet with all the force of the person’s weight behind them. It’s therefore like pressing a thousand tiny daggers into the bottom weave of the carpet. A carpet stain can easily become a carpet hole --which weakens the overall structure of the carpet in ways that may not be easy to repair. Why let a mere stain become a gaping wound in an otherwise perfectly healthy carpet?
Protecting carpet from stains is easiest done by prevention -- keeping drinks and food in the uncarpeted portions of the house or apartment, etc. But for the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that this ship has already sailed: you’re looking for information on how to clean set in stains that already exist. You’re protecting carpet from the stains that someone (not you, surely!) has allowed to form on your carpet. The following home remedies, of course, are guidelines only and should be used on a test area first!
Stains caused by most beverages are embarrassing and problematic (if not carefully wiped up, they can attract flies, which long for the sugar contained in that bottle of Jones Soda from two weeks ago). But cleaning up beverages like alcohol (in all forms), coffee and tea, soft drinks, and juices can be done to some extent by mixing certain detergents with warm water and wiping gently at the stain. (Specifically, add a teaspoon of detergent to eight ounces of water.) This is not a perfect remedy, but it reduces stains to some degree, and thus is valuable to know for those of us who attempt protecting carpet from stains. A similar mixture, but with more detergent -- two ounces’ worth, to eight ounces of water -- can help with chocolate stains.
Fats leave a different kind of residue than do sugars (which are found in most beverages besides water, which, thank goodness, does not leave a stain -- though in severe enough cases it can leave you with water damage). If a candle has dripped on your favorite carpet, or your careless friend has let a dollop of greasy pizza deface the rug in front of the sofa, there are two things you can do for protecting carpet from stains. The first is to stop inviting that sloppy friend over. The second is to refer to the mixture mentioned in the previous paragraph -- a teaspoon of detergent and eight ounces of water. Add to this, also, an equal amount (one teaspoon) of white vinegar. When applied to the stain, this strange mixture will fizz and then form a strange compound. Do not disturb the mixture while it is doing its work. Let it dry and attach itself to the stain. You should be able, after the mixture has dried to the stain, to scrape the stain away (it will now be hardened and brittle) with a putty knife.
It’s important to note that none of these remedies is foolproof. Nor are they perfect. They each represent ways of using not terribly abrasive chemicals, found in most homes, to do the work of cleaning away stains. But protecting carpet from stains also means protecting carpet from harsh chemicals and the scrapings of a putty knife, the abrasions of detergent, etc. So if you’re really serious about protecting carpet from stains, a non harsh, non abrasive, all natural stain remover is probably the way to go.
About StainHotline.com
StainHotline.com, operated by The Casite Company, offers safe, environmentally friendly stain removal and upholstery protection products.For stain removal products to help with leather stains, carpet stains, wine stains, ink stains, and for odor removal, please visit http://www.stainhotline.com.
