Stains on your carpet aren’t something you want to see come back.
Stains on your carpet aren’t something you want to see come back. Learn how to banish spots for good.
Naturally you expect your carpets to look better after cleaning than before. So it may come as a surprise when some of the spots return. There are two reasons this can happen: "re-soiling" from residue and "soil wicking.”
Re-soiling
Pre-mist Carpet Cleaning-Spot removal
Re-soiling occurs when new soil is attracted to an oily or sticky residue on the carpet. What causes this residue?
● Carpet spot removers applied by homeowners are one of the most common sources of soil-attracting residue. Some of the products purchased at grocery and home improvement stores can leave behind sticky residues that attract dirt, especially when they are over-applied or not thoroughly rinsed.
Other residues that can cause rapid re-soiling include:
● Adhesive tape residue. ● Food.
● Grease. ● Animal body oils.
● Petroleum-based oils. ● Moisturizing lotions.
● Hair spray. ● Tanning oil.
● Sugar from spilled drinks.
With re-soiling, once the visible soil is cleaned away from these areas, the carpet will look clean. However, the invisible residue acts like a "soil magnet." leading to rapid re-soiling. This can take days or even a few weeks to occur.
Soil-wicking
Another reason spots can reappear after cleaning is soil-wicking. This occurs because of the way carpet is constructed.
Carpet is made up of multiple layers. Each of these layers plays a role in soil-wicking.
● The yarns you see in the face of the carpet are stitched into a thin, woven fabric. This primary backing can be seen by parting the fibers of the carpet and looking down between the rows of yarns.
During "normal" carpet cleaning, our intent is to clean the face yarns only. But sometimes spots, spills and pet urine penetrate the primary backing.
● If you look at the back of the carpet, you will see the secondary backing, a coarser, stiffer woven material designed to give the carpet more strength and stability.
The secondary backing creates a capillary action that can spread a spill out to a much larger area than you see on the surface. Spilling just 2 to 4 ounces of liquid can create a 12-inch diameter spot on the back of the carpet!
● Between the primary and secondary backing there is a layer of latex adhesiveholding it all together. Some spills can penetrate into this layer and dry. These deposits can be "reactivated" by normal cleaning and wick to the surface of the carpet fibers during the normal drying process.
An unwelcome surprise
These returning spots can be as much of a surprise to your carpet cleaning professional as they are to you.
The reason the spots return has to do with the mechanics of capillary action. As carpet dries, water evaporates from the tips of the carpet yarns, drawing some of the remaining moisture behind it. If there is any kind of soil or spill at the base of the yarns or in the backing, it also can be drawn up to the yarn tips.
Unfortunately, while water readily evaporates, soils do not. So the spots that were hidden in the backing system are now at the top of the carpet where they can create a visibly noticeable spot.
What to do?
Correcting recurring spots may simply require a thorough rinse. Other times, specialized cleaning agents and more intensive cleaning techniques are needed.
As carpet cleaning professionals, we can’t guarantee that re-soiling and soil-wicking will never happen. But if your spots do return, please call us. A reliable carpet cleaning service will find the cause and the solution to keep these stains from coming back.
For any question or schedule a service call at 623-205-2499
or book online at www.thekingcarpetcleaning.com
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