No matter how careful we are, accidents happen.
At some point in our lives we’ve all tipped the entire glass or bottle of red wine over the brand new white outfit, couch, or even carpet. Some stains you can deal with yourself, but there are others that you should always leave to a professional.
These days you can find a home remedy tip for cleaning just about anything online. Just about any household item, from baking soda to hairspray, even toothpaste, can be suggested to treat stains. However, following these home remedies can sometimes cause more problems than the original stain. Before using any stain treatment found online, it pays to research it thoroughly and then spot test on a hidden area before going for it. If you’re not sure, then it’s best to leave it to the professionals.
Did you know that not all carpets are created equal? Even though they may look similar, your carpets may well be made up of a different fabric blend than your neighbour, and what worked for them can just make a bigger mess on yours. Finding the right tools for the job can also be difficult. Not many of us have a carpet cleaning machine lurking in the cupboard, and hiring a rental unit can be expensive and difficult to lug home. Professional carpet cleaners have the advantage here too. Not only will they be able to identify your type of carpet, a pro carpet clean will have access to their own high grade equipment, getting in deep leaving no part of your carpet uncleaned.
Whether it’s wine, coffee, hair dye, or heaven forbid, a pet or young child urinates on your carpet, the sooner you can start treating it the better. A fresh stain will always lift better than one that’s been left to set. But what can you do to ensure you don’t just make it worse? With a few simple household items you can create an all-purpose cleaning kit that can help deal with spills and prep the carpet for a professional cleaner. Grab a clean bucket, and fill it with clean, white, absorbent towel or clothes, surgical spirit dry cleaning solution (usually available from a chemist), wool washing liquid (use one teaspoon in 300ml of warm water), and white vinegar (use one teaspoon in the wool detergent mixture), and you’re ready to tackle any stain you find.
For organic stains like alcohol, coffee, liquid foods and urine, blot up what you can and then use the detergent and vinegar solution to work the stain from the edges inwards, blotting frequently with a dry cloth. Stains such as fats, oils, ointments, or shoe polish respond best to the dry cleaning solution followed by the detergent vinegar.
Whenever you’re treating a stain, be sure not to wet into the backing materials, and scrape up any excess before you begin. Once you’re done, you can mix one-part white vinegar with four parts water, spray over the affected area and then blot as a final rinse.
Following these steps gives you the best chance of removing the stain, and also won’t set anything permanently. That way, when you need to call us, you have given us he best chance of success for a complete removal of any stain.