Help & Advice
When it comes to spillages on carpet or furniture, the best advice is to always act quickly, the long it's left to soak in the harder it will be to remove.
Solid Spills
With solid spills pretty much any action is better than no action. That said a good general rule is to quickly remove as much solid matter as you can. With the bulk of the solid matter removed, get some very hot water and mix in a small amount of mild, preferably colourless, detergent. don't worry about damaging the carpet with hot water, as any professional carpet cleaning service will be using water near boiling anyway. With the solution mixed dip a towel in the solution and blot the stain with the towel.
DO NOT RUB IN!
Please be careful never to rub the stain as this will push the solid matter deeper into the piles, rubbing a carpet can also result in damage to the carpet fibers, this can cause them to become furry and you clearly see the damage afterwards. Instead, once you've finished blotting the initial stain, ensure that the towel is damp and place on the affected area then either stand on it, or apply a heavy weight. There's no need to worry about wetting the carpet, this won't cause any damage. The real goal is to dilute the stain rather than allowing it to dry in and harden.
Pet Accidents
Many of our clients have pets, cats & dogs are the most common, but some times even the occasional house rabbit, sadly our pets can do some of the most serious damage to the carpets and upholstered furniture in our homes. Our pets can be prone to having little accidents, if this does happen you really must act quickly. This is because their urine can contain ammonia, which is a bleaching agent - this can permanently dye patches of your carpets/fabric with a yellow/orange hue. The best think you can do in this situation is to use hot water and a mild detergent and try to dilute the stain.
DO NOT use products with bleach in them!
Using bleach on household stains has a number of risks. Firstly, and most seriously, is that bleech when mixed with ammonia can lead to the release of Chloramine Vapour (mustard gas)! Another issue is that these products can leave a sticky residue and will attract and collect dust and dirt. Finally, bleach can dye your carpet or fabric white. Instead, you should again use hot water and mild detergent and try to dilute it as much as possible.
While the above is useful for food spills, or small pet accidents, you should always consider contacting a professional to clean the carpet without the risk of causing permanent damage.
Wet Spills
When it comes to wet spills, the most common question we get concerns cleaning wine spills on carpet - people always ask: ‘should I pour white wine on my red wine spill’. Of course the answer is never straight forward as their are lots of variables, but if it's a small spillage of re whine, then a little (and we do mean a little) white wine could help to remove it, and should be followed by a hot water rinse to dilute any remaining liquid. If you've spilled a large amount of red wine and it's reached the carpets backing then adding more alcohol will make it worse - and can cause the carpets backing to rot. Instead use hot water and mild detergent, and ensure you work from the outside towards the middle. You can also use dry kitchen towels to soak up wine spilt on carpet, but expect to use a few rolls in a decent attempt to remove the wine from the carpet.
Preventative Action
There's lots you can do to protect your carpets from spills and stains. Ask guests to remove their shoes at the door. Pay special attention when carrying food/drinks to avoid spills. Keep an eye on children in their bedrooms. Girls often like to ‘borrow’ mum's makeup, and this can end up spilt on carpets and furniture. Teenagers tend to spill alcopops on carpets and claim in something innocent like Lemonade. Children can tread Play-Doh and blu-tack into carpets - this can be particularly problematic as it can damage the fibers when being remove.
Hair straighteners left on carpets can cause serious damage, regardless of their temperature - in the case of woolen carpets this can lead to scorch marks, on man-man carpets it can melt the material. Make-up spilt on carpets can also be problematic, although this depends on the brand spilt, and the type of carpet fibers. As a general rule man-made carpets are easier to clean than woolen ones.
Got a stain, and want it cleaned professionally?