Ever get Dark lines around the edges of your carpet. What is it and how can it be cleaned?

Have you ever seen dark lines along walls, under doors, beneath drapes, around the edge of HVAC registers or anywhere air flow is forced through the carpet, in your home?

These dark lines are associated with air pollution from air flow, and may permanently alter the appearance of your carpet.

If So you are experiencing what is called Filter Soiling Or Soil Filtration.

This happens when air pressure and currents encounter a restriction, the air will pass through the carpet. The carpet acts as a filter trapping whatever small particulates, oils and other pollutants are in the air. Filtration soiling is most easily observed on white or light colored carpet but it can occur on any color or fiber.

Filtration soil may include candle soot, particles from incomplete combustion due to a furnace puff back or misadjusted furnace, cooking oils, vehicle exhaust and particles from a myriad of other sources. These very small particles stick tightly to the carpet fibers. They are difficult to remove with agitation.

However, they can be removed by products that lubricate and suspend the fine particles. Because the exact make-up of filtration soil will vary from job to job, how well the stain responds to cleaning will also vary.

Note: Although most walls appear to be solid there are usually gaps along the bottom of the wall board.

Air passes through these gaps carrying soils into the carpet.

For a permanent solution to filtration soiling along

walls follow these steps.

1. Disengage the carpet.

2. Caulk the edge where the wall meets the floor.

3. Rest retch and trim the carpet. This will usually

remove present filtration soiling.

4. Double tuck the carpet back into the gulley

between the wall and the tack strip

CAUTION: When you encounter filtration soiling there is a

possibility that it is accompanied by fume fading. Fume fading

refers to color loss as the result of gases passing through the

carpet.

Fume fading is often hidden by filtration soiling and not noticed

until the filtration soiling has been removed. It can then

appear that the cleaner caused the color loss. It is wise to

check for fume fading and inform the consumer if it found. Do

so before it becomes an issue.

How do you remove filtration soil?

Filtration soil is difficult to remove and if it is very dark, the most you can generally hope for is an improvement in appearance. When dealing with this dark, oily discoloration’s you are challenged with a blend of many pollutants, of varying particle sizes.

Cleaning of filtration marks is not a one step process. The cleaning will require a solvent to attack the oily substance, detergent to attack soil, a lot of agitation, plenty of dwell time for the chemicals to work and a thorough very-hot water extraction. This type of cleaning is not done standing up with a cleaning wand. You will be working face to face with the carpet if you expect any type of cleaning results.

What is Harder to Clean Out of Your Carpet: Regular or Decaffeinated Coffee?

What is Harder to clean out of Your Carpet: Regular or Decaffeinated Coffee?

Decaffeinated Coffee has a dye coloring in it to appear brown. A very hot spill of Decaf could set this brown dye in your carpet if not cleaned ASAP.

Carpet Care Solutions: The store had smelled so bad they were actually using candles!

Clean Interiors

We received an urgent spot cleaning call to help a retail store with a smell by their front doors and windows. They had an apparent mildew problem. The employees had been burning candles during store hours to help mask the awful smell! It had been making them sick.

On first inspection the carpet tested wet all around the main entrance doors and there was visible white powder all along the window sills. I removed a small section of carpet from the floor to inspect for mold.

However, instead of being a major mold problem, the carpet seemed to be filled with road salt, preventing it from drying. No wonder with this being one of the worst winters and snowfall in years here in Pittsburgh.

This resulted in a noticeable smell from mildew on the surface of the carpet. Unskilled carpet cleaners would have simply extracted the carpet at this point --- but regular carpet cleaning detergents would act as “padlocks” on the road salt, leaving the road salt imbedded in the carpet. The carpet would take even longer to get dry and the smell would continue to worsen.

So what could be done? I chemically neutralized the road salt turning it into more of a table salt that could then be extracted. I ended the treatment with a premium odor remover that is designed to eliminate mold, mildew, & other odors. The manager was so happy, she said we went above and beyond, and that the service was far exceeding their expectations.

Did you know that Carpet Powder Deodorizers are VERY, VERY BAD FOR YOUR CARPET?

Did you know that Carpet Powder Deodorizers are VERY, VERY BAD FOR YOUR CARPET?

WHY?

1. Most wall-to-wall carpet is made of plastic: What happens to your sunglasses when you rub sand on them? They scratch. Your carpets can do the same and look aged with the use of these powders.

2. But the most important reason to never use Carpet Powder Deodorizers is they attract dirty and nasty oils into your carpet. It may take MANY cleanings by a Professional Carpet Cleaner to remove all of the nasty residue left from the powder. If you don't get a well trained Carpet Cleaner they may make it worse! Make sure if you use these products to let your carpet cleaner know, as they will have to use a totally different process to clean your carpets. Untrained carpet cleaners will use chemicals that will act like padlocks on the powder that will only make them more sticky and trapped in your carpet!

If you want your carpet to smell nice ask Jen and Dan about how to deodorize in a way that is safe for your carpet. www.cleaninteriors.us