How to get red wine out of carpet? Asked by sravan from Zoar, OH

Act Quickly! Delaying may cause the spill to become a permanent stain. Blot liquids with a dry, white absorbent cloth or white paper towels. Do not scrub the area! Scrubbing can cause pile distortion in the affected area. Continue to use a dry cloth or paper towels until the area is completely dry.

Call a Professional - Professional cleaners have the ability and the equipment to use more aggressive cleaning solutions to remove stubborn spills. Always consider consulting a professional cleaner regarding any spot removal question.

Do It Yourself Precautions:

Many spot removal solutions leave residues in the carpet that may attract soil. Thoroughly rinse the area several times with lukewarm tap water. A mist type sprayer is recommended to prevent overwetting. Blot with paper towels and pat dry after each rinse. Several rinses are often necessary to thoroughly remove residues. Never use any of the solutions in concentrations stronger than those recommended.

First Try A:

Detergent Solution - Mix one fourth (1/4) teaspoon of a liquid dishwashing detergent per one (1) cup of lukewarm water. NEVER USE A STRONGER CONCENTRATION! Thorough rinsing is necessary to remove detergent residues that may cause rapid soiling. It may be necessary to rinse with warm water several times to completely remove residues. (See Residue Precautions.) Care should be used in selecting a detergent. Never use a laundry detergent of any type, because laundry detergents may contain optical brighteners (fluorescent dyes) that dye the fiber. Do not select an automatic dishwashing detergent because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibers.

Continue using the first cleaning solution as long as there is a transfer of the spill to the cloth. It is not necessary to use all of the cleaning solutions if the first solution removes the spill. Be patient! Complete removal of the spill may require repeating the same step several times.

Then TRY:

Vinegar Solution - Mix one (1) cup of white vinegar per two (2) cups of water. White vinegar is a 5% acetic acid solution. It is used most often to lower the alkalinity caused by detergent solutions or alkaline spills.

Again don't move on as long as you are getting a transfer to your rag. Be patient!

If you still cant get it out Call a Pro and then have them apply Commercial formulations like Scotchgard that work well on carpets, couch and chairs to help prevent stains from wine, especially if you frequently entertain in your home. You may need to apply Scotchgard every six months or so for it to be fully effective. The wines or grape juice stain will be repelled like oil and water. This is an excellent way to protect your furnishings from wine stains for many years to come.

What is the best way to wash wood floors? Asked by jmarksjimenez from Chicago, IL

The Best Way to care for your wood Floor is by using a microfiber applicator along with a wood floor cleaning chemical. The best product you can get is from a company called Bona. We use this to maintain Abercrobie and Fitch' s wood floors. You can order everything you need at this link http://store.mybonahome.com/

Even a swiffer wet jet will do the trick but you wont be as happy with the results.

Dan Worley
www.cleaninteriors.us

First and Foremost, What NOT to Do With Mustard Stains! Part 2

First and Foremost, What NOT to Do With Mustard Stains!

Before you start trying to remove the mustard, please be sure to read the labels on anything that you’re going to use. The absolute worst thing in the world to put on a mustard stain is ammonia. Ammonia reacts with turmeric to set it even more permanently than it naturally sets itself. If you use a cleanser with ammonia on the stain, you’re officially ensuring that your item will have a lovely yellow adornment for all time.

All About Mustard Stains part 1

Why are Mustard stains so hard to remove?

Many brands of mustard contain turmeric, a spice that adds flavor and gives mustard its bright yellow color. Turmeric is a yellow dye that’s present both in the mustard seed itself and in the commercially produced mustard as an additive to enhance the yellow color. Because turmeric is a dye, if it’s not treated as quickly as possible, you could be faced with a newly-dyed polka dot on your carpet!

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.