Carpet Stain Removal Myths! - What Doesn’t Work

Need to remove a carpet stain? We can help.

Carpets are a fabulous feature to a residential or corporate interior. Warm, comforting, pleasing to look at and lovely to touch, they are a worthy investment for any home or office space. The upside of carpets is that they withstand the test of time, but the downside is that this lifespan can be heavily impacted if not shortened, by residual dirt, damage and surface stains. If you do have carpet throughout your home, it’s almost impossible to completely avoid the odd stain and splodge of dirt coming into contact with it. Add kids and pets into the mix, and you can almost guarantee your carpets will be stained on a semi-regular, if not daily basis.

What’s in a stain?

A lot of DIY carpet stain removal attempts end in serious disaster. Why? Because of a lack of knowledge about the type of stain you’re dealing with, and how this changes the method in which you need to use to remove it! To strip it back to basics, stains fall within several typical ‘families’ – protein, oil-based, tannin and dye. Protein-based stains are usually caused by substances such as baby food, dairy products, faeces and urine. Oil-based stains can arise from substances such as motor oil, hair products, kitchen grease, butter, ointments and some beauty products. Tannin stains are the result of spillage from alcoholic drinks, black tea or coffee, fruits and juices. Dye stains come about from entities that contain a lot of pigment and easy colour-transfer such as blueberries, cherries, grass and condiments like mustard or tomato sauce. As for combination stains – these contain both oils or waxes and dyes. Examples of potential combination-stain culprits include eye makeup, chocolate, hair-spray, peanut butter and tomato-based foods. 

It can be extremely frustrating and deflating when you put in so much elbow grease to remove a new stain, and it just won’t budge. That or some unlucky folk even face the prospect of the stain becoming worse than it was before the ambitious DIY cleaning attempt! While it could be a useful exercise list a million and one carpet stain removal tips, it also pays to look at what not to do. Once you have all the necessary information, and you’re still feeling brave – well by all means, tackle those fresh spills with confidence and the power of knowledge.

Myth #1 – Steam Shrinks

If a carpet has been laid down properly, steam will not affect the tufting of a woven or wool blend. The myth of steam causing shrinkage and deformity has only arisen due to shrinking occurring as the result of a bad carpet installation job. Over 90% of woollen carpets are constructed using the tufting method and those woven carpets still out there can be steam cleaned by someone who knows what they are doing – it all comes down to the quality of the carpet and how securely it is fixed to the floor. 

Myth #2 – You can’t wash wool or you’ll hurt the Lanolin

Well let’s just clear something up right here and now – Lanolin isn’t even in your carpet to begin with! Did you know that it is 100% removed from the wool as it is processed into yarn? And this occurs long before any weaving takes place. Lanolin is a greasy oil-based substance that simply must be removed from wool before processing otherwise it would make the cleaning and maintenance of your carpet virtually impossible! Consequently, no woollen carpet has ever had the smallest trace of lanolin left in it – meaning that anybody who claims washing wool damages Lanolin, is seriously misinformed. 

Myth #3 – Cleaning carpets ruins their appearance

It’s not about the cleaning; it’s how the carpet has been cleaned. A job done incorrectly, using the wrong technique and the wrong products can result in residue, surface damage, pH imbalance and delayed stain-resurfacing. A properly cleaned carpet will be dirt and chemical free and the carpet will be left in a neutral or slightly acidic state – eradicating potential static or delayed residual dirt. Depending on the fragility, material-type and age of your carpet, different methods will be applied with a specific product to suit your carpet’s unique qualities. Even the gentlest of products can prove ineffective or somewhat damaging if used in excess or on the wrong area. 

Myth #4 – The TV ad said it works

Any quick-fix, “magic potion” you see advertised online or in the middle of your favourite YouTube video is just a no-no if you really want to play it safe. Products that claim to eradicate stains and dirt instantly tend to have a high alkalinity, which makes them likely to be dangerous to ingest and damaging to your carpet. The reason for this high alkalinity is to make the products effective on grease and oil, and with the “vanishing effect” that sells quickly.  However, this high pH can chemically burn wool carpets and strip the surface protection that most new carpets embody to make them last. It is extremely important to spot-test any new product you’re trying for the first time – this can be done on an old scrap of carpet that you have sitting in the sewing draw, or on a corner of the room that’s out of sight. As well as being damaging, these products can simply be ineffective on most coloured stains once they have dried, meaning they’re a waste of time. You can also read up on some tips and tricks on how to tackle carpet spills and stains. 

Talk to Drytron

The only way to truly tackle carpet stain removal is to consult a professional and gather advice or direction on what your specific carpet cleaning situation requires. Through an efficient and expert call-to-action service, Drytron will consider your unique circumstances, give you an insight into what to expect in your carpet cleaning service, and provide an unbeatable quote that will see you out of stains and not out of pocket. Call Drytron Carpet Dry-Cleaning in Melbourne today, and take the strain out of tackling your stains.   

Drytron are your go-to professional carpet cleaning professionals in Melbourne. Call the friendly team for a free quote or to make a carpet dry cleaning booking.

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