Tips for Spot Cleaning Your Carpets and Rugs

Carpet Spotting  DIY

If you're going to do some spot treatment yourself, there are a few recommendations in this carpet spotting do-it-yourself, based on our experience of what we have seen work and not work in the field.

1. The type of carpet spotter you should use

Based on our experience, there are certain spotters to avoid.  Oxy clean can cause bleach spots if not rinsed out properly.  In addition, resolve can also cause bleach spots if not rinsed out properly.
All spotters in the home will leave some sort of residue on the carpets. Some more than others and chances are after a few weeks, the spot where you treated will "re-appear", but it's actually not the same spot, but a new spot caused by the residue left from the spotter. Carpet cleaners have the same problem, if the carpets are not thoroughly rinsed using special rinsing methods, they too can leave a residue that will attract dirt and cause the carpets to look dirty again in a few weeks, sometimes sooner. DFW Steam Cleaning leaves your carpets soap residue free, so no worries about us creating pesky new spots.
Our recommendation for carpet spot cleaning is Spot Shot. It will leave residue unless properly rinsed, but the residue will not damage your carpet if you don't get it all out. This is for normal soil. Pet stains are another matter.

2. How to use the carpet spotter

Follow the directions on the label, but we recommend combing the carpet with a towel like you do your hair. Apply spot shot to the spot, let it dwell for a few minutes, then with a clean white towel that is damp with hot water (white so you can see transfer) start at the top of the spot and stroke downward a few times, the go the opposite direction and then the same for the right and left. This will gently "spot" the entire carpet fiber without aggressive rubbing which can cause your carpet to fray or remove fibers. After you have rubbed in the spotter if you need to apply more spotter to the spot, do so. Better to go through this process a few times and take a little of the stain off each time gently in layers like peeling an onion, than to be overly aggressive and create a fuzzy spot where the carpet fibers are damaged. Take the towel and rinse it out with warm to hot water and then with it very moist, go back to the spot and blot up the residue. Rinse in this fashion a couple of times so you can remove as much residue as possible. If you would like to put a small fan near the spot, it would help with dry time.

3. Time is an important factor

We understand that professional steam cleaning is always the way to go when considering thorough carpet cleaning. However, there might be unfortunate situations that could arise to catch you off guard. Maybe at a family get-together where one of your nephews runs and hits the glass of wine over the carpet. At that point you need to be proactive in your response, time is of the essence when it comes to stains. The longer the delay the harder the stains become to remove. Get a clean cloth to dab on the area, apply pressure but do not scrub to avoid discoloration. In Contrast, after acting fast to saving the future of your carpet and the serenity of your ambiance, you need to be patient.
Patience is very important as a lot of the carpet rescue mission entails the constant repetition of the cleaning process. You will need to apply pressure to the area constantly and change the cloth or paper towel so that the stain can be limited. No one wants a wine stain to be a constant reminder of how naughty his or her nephew was. In fact, no one wants a blemish on their carpet. It has a way of ruining the aesthetics of the room and to avoid irritating questions from visitors, it's best to act quickly but be patient in the process. Allow the spot to dry properly, you could also use a cleaning compound to speed up the drying process.