Types of Stains
Petroleum based stains- gum, grease, tar, ink, adhesive, oils, etc.
Removed with petroleum based cleaners or alkaline cleaners.
Stains containing synthetic man made dye- kool-aid, fruit punch, colored candy, cough syrup, etc.
Stains containing synthetic man made dye- kool-aid, fruit punch, colored candy, cough syrup, etc.
These are removed with a reducing agent (sodium bisulfite, hydrosulfite, among others)
Stains containing organic dyes- wood stains, mustard, organic inks, Red wine, natural red juices, ketchup, food coloring and more.
These are removed with an Oxidizing agent.
Protein stains. Stains from biological source - blood, vomit, some food stains, etc.
Protein stains. Stains from biological source - blood, vomit, some food stains, etc.
These are removed wit an alkaline protein solution
Organic tannin stains such as coffee, tea, dark beer, etc...
There are removed by acidic cleaners.
Using the proper stain remover is essential to removing stains safely
While cleaning carpets here in the Anchorage area for the last 34 years we have been faced with many different kinds of stains and odors in carpets. Over the years we have learned how to remove almost any stain or odor you might have it your carpets.
Check out the following stains and situations and see which you might have in your home. Read what we do to remove the stain or problem.
Traffic patterns
The situation
In entry areas, in the living room around the furniture, in the carpet that is next to the kitchen, these are all areas that we see traffic patterns. Traffic patterns happen when oil, sand and soil penetrates the carpet fibers all the way to the carpet backing. In severe cases the backing and event he padding becomes saturated. Many times with older carpets we will find a layer of sand between the carpet and the padding.
The challenge- There are two challenges in removing traffic patterns. First is with thicker carpets being able to clean the fibers all the way to the backing of the carpets. Second is to keep soil that has gotten into the backing from wicking back up to the surface.
The solution-
With our powerful van mount steam cleaning systems coupled with the Rotovac rotary cleaner cleaning all of the
fibers is not a problem. The Rotovac has two heads the counter rotate, each with three jet sprays and three
vacuum slots. The Rotovac rotates at 360 rpms flushing the soils from your carpets.
For the wicking problem what we do depends on the severity of the problem. For less severe problems just
making extra drying passes and getting the carpet fiber as dry as possible does the job. When soil is in the backing we can apply an encapsulation product that encapsulates any soil or stains wicking back up and then dries to a fine crystal which is easily vacuumed up. There is a small additional charge when we use the encapsulation products.
Deep Spill Stains
The situation
When a spill or a urine stain on a carpet is more than saucer plate sized there is a concern that it has bleed into the backing
of the carpet.
The challenge
With spills we need to flush the stain from the backing and perhaps from the padding so it will not wick back to the surface.
The solution
We employ a tool called a water claw that is powerful enough to extract clear through the backing of the carpet. We use the
appropriate cleaning solution for the stain and we first flood the stain and then extract with the water claw. We then can
choose to use the encapsulation method as mentioned in removing traffic patterns.
Urine stains and odors
The situation
Urine stains are a health concern, are unsightly and can have a bad odor. A large urine spot or an area where the pet has gone several times can be in the backing and in the padding.
The challenge
Finding all of the urine, removing the stain, killing the bacteria, removing the odor and getting the urine that is in the backing and padding.
The solution
Finding the pet urine problem- Sometimes it is obvious where the problems are because you can easily see the stains. Other times people
have cleaned the stain from the carpets but not killed the bacteria and the odor remains. Often times some stains will show while others
will not and just cleaning what we see leaves the odor remaining from the stains we do not not. It is often necessary to use a black light
and a moisture probe to pinpoint all of the urine. Once we locate all of the urine the severity of the problem dictates what action we take.
With smaller stains we can simply apply a product called Multi-Phase Odor Neutralizer which kills the bacteria, removes the stain and neutralizes the odor.
Removing the Stain- For severe stains we use an acidic based solution that breaks down the salts in the urine and removes the stains. For deep stains we will use the water claw tool as described in removing deep spills.
Killing the bacteria- We use the Multi-Phase solution which is harmless to people and animals but removes odor causing bacteria. Again for deep stains we can employ the water claw.
Removing the urine from backing and padding- For a few spots on the carpet we can use the water claw process but if there are many deep urine stains or concentrated areas the only practical recourse is to pull up the carpet and remove the padding, treat the sub floor if necessary, thoroughly flush out the carpet, lay down new padding and lay the carpet back down. With more severe odor problems we can also use an encapsulation product created for encapsulating odors. this is used only after all of the methods have been used. Often times with cats, because they tend to use the same spot repeatedly we will need to pull up the carpets.
Our purpose is to get your carpets clean, healthy and smelling good again. If we suggest a more aggressive treatment it is because that is what we feel it will take to take care of the problem. We can never fully guarantee urine removal. We will advise you before we begin as to how successful we feel we can be. Easily 90% of the time we can remove all of the urine stains and odors.
Call us up at 907-346-4000 and we can discuss your situation over the telephone.
Dye stains
There are two types of dye stains, natural dyes such as tannin, wine, mustard, etc... and there are synthetic dyes such as food coloring and dyes in wood stains and shoe polishes etc... Removing dye styains require two different types of bleaching agents, oxidizing bleach for natural stains and reducing bleach for synthetic stains.
the process for each is pretty much the same. We apply the bleaching agents and then apply heat to the area and blot up stain with a white cloth. This can be fairly time consuming and we usually can get natural stains completely up and synthetic stains about 90% out. There is an additional cost to removing dye stains.
Ink Stains
Ink stains are removed with the proper solvents. It is a matter of carefully blotting up ink stain until it is gone.
Mold
Mold remediation is a matter of removing all mold spores, killing the mold and sealing where necessary the surface where mold was. The use of a quatenary fungicide is required. Proper safety precautions need to be used to ensure mold does not affect technicians or residents of home.
Water staining
Water stains are removed with an acidic cleaning solution.
These are the most common difficult stains we deal with.
If you have a concern please call us at 907-346-4000
and we will discuss it with you and how we can remove it from your carpets.
