Cleaning a spot that just happened.
If you catch the wine stain immediately, quick action can save your carpet. Immediately get a stack of paper towels and blot the carpet. Now, get some club soda and moisten a clean paper towel or cotton spotting towel. Blot the red wine spot and repeat until no more of the wine transfers. Follow this by applying salt to the spot and patting it down. Allow it to dry and vacuum the salt out of the carpet.  If you act quick enough, you should be able to remove all of the wine.

Cleaning a spot that you missed.
In many cases, you will not be able to get to the stain right away or someone will spill wine on your carpet and neglect to tell you. In these cases, you need to get a little more aggressive with your cleaning. Mix up a solution of one tablespoon ammonia and one cup of water. Dab a cloth in the solution and blot the spot. Repeat this until no more of the stain transfers.

Professional cleaning of the wine spot.
If you have been unable to remove the spot yourself, you will need to turn to a professional. Professionals have cleaners that can handle just about any spot. One of the best stain removers for dealing with red wine is called Stain Magic. It is a heat activated product that is applied directly to the spot. A damp towel is then placed over the spot and the cleaner is activated with the heat of a steam iron.

Red Wine Removal Tips

• Professional red wine removers can be found at local carpet cleaning supply stores or online.
• Resist the urge to play chemist. The more you try, the deeper you will set the stain.

What causes seam damage?

First, let’s look at what causes a seam to become damaged. The most common reason for a seam to come apart is wear. Over time, with traffic, the glue holding the seam together will break down. When this happens, your carpet will start to separate. Another common cause of seam damage is water. If a carpet is flooded or repeatedly overwetted from improper cleaning, the seam paper can break down and the glue can loosen. This will cause it to separate. Finally, you might simply need a seam repaired because the seam has been cut to allow for access under the carpet.

How are seams repaired?

Repairing a seam is a fairly simple task but it does require some experience. Anyone can attach one piece of carpet to another, but getting it to stick and getting it to look like one piece of carpet is not always easy. This is particularly true with carpets like Berber where the continuous loop can be a challenge.

To repair a seam, your repair technician will first bring the two pieces of carpet together. This may require the use of a carpet stretcher, depending on the area being seamed. They will then place a piece of seam tape under the carpet and equally space it between the two pieces. A carpet seaming iron is then used to heat the glue. When it reaches the right temperature, the carpet is brought together and pressed down into the tape. A weight is generally then applied to the seam to keep pressure on it while the glue cools.  Once allowed to cool, the seam is ready and the carpet can be put back to use.

Carpet Seaming Tips

• If you are attempting the repair yourself, practice on a scrap piece of carpet first.
• You can normally rent seaming irons at your local home improvement store.
• If your seam is only slightly loosening, you may be able to use a glue gun to reattach the existing seam tape.
• Carpet glue, once heated with the iron,  is very hot and can easily burn you.

Post Cleaning Ripples on Residential Carpet

There are a few things that are causing your ripples. First, residential carpet is rarely installed correctly these days. Because of this, it is usually a little loose to begin with. It might look fine to you, and it might lay flat most of the time, but it probably does not have the needed tension. This is contributing to your problem because just a little bit of expansion on your carpet will cause a major change in appearance.

The main cause of the problem though is the carpet backing itself. Carpet manufacturers use clay as a filler in the latex backing. When this backing absorbs moisture, it will expand.  So, when the clay in the backing is damp, your carpet is actually bigger. This will cause wrinkles or ripples to appear on the surface. If a manufacturer uses more clay than average in the backing, the problem is more noticeable.

To remedy this situation, you simply need to let the carpet dry completely. Once it is dry, it will go back to normal. This can take 24 to 36 hours on very humid days. To speed the process, use fans to help dry the carpet and turn your homes air conditioning on to reduce humidity levels.

Post Cleaning Ripples on Commercial Carpet

Commercial carpet is typically glue down carpet. When commercial carpet gets too wet, the glue or adhesive can loosen. Just like with residential carpet, the backing can also expand when it becomes wet. Combine these two things and you get wrinkles in the carpet.

In most cases, the carpet will lay back down flat when it dries. The backing will dry out and the carpet will lay flat and re adhere to the sub-floor. This can take 24 to 36 hours during humid times. If, after a few days, you still have a wrinkle or a loose spot on the carpet, glue can usually be injected under the carpet to reattach the carpet.

Remove blood with cold water. This is one of the easiest and safest way to remove blood without setting the stain. Get some cool water and a white cotton towel. Dampen the towel and wring it out. Now, blot the stain until no more blood transfers to the towel. Work from the outside towards the center of the spot. This will keep the spot from spreading. Also, be sure to blot and not rub. Rubbing the spot can spread it and can also damage the texture of the carpet.

Remove blood with ammonia. Mix a tablespoon of household ammonia in a cup of water. Ammonia is very potent so do not inhale it and use it in a well ventilated area. Moisten a white cotton spotting towel with the solution and blot the spot working from the outside towards the center. Just like with water, be sure to blot the spot and do not rub. Repeat until no more blood transfers to the spot.

Remove blood with peroxide. Use 3% hydrogen peroxide, the kind commonly available in the pharmacy. Pour just a little of the peroxide onto the spot. Do not soak it. Allow the peroxide to foam up and blot it with a clean and dry cotton towel. Repeat this process several times or until no more of the blood is removed.

Hire a professional. If the spot is very large, you might need to call a professional to clean it. Be sure to tell them the nature of the spot when you call your carpet cleaner so they will have what they need to handle the situation. Blood stains call for specialized solutions.

Cause # 1: Residue

This is the most common cause of a returning spot on a carpet. You will clean a spot and in a few days it will come back. This is caused by the residue left behind by the spot cleaner that you have used. It attracts soil and holds it like a magnet so every time you step on where the spot was, a little soil will stick to it. Eventually, the spot will come back.

To deal with this problem, you want to use a spot cleaner that leaves a minimum of residue. Choose cleaners that have little to no soap. Also, you can follow up your use of a general spotter with the use of an acid spotter. Mix one part white vinegar with two parts water and mist it on the spot. Blot up the solution and repeat. The acid spotter will help to neutralize your soapy general spotter.

Cause # 2: Heavy Use

Sometimes the problem is not that the same spot is coming back but that similar spots are reoccurring within a short time. This is probably because of high use in the area.

To remedy this situation, you have a few choices. You can cover the area with a rug so that something other than your carpet is affected or you can change how the room is used. If a certain area is getting overused, you can rearrange the furniture to change how the room is used. This will prevent spots from reappearing in the same spot and it will also spread out the wear so that your carpet will last longer.

Cause #3: Pets Returning To The Area

With pet stains, the problem might not be that the spot is returning but that the pet is returning. If an animal is not well trained, they will often return to the same spot over and over again. It might look like the same stain because they are marking the exact same spot.

To fix this situation, you should first and foremost look into pet training. A well trained pet is a happier and more home friendly pet. Besides training, you also have to remove the odor from the spot. This will keep the pet from smelling its way back to the area. Use an enzyme treatment to digest the organic material that is causing the odor. You might also consider using a professional carpet cleaner to remedy the problem.

Cause #4: Wicking

Wicking can occur when a spot is cleaned with too much moisture. The excessive moisture forces the spot down into the backing of the carpet or the carpet pad. When the area dries, it wicks back up to the surface.

To solve this cause of returning spots, you should re-clean the area but use less moisture. Spot clean by applying the spotter to a towel and then the carpet to prevent yourself from using too much moisture. After spot cleaning, use a fan to speed the drying of the carpet. The quicker it dries, the less likely anything will wick back.

To find the best company for this type of work, the best method is to look for a referral. This is detail oriented work and you do not want to go to just anyone. Ask your friends who might have oriental rugs if they have used anyone. Call the store where you bought the rug or another fine rug dealer in your city and ask if they can recommend a repair company. As a last resort, look to the internet to look for reviews. Find a few company names and do a search for them on the internet. Add keywords such as “reviews”or “complaints”and see what comes up.

Common Types Of Rug Repairs

Fringe Repairs: Perhaps one of the most common repairs needed on oriental rugs. Fringe is often damaged from heavy traffic, pets or vacuuming. Fringe will either be restored by inserting individual pieces into the existing fringe or by sewing on a pre-woven fringe section to the end of the rug.

Hole Repairs: Occasionally, you will get a hole in an oriental rug. This might be from aggressive use, pet damage or a number of other causes. To repair this, there are two main choices. The best choice, but the most difficult is to re-weave the rug with similar yarns. This is very labor intensive but will yield the best results. Another option is to patch the rug with a similar oriental rug. This is a cheaper approach but the patch will not exactly match the rug.

Edge Repairs: Edger repairs are needed when the edge or side of the rug begins to unravel. To repair an edge that has begun to unravel, the edge will either be sewn by hand or will be machine sewn. Hand sewing is more expensive but will produce the best result.

Misc. Repairs: Besides the above listed repairs, there are literally dozens of other repairs that could be needed. You might need a tear repaired, dye repairs, dye removal or you even might need a rug to be cut down to a different size. All of these repairs are within the scope of the competent rug repair service.

Truck mounted steam cleaning for commercial night work.
Truck mounted steam cleaning is the preferred method of carpet cleaning. It removes the most soil and will get the carpet dry in a hurry. It is not always feasible however due to the constraints of truck mounted systems. Doors would have to be left open in order to run hoses into the building and in secure locations, this is not possible. The cleaning location must also be within a reasonable distance of the cleaning van. In general, this means no more than three stories up and no more than 200 yards away. If this method is possible however, it is the preferred way to go.

Portable steam cleaning for commercial night work.
Portable carpet cleaning does not have the constraints of truck mounted carpet cleaning. It might not produce quite the same results but it is typically easier because the equipment is, as the name states, portable. No carpet is out of reach of these systems because the system will be brought to the carpet. Portable systems also allow for doors to remain locked during the cleaning. This is important in situations where security is an issue such as government buildings or banks.

Portable dry cleaning for commercial night work.
One final possibility for nighttime cleaning of commercial applications is dry cleaning systems. Dry cleaning equipment is portable so it has all of the benefits of portable steam cleaning with the added benefit of quicker drying times. It does not remove as much soil as steam cleaning however so it is not recommended for heavily soiled carpets.

What is oxygen carpet cleaning?

Oxygen carpet cleaning is not really a process all of its own. It is merely the use of a cleaning solution that releases oxygen. You can use this type of cleaner in just about every carpet cleaning method. This type of cleaner is most commonly used in steam cleaning or bonnet cleaning however.

What are the benefits of oxygen carpet cleaning?

The benefit is mainly in the brightening and disinfecting characteristics of oxygen. Oxygen tends to brighten fabrics so carpets cleaned with a chemical that releases it will appear brighter than those cleaned with another solution. Oxygen is also a terrific sanitizer and will help to disinfect your carpet. This is not to say that your carpet will be completely sanitized however, because it is not being cleaned in a lab. Every bit helps though and oxygen will improve the cleanliness and smell of your carpet.

Should I use a cleaner that uses oxygen?

Yes, oxygenated carpet cleaners are wonderful at cleaning heavily soiled carpets and leave them fresher and safer. They are generally more natural in nature and are a good alternative to chemical laden cleaners.

The best way to clean this type of carpet, or any carpet for that matter, is to use a truck mounted steam cleaning system. These machines are able to produce high water temperature and vacuum power. This allows them to get your carpet cleaner and drier. Truck mounted machines are not available for consumers to rent however so you will have to turn to a professional carpet cleaner in your city. Here are the steps that your cleaner should use.

Step 1: The cleaning of your Tactesse carpet should begin with a thorough pre-vacuuming. This will remove dry soil before it gets wet. Dry soil is much easier to remove than wet and sticky soil.Your cleaner should take their time with this step to remove as much soil as possible.

Step 2: Next, your carpet cleaner should pre-treat the carpet with a cleaner designed to break down and emulsify soil. This is a crucial step because cleaners need time to work. They should spray the pre-treatment in the area to be cleaned and allow it to dwell for several minutes.

Step 3: After allowing the pre-treatment to dwell, your Tactesse carpet will be rinsed with high temperature water using a truck mounted cleaning machine. The carpet cleaner can use plain water, an acid rinse or a soap free rinse aid.

Step 4: To remove any stains that did not come out with a basic cleaning, your carpet cleaner will now spot clean your carpet. Some stains will require the use of specialized cleaners such as solvents or dye removers. Your cleaner should take the time to properly clean these spots.

Step 5: Finally, your cleaner should take steps to get the carpet dry. This can involve using drying fans or simply using the tools available in your home. Ceiling ans should be turned on and on nice days, windows should be opened to remove humidity. In bad weather, you should be instructed on how to use your homes HVAC system to decrease the drying time.

• High heat increases the effectiveness of chemicals. The higher the heat, the more effective the cleaner is. For every 10 degrees of heat increase, the chemical becomes twice as active. Heat allows for carpet to get cleaner and also allows the carpet cleaner to use less chemical. This increases safety and reduces the residue left in the carpet.
• High heat will power through greasy soil. High temperatures can literally burn through greasy stains. Oily and greasy stains represent a significant amount of the soil in a carpet. With high temperatures, a cleaner can power through these stains without the use of harsh solvents.
• High heat reduces the drying time. Hot water evaporates faster, it is a simple fact. So, a carpet cleaned with high temperature steam will dry much faster. in some cases, you can get carpets dry in less than an hour with high temperatures without the use of drying fans.
• High heat will help to sanitize. Bacteria can not stand up to heat. High temperatures are one method of sanitizing objects, so it stands to reason that high heat will help to sanitize a carpet.
• High heat will clean faster. A carpet cleaner using a high temperature steam cleaning system will get your carpet clean faster. This is because their system is more effective. They do not have to make as many cleaning passes to get your carpet clean. This also means that they will be using less water which will get your carpet dry faster.