Carpet 911

OK- these questions get priority treatment. I worry about stranger's carpet- strange- I know.

Last week I couldn't sleep thinking that a friend of mine was installing polypropylene carpet in her husband's chiropractor's office. Nylon or nothing- that's my motto.

So- when Yvonne wrote with a potentially permanent stain on her carpet- I made this lovely stranger my top priority.

Yvonne wrote:

Hello Christine,

I now live in San Diego. However, I was born and raised in Sacramento. So I am very familiar with Roseville, Newscastle, Grass Valley, Nevada City(one of my favorite places), etc.

My Min Pin had a bad case of diarrhea while I was at work. Poor thing. Anyway, I've had her for 12 years. She has always been trained and excellent about going on the paper, which I have laid down on the kitchen tile floor But now, she goes poop and pee in the area where she had the bad case of diarrhea. Help! What is the best way to not only get rid of the stains but to neutralize the smell from the carpet. I'm thinking about ripping out that urine stained section. Can you help??
Yvonne

Yvonne,

Good question! And you asked the right person. Pet stains are the HARDEST stains to deal with- and a dog getting an unwanted favorite spot- is not uncommon. If this has been going on for a while- it is very likely in your padding- and you should consider having your carpet pulled up- replacing the padding- bleaching the concrete- and re-stretching your carpet.- First- let's work on getting that carpet taken care of:

Follow these steps from 3M:

Step 1:

For large stains, work from the outside of stain to the center to prevent spreading.
Blot up liquid spills with a white towel or paper towel.
Mix a solution of 1/4 teaspoon of clear hand dishwashing detergent with 1 cup of water. Stir gently.
Apply detergent solution directly to a white cloth. Dampen the carpet fibers in the stained area with the cloth. Avoid saturating the carpet.
Wipe gently. Turn cloth frequently. Never rub, scrub or use a brush. This may damage carpet fibers.
If necessary, use your fingertips to work the solution to the base of the stain.
Wet the stained carpet fibers with clear, lukewarm water to rinse.
Cover the spot with an absorbent white towel or paper towel and apply pressure to blot.
Repeat the rinsing and blotting procedures until you are sure all traces of the detergent have been removed.
If the stain is gone, place an absorbent white towel or paper towel over the area cleaned, and weigh towels down with a heavy, color-fast object, such as a weighted plastic wastebasket.
Change towels or paper towels until carpet dries.
If stain remains, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2
Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water.
Apply vinegar solution, rinse and blot as outlined in Step 1.

3M is a great source for instructions- as they own Scotchgaurd and have to honor warranties to people who cannot get stains out of their carpet- so they are motivated to get it right.

The vinegar helps to neutralize the area to prevent a recurrence.

You treat vomit, urine and feces all the same in carpet cleaning.

When my nephew threw up on my mother's off white new carpet at Thanksgiving a few years ago- I acted fast and actually cleaned the entire area with no soap at all. (For which I deserve a medal I think...) I removed the debris- got a roll of white paper towels- added sparkling water to the spot. The carbonation helps to lift the stain- dried it and repeated. I then repeated the act over and over and over. I used an entire roll of paper towels. Never put a dirty towel on your carpet in an effort to clean it. Get a fresh one. Don't worry about wasting towels. Carpet is expensive- paper towels are not. I put the sparkling water on- set some clean towels on it- and stepped on it. I didn't rub- or use a brush. You want to keep the twist in the carpet- so just apply pressure- not agitation. When the towels came up completely clean- I continued using towels until they came up dry. You don't want to leave water in the carpet- it is hard on the fibers. Avoiding the use of soap is best as it is very hard to rinse carpet- and tends to leave a residue that will later attract dirt more easily. Sometimes soap is needed to remove a stain- a mild Ivory soap and water solution is good- as stated above. Don't worry that you might have just spent an hour of your life cleaning your carpet. An hour is nothing compared to a permanent stain. Don't get lazy and quit too soon. (A COMMON MISTAKE) Be late for work. Make your children late for school. Miss church- whatever it takes- this is your CARPET!

If I had a pet- I would keep Scotchgard™ OXY Clean & Protect Pet Spot & Stain Remover on hand- but use it sparingly- and follow with water and drying the area to remove as much cleaner as possible.

Whenever I use a liquid cleaner- I always follow with Capture Carpet and Rug Dry Cleaner. This helps to pull the cleaner out of the carpet- as well as dirt.

My favorite carpet cleaner for unknown stains is Nylac carpet cleaner.