When something is spilled on your carpet, do not panic and spray some cleaner on everything. The procedure for spot cleaning is simple. At first, you should always blot and absorb as much of the spill as possible. Use an old heavy towel folded over the spot and stand on the towel, moving it to absorb more. If the color of the spill is in the towel, keep absorbing.
Try diluting the spill with a mist or spray of water, absorbing shortly thereafter. Do not rub or brush the spot as this will fray or frizz the fibers. If water doesn’t cut it, try a little club soda if available. Never use laundry pre-sprays or chlorine bleach ever. Any store bought product, like an Oxy clean, should be tested in a corner of a closet first to see if it “bleaches” the carpet. If not, only use on one spot to see if it works or changes the carpet color before going on to another spot.
With the right products and little know-how you may be able to get by without having us come out. If the spill is nail polish or coffee, these can stain the carpet. Rubbing them in likely will “set” them. Before you touch it, you would be wiser to call us professionals for spills that could lead to stains. Regardless, don’t hesitate to call for advice. If you want an all-purpose spot cleaner, we carry one. Ask us for it. People love it. So will you. If you want a store bought product, try Folex. It’s sold in most stores and has been a cleaner’s secret for many years. Do not use sudsy products like Resolve or Woolite foam. These leave a soapy residue that attracts dirt to the carpet.
Realize that you must use the right product for the spill. The wrong cleaner will either set the stain or just won't work. You wouldn’t use a rust remover to get out grease but you would get out an oily spot with a citrus based cleaner. In my experience you’re better off if you call us instead of doing it yourself if the spill is nail polish (do not rub in), coffee, urine, vomit, blood or ink (do not spread).
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t blot it and keep it wet with water. Here’s a list of spills and possible solutions and a few suggestions to try at your own risk:
BLEACH: (or cleaning chemicals): If you see that the carpet color has changed, don’t clean it, it’s a stain. Take a bleached and normal fiber with you to the store and try permanent marker pen to match and then restore the color. Otherwise, it may need to be "donut-holed", cut out and replaced with carpet from a closet or spare piece.
BLOOD: Absorb with a towel especially if heavy. A small amount can be absorbed with corn starch, then vacuumed. Or try one teaspoon of enzyme detergent (like ERA) with a cup of water. Also hydrogen peroxide works great for neutralizing blood.
CANDLE WAX: Place an iron on a low setting over a brown paper shopping bag directly over the spot. Keep moving the bag to absorb more wax. Don’t ever let the iron touch the carpet or the wax.
CRAYON MARKS: Use a citrus based product like DeSolvit found at most Supermarkets.
GLUE: Act on glue when it’s wet. Use white vinegar and soak up with a towel. Hold towel over glue about a minute and absorb. For Super Glue use acetone nail polish remover. If the glue has dried, see candle wax.
HAIR DYES OR RINSES: Flush with water or club soda. Try some hair spray on rinses and then flush with water and absorb with towels.
MARKER PEN: Use DeSovit and rinse with water.
MUD OR DIRT: While wet, sprinkle with baking soda and vacuum when dry. If dry, use club soda. Remember, use anything with suds and it will attract dirt back to the area.
NAIL POLISH: Do NOT smear it. If you must try, use non-oily nail polish remover or some Lysol. Only do a couple of small spots and if it doesn’t work, don’t do anything else. Call us. We’ve gotten out NP that customers didn’t touch but not the ones they did.
PAINT: If you drop a spot, clean it up fast with water. If you spill the paint, contain the spill so it doesn’t spread. Use cardboard to scoop it up. Use water to thin it and cover it with plastic to keep it wet, then call us ASAP.
PET ODORS: Always clean up after pets. Absorb any urine from carpet. Pour Nature’s Miracle (at Pet Stores) equal to urine amount into carpet. Leave it.
PET URINE STAINS: Always blot up as much urine as possible. Flush with water. Absorb. If there’s a yellow stain, apply a tablespoon of ammonia with a half cup of water. Absorb. Then apply a third cup of white vinegar to two thirds cup of water. Absorb. Rinse.
RUST: Buy rust remover from store or rub a small ball of wet aluminum foil on it.
WINE: Blot it. Try table salt. If Red wine, try some white wine.(cheap wine of course!)
You may need to call us. Call A. Andrews & Sons Professional Cleaning Services for any spot or stain removal. The sooner you call the better. "If we can't get it out, no one can". Call or text us at 951-805-8585. Do Not Copy for web use or distribution.
