We received this letter from a customer some time ago, but the problem of mysterious black stains remains in our homes, so we thought we would share with you this letter we received, what the black stains are and how to get rid of them.
"Dear Pierre. We recently moved into a house in Cambridge. The carpets has been cleaned shortly before the propery went on the market and we viewed it. We moved in and the carpet looked nice and clean. It is now 4 weeks later and these meritorious black stains started appearing all over the carpets. It is unlikely anything we have done as we did not spill anything and the kids are not allowed to eat in the room. We also do not have any pets.
Can you please help?
Many Thanks
Sam'
The reason why black stains come back is because soap residue or an oil spill is sometimes left in carpet, which attracts the dirt to build up in those areas, it can also be caused by using domestic stain removing products such as Vanish. First of all you will need to establish whether it is a stain caused by oil or by soap.
You will need:
Cup - Teaspoon - 100 - 150ml of clean tapwater
Step 1
Take aboout 2 - 3 spoons full of water and moistern the darkest stain on the carpet.
Step 2
Turn the spoon around and use the smooth handle of the spoon and masage the wet patch carefully - Do not upset the pile of the carpet.
Step 3
Observe ... Is it foamy? if so - You have found what caused this. Its a soapy residue likely caused by the previous owner or cleaner using strong soapy cleaners to try and remove stains. I have found people sometimes use Fairy Liquid. The stains where likely present before though got cleaned up when the carpets where cleaned before the house went on the market
Now how to deal with this.
My advise would be it should be rinsed throughly by a profesional cleaner
If its only minour you can try and remidy it for yourself.
You will need:
cup of water - (250 ml aprox) 50 - 100 ml white vinigar spoon a few clean absorbent cotton towels
The vinegar acts as a neutralizer to the soapy residue
Step 1
Mix the water and vinegar
Step 2
Pour amounts of the solution you made on to the stain and blot with the cotton towel.
Ensure you remove as much moisture as you can. Carefull not to rub! you will distort the pile and this is irreversable
You can pour the solution in moderate amounts on the stain and drop the towel on it and stand on it.
Repeat this process untill you see no more foam coming out.
Use this method with care and test in an inconspicouse area 1st
If you feel unsure - Call me on 01223 863632 and we can advise
Here are some photos from one we recently done ourselves.
One of our customers recently made a major carpet cleaning faux pas.....they used a bleach based product to clean up a stain!
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