[david@zap-clean]

I've done a few tea/coffee/red wine etc stain treatments over the past few months, and usually they come out easily enough.

However, I've had a tough one recently:  It's a 'cold tea stain' on a polar-white 80/20 polyprop/wool carpet.

Stage 1 - cold rinse
Stage 2 - micro-spotter (then rinse)
Stage 3 - Coffee stain remover - dwell - rinse
Stage 4 - Red-X (rinse)
Stage 5 - Red-X + heat (rinse)
This took 3 separate visits, as it was difficult to see the stain on a wetted carpet.

One of the problems now is this area of carpet I've spot-cleaned now looks much 'cleaner' than the surrounding carpet, which never looks clean anyway (even though I have cleaned it recently).

Oh, and I've had to clean the whole carpet twice in the past month:

I HWE'd it first, and 2 weeks later I returned and it didn't look like I've cleaned it at all
So I then rotary cleaned it - which has improved it a lot.

Why is it so hard to clean; and do you think I've done enough?

[Simon Gerrard]

Dave,
You've probably done too much.
Sometimes you can make matters worse by trying too hard when really you should have just done your best and left it at that. The more you draw attention to the fact that you haven't got it out the more focused customers can become on that fact, rather than the fact that it was them who put the stain there in the first place.

Simon

[david@zap-clean]

Dave,
You've probably done too much.
Sometimes you can make matters worse by trying too hard when really you should have just done your best and left it at that. The more you draw attention to the fact that you haven't got it out the more focused customers can become on that fact, rather than the fact that it was them who put the stain there in the first place.

Simon

Good advice, thanks Simon.

[peter maybury]

I stopped using red rx a long time ago it will lighten an area . Gentle bleaching is the way forward with this type of stain. The beauty about the oxibrite/fibrebuff/fibre shampoo is that it is cheap enough to treat whole areas, (As you would with celulostic browning in floods) if you get a lightening of a patch. Personally I would just  treat the stain with peroxide but my experience with bleaches started with the oxibrite system as you always have the option to treat the whole carpet  if needed.
Is red rx used for tea stains? I thought it was for red stains, where a slightly lighter patch looks better than a bright red stain.

Peter

[L.Doubtfire - The Blade Runner]

That’s excellent advice from Simon.Rotary technique would
Improve the apperance in general because of the scrubbing and mechanical
Action.In the past I`ve found Pro-Chems Red R X to have limited results.
On Polyprop HWE on it`s own,even with optical brightners the apperance
Dos`nt last long.


Lewis  Doubtfire

[Paul Moss]

Dave wet it out, put some strong domestos on it ( yes pure bleach) aggitage it and it will disappear in front of your eyes. Then rinse it out. 

[The TACCA Scrutineer]

put some strong domestos on it ( yes pure bleach)

Now you're talking my language 

[mark_roberts]

Its an 80/20 carpet

Mark

[markpowell]

Polyprop / wool carpet 

[Paul Moss]

I read it and advised as if polypro, dont use chlorine bleach if there is any wool content

[tony bish]

Peter ,guys ,can you use oxibrite and fibrebuff without the fibre shampoo .I have a coffee stain and have plenty of oxibrite and fibrebuff but I have no fibre shampoo left .Wondered if it can be mixed and sprayed on without it etc. 

[Simon@arenaclean]

I personally would not, it uses the shampoo as a carrier which will also crystallise. Nothing wrong with adding oxibrite to pre-spray or solution tank as long as its PH is 7+, energizer works the same way and is great when mixed Enzall.

[tony bish]

Thanks Simon ,so adding oxybrite to the prespray you think would be ok and then presumably rinse out with HWE as on its own it wont crystallise .So I am also right in assuming if you added it to your solution tank also this would be beneficial in removing the coffee stain and browning .

[Simon@arenaclean]

The oxi/fibrebuff/shampoo remove stains because of the combination and it should be left to dry (shampoo will crystallise and it can be vacuumed away) or when you reach the desired result rinse out. Adding to pre-spray will act as a booster and I have removed wine stains with it mixed with enzall, then rinse with an acidic rinse.  Oxibrite and energizer need a detergent to work and they should not be used on their own. Fibre buff is an acid sour and again should not be used on it's own. It's the combination of oxi/fibre buff/shampoo that make them work. You do not need to use a crystillising shampoo to use oxibrite, any cleaner will do provided it is on the Alkali side (PH 7+) If it's in tank you can add it to most things but again it must be on the Alkali side 7+. If you are unsure check with the manufacturer. When in the solution tank it is acting as lightening additive and a cleaning booster so it will help but it's best to remove the stain before. You will have much more control. I use it in the tank if traffic lanes are really bad only on light carpets it needs 15ml per 15 litres. I would practise these techniques on samples so you can see how it works. I use DFC 210 and 105 and have mixed energizer to both with excellent results.

[tony bish]

Many thanks Simon ,advice much appreciated .

[Johnny Czarnota]

polyprop/wool mix?!?! Very odd - are you sure it is not nylon/wool mix 80% wool. Dye stain should be very easy to clean from polyprop, but it is very different story if it is nylon

[Jamie Pearson]

A lot of hotel carpets we clean are 60:40 wool:polyprop

[Johnny Czarnota]

A lot of hotel carpets we clean are 60:40 wool:polyprop

very odd mix as wool will take water stains and polyprop will take oily stains, so it is very stainable, isnt it.

[peter maybury]

Poly prop / wool is a common product. If you use a lot of fibre shampoo you would be better off buying a tub of dry foam granules it then becomes a very cheap product and easier to carrier than fibre shampoo. The solution should be raked into the carpet. Foam as a media has a greater penetration than a liquid. I believe John at restoromate sells the granules. The last lot I bought was from host vonschrader a few tubs will last me for years.

Peter
www.carpetcleanercardiff.com