If you have carpet you will no doubt have an occasion to do some spot cleaning. But do you really know how to spot clean your homes carpet? It sounds simple but there are some things that you need to know in order to successfully spot clean. Read this article and you will be a carpet cleaning professional in no time.
The first thing you need to realize is that their is a difference between a spot and a stain. A spot is soil that is clinging to the carpet fiber and can be removed with a cleaner. A stain is something that can not be removed with basic cleaning. Examples of stains might include furniture stains or kool aid stains. If a spot does not react to spot cleaning it is actually a stain and you will need to call a professional in to take care of it. Do not waste your time or make the stain worse by working on it more. Now that this is out of the way lets move on to what you need. There are basically three things you need. You need a bottle of general spotter, a bottle of vinegar and water and some terry cloth towels. The general spotter should be one commercially available that says that it is safe on stain resistant carpet. The vinegar and water bottle should be a trigger sprayer filled with a mixture of one part white distilled vinegar and three parts water. Finally the towels should be 100% cotton terry cloth towels available in the cleaning section of most home improvement stores. Now that you have purchased everything you should keep them in one convenient location so that hey are ready to go in a moments notice. Buy a small bucket or tote and keep it in one place like under the kitchen sink. When you do get a spot, here is what you should do. First, blot up as much of the soil as possible with your terry cloth towels. Then mist on the cleaning solution and allow it to dwell for a moment. Blot up this solution with the towel being careful to blot and not rub. Work from the outside in to avoid spreading the spot. You might have to repeat this step so repeat it until no more soil transfers to the rag. Now spray the vinegar solution onto the spot and allow it to dwell. Blot it up and once again repeat until no more soil transfers. The vinegar solution will neutralize the other spotter and will remove additional soil. Let the spot completely dry before putting it back to use. If any of the spot remains you should call a local carpet cleaner but most spots will respond well to a basic cleaner and the vinegar cleaner.
I hope this article has been of assistance to you. If you need further help be sure to call your local carpet cleaner. They have the experience to handle advanced spotting and stain problems. Good luck.
