I often get this question, "I cleaned my grout a few weeks ago and they are already dirty, why does this happen?"
Well there can be several reasons for this but the most probable answer is that you really never got them clean. Grout is very porous and therefore absorbs soil very quickly. What usually happens is the homeowner will put some general purpose cleaner on the grout, scrub it in with a toothbrush and then wipe it off with a towel. Well as you can imagine, most of the soil and cleaner was absorbed into the grout and as the cleaner evaporates the soil wicks to the surface.
Other reasons are: You left a residue on the grout and now it is a magnet for dirt, or a process caused efflorescence to take place where salts from the grout rise to the surface, or you removed the topical sealer thus exposing the grout to rapid re soiling.
Remedy: The only true way to clean the grout is using a professional tile and grout cleaner who uses a high pressure, high heat cleaning method followed by adding a reactive sealer. If you are a do-it-yourself er I recommend using a general purpose cleaner, agitating it into the grout and then rinsing with a Hoover Floormate or similar machine.
Hope this help,
Jason Mitchell
Ace of Clean
Tags: "Keller Carpet Cleaner", "Keller Carpet Cleaning", carpet cleaner, carpet cleaning, carpet spots, cat, dog, Keller Carpet Cleaners, furniture cleaning, pet accidents, pet odor, pet stains, Red Wine Stains, Tile Cleaning, traffic lanes, upholstery cleaning, urine, water damage restoration
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
How To Remove Spots From Your Carpet
I often get the question "How Do I Remove Spots From My Carpet?" and I often ask "what kind of spot?" This can a slippery slope for me because what if I give bad information and the "spot" (which can be removed) becomes a "stain" (which cannot be removed).
The first thing I will say is to determine if the spot is a "water" based spot or a "solvent" based spot. For instance a water based spot will usually be a food, drink, bodily fluid, ect. spill. While a solvent based spot will be nail polish, glue, lipstick, ect. I will first say that it would be a good idea to call a professional on the solvent based spots. You can sometimes do more harm than good.
Once you have determined that the spot is a "water" based then I would try and determine if there are dyes involved. For instance was it a "kool aid" spill or maybe someone got sick who threw up but had drank "kool aid" before hand. These can also be difficult but in a lot of situation can be corrected. The main thing is to not get to aggressive. If the dye part of the spot will not clean out using the following tips, please call a professional cleaner.
Use a MILD detergent (maybe a little laundry detergent, non chlorine bleach, mixed with warm water) apply to affected area and blot. Never scrub, if you need a some agitation use your fingers to massage the detergent in. Be careful with some of the over the counter cleaners as they can be to aggressive.
I know, what does "blot" mean. Just put a white cotton towel over the spot and apply pressure. Reapply and repeat until "spot" is gone.
Some problems you might have are, when the "spot" dries you might have a white powder look. Usually that means to much detergent was used and you should be able to correct this by vacuuming and them rinse using water only. Another problem may be the "spot" returns. What causes this is one of two things. First the "spot" was not completely removed and the residue left is causing soil to stick to it. The second is the "spot" is deep into the carpet. To correct this follow the "spot" removing tips and when finished leave a dry cotton towel on the area and place a weighted object on top and leave until "spot" is dry.
Hope this helps.
Tags: "Keller Carpet Cleaner", "Keller Carpet Cleaning", carpet cleaner, carpet cleaning, carpet spots, cat, dog, Keller Carpet Cleaners, furniture cleaning, pet accidents, pet odor, pet stains, Red Wine Stains, Tile Cleaning, traffic lanes, upholstery cleaning, urine, water damage restoration
The first thing I will say is to determine if the spot is a "water" based spot or a "solvent" based spot. For instance a water based spot will usually be a food, drink, bodily fluid, ect. spill. While a solvent based spot will be nail polish, glue, lipstick, ect. I will first say that it would be a good idea to call a professional on the solvent based spots. You can sometimes do more harm than good.
Once you have determined that the spot is a "water" based then I would try and determine if there are dyes involved. For instance was it a "kool aid" spill or maybe someone got sick who threw up but had drank "kool aid" before hand. These can also be difficult but in a lot of situation can be corrected. The main thing is to not get to aggressive. If the dye part of the spot will not clean out using the following tips, please call a professional cleaner.
Use a MILD detergent (maybe a little laundry detergent, non chlorine bleach, mixed with warm water) apply to affected area and blot. Never scrub, if you need a some agitation use your fingers to massage the detergent in. Be careful with some of the over the counter cleaners as they can be to aggressive.
I know, what does "blot" mean. Just put a white cotton towel over the spot and apply pressure. Reapply and repeat until "spot" is gone.
Some problems you might have are, when the "spot" dries you might have a white powder look. Usually that means to much detergent was used and you should be able to correct this by vacuuming and them rinse using water only. Another problem may be the "spot" returns. What causes this is one of two things. First the "spot" was not completely removed and the residue left is causing soil to stick to it. The second is the "spot" is deep into the carpet. To correct this follow the "spot" removing tips and when finished leave a dry cotton towel on the area and place a weighted object on top and leave until "spot" is dry.
Hope this helps.
Tags: "Keller Carpet Cleaner", "Keller Carpet Cleaning", carpet cleaner, carpet cleaning, carpet spots, cat, dog, Keller Carpet Cleaners, furniture cleaning, pet accidents, pet odor, pet stains, Red Wine Stains, Tile Cleaning, traffic lanes, upholstery cleaning, urine, water damage restoration
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