Stain Treatment Advice
Accidents happen, and sometimes all you need is a little sage advice to sort them out.
GREEN MAN have invested time and money in professional training in advanced stain removal. Not only this, but we constantly retrain and look to invest in the latest eco-friendly cleaning technologies.
If you have a fresh stain, the best thing you can do is to blot as much as possible. Use something absorbent & washable such as a terry towel, & gently apply pressure to the stain… RESIST THE URGE TO RUB!
If you’re working with natural fibre upholstery, don’t add water. This is highly likely to create a watermark.
On this page, we would like to share some of this to help you at home…
There are plenty of occasions where you can save yourself money by dealing with a stain yourself. The most important thing is to deal with the stain as soon as possible to prevent any danger of permanent damage.
DON’T PANIC
The main problems we find when customers have attempted their own stain treatment are:
- Rubbing, not blotting. Never scrub a carpet, be gentle and blot, blot, blot… blot…
- Using the wrong product.
Most products you can buy as a consumer tend to be the wrong product. Occasionally, we encounter a stain where a customer has literally emptied the contents of the sink under the cupboard onto a carpet, including bleach! However, sometimes even the mildest sounding off-the-shelf stain treatment will leave a residue that will attract even more soils over time.
If you have a fresh stain, the best thing you can do is to blot as much as possible. Use something absorbent & washable such as a terry towel, & gently apply pressure to the stain RESISTING THE URGE TO RUB!
If you’re working with natural fibre upholstery, don’t add water. This is highly likely to create a watermark.
Step one: Be prepared
Create your own carpet first-aid kit by mixing up a batch of the following solutions.
Solution #1
Dry
This is simply surgical spirit (a form of alcohol available at most chemists).
Solution #1
Dry
Mix one teaspoon of gentle detergent (e.g. a wool hadwash product) to half a pint of warm water.
Solution #3
Detergent & Vinegar
Add one teaspoon of white vinegar to the Detergent Solution.
Solution #4
Ammonia
Mix one teaspoon of household Ammonia (available from chemists and hardware stotes) to one cup of warm water.
Step two: Using the solutions
Follow the instructions below to apply your homemade solutions to various stains like a pro! . .
Alcohol, Coffee, Tea, Liquid Foods, Urine
1. Blot up any excess spillage using a white cloth or towel
2. Use Solution #3 to dilute the stain, a little at a time, ensuring you work from the outside of the stain inwards
3. Blot dry with additional dry cloths
4. Follow the Final Rinse instructions below
Step three: Final rinse
1. Mix one-part white vinegar and four-parts water
2. Spray over the stained area
3. Blot damp area with a dry towel
4. Spread another dry towel over the affected area and weigh down with a heavy object (e.g. telephone directory)
5. Leave overnight, repeat if needed
If you have any more carpet, rug or upholstery cleaning questions, feel free to get in touch via our Contact page…
