What can happen with store bought carpet cleaning products?
What about those spot cleaners at the grocery?
Spot cleaners found at your local grocer promise a lot of things. Depending on how you use them, the spot you are attempting to remove and a few other factors, will determine the success or failure of the product.
What can happen when using a store bought product?
We did a carpet cleaning in Palm Harbor, Florida and the client showed us a very dark spot in the carpet. She told us that she had cleaned the spot with a store bought product and that it came back in a couple of weeks. She understood that we would be unable to get the spot out. Well, she was almost right. Fortunately, with professional training and experience, the spot came out. It was still gone a month later. This is not always the case.
Where to place the blame?
Why did the spot return after the client had cleaned it? Was it the fault of the product? Was it the fault of the home owner? A little bit of both. One of the things that many spot removers fail to tell you is that they are nothing more than a detergent. You may think that detergent is a good thing for cleaning, but be warned: if you put a detergent (soap) on something and you do not rinse it out, that detergent stays there. All of the sticky residue remains in the carpet and that will quickly attract dirt, dust and more. This can turn that spot even darker than it was originally. This is one scenario.
What else could happen?
Many store bought spot removers work with extremely strong chemicals. Though the majority of these ask you to test the product in an inconspicuous area before attempting to use, let’s be honest, we all assume that it’s okay to use because of the fancy bottle. Besides, the store wouldn’t sell it if it could ruin your carpet. Skip ahead to the brown spot on your blue carpet. You just used the product and now you have one VERY CLEAN spot in the middle of your blue carpet, or do you?
Something that may have occurred is color loss. You just finished “Bleaching” your carpet in just one spot. Now what? Use the spotter on the entire carpet? Move a piece of furniture on top of the area to hide it? You will likely have to live with the new spot or pay to have it dyed or the carpet replaced.
So what can you do?
Don’t worry. There are some good products out there. I would suggest calling a local carpet cleaning company first. Some may not want to help you “Do It Yourself” and many will try to get out there and do it for you so they can be paid (That is how they earn a living after all), but if they are a good company that cares about doing the right thing, they will advise you without trying to sell themselves. It may come down to a point where you have to have a professional handle it, but at that point you know who the honest, caring professionals are.