FAQs - 2 White Rugs

Q - Jim,

I have a customer with a pair of white area rugs. Low profile white rugs. One is nylon with some nasty spots. A couple of beeps occur with moisture sensor.

Kory, my technician says no pets, but they are elderly, and the rug was in the bedroom, sooo I think I know what that might be. Also an extremely dirty area beneath where the bed was. They also are coffee and tea drinkers. (Sounds like Kory was doing his detective work!)

The other rug is 55% wool, 45% Acrylic. It also seems to have a cream colored coating maybe slightly yellowed on the back, kind of reminds me of the stabilized backing on some furniture. Some light yellow places apparently under pieces of furniture, and some assorted light yellow spots (6 or 7) at random places on this one. No foul odors that I can detect, but a noticeable fragrance upon getting down and smelling the carpet. Wonder if they use some kind of powdered stuff?

Any suggestions or warnings?

Thanks,
John
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A - Hey John,

Kory gets an "A +" and Gold Star for detective work!

The white nylon rug can be cleaned aggressively, and either Stain Magic or Stain Zone should clear everything up.

The white wool/acrylic blend is the problem rug. The presence of a fragrance that could be foot powder, lotion, or body oil are all contaminants that should be thoroughly rinsed from the carpet, and that alone can cause potential color problems that cannot be predicted ahead of time. Get a release on this issue.

Wool will "fuzz" (as you probably already know) with aggressive agitation, and its no friend of peroxide based cleaners. Try something with a reducing agent, like one of the sodium bisulfite based coffee stain removers, such as Bridgepoint Coffee Stain Remover or Prochem Coffee and Tannin Spotter and just let them work. These products are also surprisingly effective on urine stains.

You can use either Stain Magic or Stain Zone on the wool as well, but only with a release. These particular products exceed all wool care recommendations, and may damage the fiber as well as the color.

Jim