FAQs - Water Stains on Carpet

Question: I have a commercial carpet with dark water stains that appeared after drying out a flood loss. Any tips on how to remove them?

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Answer: Water stains are usually simply wicked soil. If the stains are brown or rust colored, they may also contain cellulose or mineral materials from the water itself or structural materials.

Some water stains may be removed with an acid based spotter, or mild reducing agent, such as would be found in Browning Treatment by Masterblend or Coffee Stain Remover by Bridgepoint. Severe water stains often come out more readily with the use of an oxidizer, however.

I worked on one such stain that was a dark rust color, and had defied every conventional removal process. I then tried a new product of ours, Groom Solutions Peroxicap. This unique product works primarily for use in encapsulation cleaning, but it also has peroxide in its formulation. By applying the product to the stained area and the surrounding carpet as well, then following with agitation with a rotary scrubber and encapsulation pad, every bit of the water stain was removed.

One of the above processes should work for you, depending on the severity of the stain and the equipment and products available to you.

FAQs - Lingering Odors After Cleaning

(Q) Hey Jim,
I have a clothing store account that I clean on a regular basis. Next door there is a deli that had severe water damage, and the water that intruded into the clothing store contained blood and other liquids from the meat stored at the deli.

We used an enzyme cleaner to break down the blood, and the carpet cleaned well. However there is an odor still detectable in the carpet when the manager puts his nose down into the carpet. There also appears to be some odor coming through the wall.

What products do you have for treating the carpet, as well as something to control the infiltrated odor until the deli can be cleaned and put back into business?

(A)
The following are my recommendations for treatment of the odor problem that has occurred in the clothing store you are maintaining.

First, as I understand the problem, there was water intrusion from a deli located next door, and that the water contained blood and other organic materials that have created a decomposition odor.

Secondly, the drying and cleaning process that you outlined, including the use of enzyme cleaners to break down the protein in the affected area was completely appropriate.

The remaining odor that exists likely comes from two places:

1. There may be residual organic material in the carpet that has become a growth media for bacteria. This bacteria is notoriously difficult to remove, but has been successfully treated in similar situations with Microban Clean Carpet Sanitizer. If you use the product through a truck mount machine, add 6 ounces of concentrate to 1 gallon of water, then meter through the machine at a flow meter setting of 3 GPH. Follow label directions for use in portable equipment.


2. The more difficult challenge that likely exists here is infiltrated odor. This odor is likely coming from the neighboring store, as there is no vapor barrier in the wall between each building. Until any odor problems in the adjoining store are rectified, there will be some odor that could be detected in the clothing store.

An economical solution to this problem would be to place a few small Bad Odor Blocks near the area where the water originally came through the wall.

I recommend that you use the "Rain Forest" scent to best combat this odor of bacterial growth that is coming through the wall.

A better result, if your budget allows, would come with using a Vaportek Restorator unit and a Vaportek Cartridge. The natural oils used by Vaportek are completely safe to the employees and customers in the store, and the fragrance is not offensive. We have been successful in using the Vaportec product in the treatment of both smoke and decomposition odors in the past. This does not, of course, eliminate the need to clean the carpet with the Microban Clean Carpet Sanitizer.

If you need any further assistance, do not hesitate to call or email me.

Jim Pemberton

FAQs - Browning on Wool Rug

Q - Once again your crew came through for me in a very busy week last week. Speaking with Jim B about a couple of troubles with my 200 Max made for a more profitable week. Your guys are great and a class act for all to follow. Please tell them thank you for their help and sorry if I called to often.

I wanted to know if you know of a product that can handle browning on a wool rug. One of the floods I did had a large wool rug in the lobby. I don't know if it was preexisting browning but wanted to have ammunition in case it wasn't. Thanks again!!

Blessings,
Dan H

A - Thank you for this message. Lee and I are proud of our staff here, and it is always good when we see the hard work that they do is recognized. We'll be sure to let JB and the rest of them know of your kind thoughts.

Browning can be very difficult to remove from wool, as it is either staining from a jute backing, staining from minerals and soil that infiltrates with water intrusion, or both. Wool's absorbent nature and resistance to releasing stains makes the prospect of fixing this a 50/50 proposition, at best.

We have a browning treatment in stock from Masterblend called, simply enough: "Browning Treatment". Its only 10.26 per gallon. After you apply the product, you should clean the carpet with products appropriate for wool.

Thanks again for your upbuilding comments this morning Dan.

Jim

Remarkable Class at Pembertons on May 29th

We had the opportunity to have a leading expert on water damage restoration, Chuck Dewald, speak to our customers on May 29th.

I had heard that he was an outspoken, somewhat controversial character, and that in some cases suppliers and other industry leaders found his comments and approach to be negative.

We did not find any of those concerns to be valid!

Instead, our customers had the opportunity to hear one of our industry’s most innovative minds share his insights about both the technical and business aspects of the water damage restoration industry.

While the technical information that he shared was very useful, perhaps the best parts of his presentation was his passionate belief that water restorers need to have a better understanding of what they are doing. He also spoke from his heart about the deep regard that he has for those restorers both in the audience and throughout our country.

His passion, his mission, is quite obviously to bring up the level of professionalism and education of the restorers, and for them to best serve the public/the insured, and to help those restorers stand up to insurance companies that truly do not have their interests at heart.

We at Pembertons highly recommend that any restorer who wants to "be their best" take the time to attend a class taught by Chuck’s team at their home base in Morristown, Tennessee.

https://www.americandryinginstitute.com/

American Drying Institute
5740 West Andrew Johnson Highway
Morristown, TN 37814

Chuck Dewald III
Phone: (423) 312-6777
Fax: (423) 318-0672

Environmental & Health Concerns

I visited Nova Scotia (Canada) a few weeks ago, and found the approach Canada has toward health and the environment to be a few years ahead of “us” here in the US.

For example, they sort their trash into several categories and insist on using only “organic” pesticides and herbicides on residential lawns. When I questioned my hosts about what it was like when they were forced to make the transition from “the old type” of pesticides to the “organic” ones, they confessed that at first it was a problem. The early “organic products” were not very effective, and there was some public resentment for having to make these changes.

However, over the next few years the products improved and now people can know they are protecting their property while protecting their environment.

How does this story influence our industry?

A Canadian entrepreneur had wanted to develop a product that could work as an effective antimicrobial for restoration and remediation purposes, but without the associated health and safety hazards that some such products might present. When I was first introduced to his product, "Benefect Botanical Disinfectant", I was skeptical. The "Green Revolution" has given us some good cleaning products, but it has also given us some marginal performers.

However, since Canada is ahead of us in this regard, the Benefect is already a "finished product" that has been "through the paces" up north. Of course, a product cannot receive an EPA registration if it doesn't work.

There is nothing "marginal" about Benefect. We've tested the product extensively and have been, quite frankly, impressed rather than just satisfied with the results. Of course, our tests aren't as important as our customers needs and feedback.

I fully expected that some of the restorer's who had more of a "green mentality" would like the product, and a few others would keep a gallon of it around for their customers who might be apprehensive about the "chemicals" the restorer is using in their home or facility.

What I could not have expected were the amount of restorers who have completely switched over to this product. From what I've been told, these people have found that its simpler to use this type of product exclusively, because such a product reassures both their customers and their employees.

If you'd like to know more about "Benefect", visit our website at: www.pembertons.com

Thermal Energy Drying Class Today

The office has just closed for the weekend, and its giving me time to reflect on a powerful presentation that I sat in on today.

John Otero from TES Drying Systems shared his experiences and those of leading restorers nationwide with Thermal Energy Drying. When first introduced just two years ago, there was a great deal of interest, and controversy, regarding this revolutionary way of drying.

Yet, as I listened to John and both the scientific data as well as real world experiences that he shared, I realized its not really "revolutionary". Drying with heat is something we've done in our homes for years. When we use a clothes dryer, we use heat to remove moisture from our garments, and we exhaust the humid air outside of the home, rather than to attempt to dehumidify it.

How simple!

I've been receiving some great pictures from clients who are realizing the benefits of drying with controlled, directed heat. I'll post some here soon.