Carpet Care
Here are some tips for maintaining your furnishings, removing stains and dealing with emergencies
Carpets
Avoid
over wetting or vigorously rubbing carpets. Many proprietary spot
cleaners can bleach the carpet.
Blood
Blood is fairly easy to get out of a carpet (in
small amounts!). Soak up with paper towels, put some cold water on the
strain and work in with your finger, soak up again with paper towels.
Repeat if necessary.
Dust
Marks
These are the black marks that come up round the
edge of carpets. Currents of air bringing dust up from underneath the
floorboards cause them. Cleaning will usually only partially remove them
and they may reappear. Putting down paper and sealing the edges of the
floor before a carpet is laid may stop them.
Flood
Damage
Water stains i.e. from burst pipes should be
treated professionally and quickly if a lot of water has gone on the
carpet. After the cause of the leak is fixed mop up the water with
towels. NB Many terracotta plant pots are porous and will slowly leak
water.
SpeedyClean can help if you are local to us.
Floods from Flood water or backed up drains need
speedy and professional attention. Quite apart from damage to your house
and its contents there is usually a risk that bacteria from the dirty
water will cause illness. We suggest you contact your insurers or the
national carpet cleaners association Tel 0116271-9550 (or visit their
website) for a company that deals with Flood Damage.
SpeedyClean can
help if you are local to us.
Food
Remove any excess then wipe with a cloth wrung out
with a mild detergent.
Glue
It needs to be cleaned professionally, try wipe up
any residue.
Ink
Blot up any excess. Indian and other natural inks
are very difficult to get out of carpet completely but synthetic inks
i.e. as used in shoe polish, can be removed by a solvent such as dab it
off. For large stains get professional advice. For ball pint pen marks
use a dry cloth and methylated spirits.
Lily
Pollen
If dry try and vacuum clean off excess. If wet soak
up with a dry cloth. Professional cleaning can often remove any residue
but don't attempt cleaning the stain yourself with detergents.
Milk
Though it will not permanently stain a carpet, milk
will give a horrible smell if not completely cleaned out, may need
professional cleaning.
Mud
Let mud dry completely, brush with a stiff Brush to
break up the mud then vacuum off.
Nail
Varnish
Use a non-oily nail varnish remover or cellulose
thinners and a dry cloth on superficial stains. Get professional advise
for larger marks
Pet
Stains
Animal urine is caustic and will often permanently
stain a carpet. As with drink stains soak up as much as possible. There
are proprietary odour removers but professional cleaning may be needed.
For upholstery and curtains dry cleaning is effective for removing
smells.
Paint
Do not get it on the carpet in the first place is
the best advice. Emulsion when wet should be rinsed off with water, When
dry it can be broken down ( if superficial stain) by rubbing with the
blunt edge of a knife and then vacuumed cleaned off. You can use small
amounts of white spirit to remove gloss paint but it can take the colour
out of the carpet. If the paint is dry and superficial it can be shaved
off with a sharp knife though be careful not to put holes in the carpet.
Red
Wine
As with other drinks blot up as much as possible
with a paper towel or dry cloth. Sprinkle white wine ( its acidity helps
neutralise the stain) or water onto the stain and blot up again. Remove
remaining stain with methylated sprits and a dry cloth. We do not advice
putting salt on the stain.
Rust
Put Lemon juice on the mark, leave for a minute
then rinse off with water, repeat if necessary. If this is unsuccessful
professional cleaning will normally remove the rust.
Tar/oil
Remove stain with a spirit based cleaner, water
will not dissolve oil based stains.
Tea/Coffee/drinks
Mop up as much as possible using a paper towel or
an absorbent cloth until colour has gone. A cloth wrung out in a mild
detergent or methylated sprits dabbed with a dry cloth may loosen up any
residue left.
Soot
Soot is oily and cleaning with water and detergent
is usually unsuccessful,. Vacuum clean up as much as possible. Small
stains can be cleaned with a solvent-based cleaner but a professional
should clean large stains.
Upholstery
Spot clean upholstery very cautiously as it is easy
to make watermarks, particularly on cotton and linen fabrics. As with
carpets, try to blot up any excess with kitchen towel or a cloth. A
cloth well wrung out in mild detergent can be used to wipe up sticky
stains but be careful not to get the fabric damp. Do not use water on
silk or cotton velvet. Only wash loose covers if the manufacturers
instructions recommend it. Most upholstery will be damaged permanently
if it gets wet. Try and get it professionally cleaned
BEFORE it dries.
Curtains
We recommend vacuum cleaning curtains every 6
months, particularly the headings and any pelmets and swags to stop dust
building up.