6 Petworth Road Haslemere Surrey

Telephone 01428 651122

www.greathurst.com

 

Carpet Maintenance and Dealing with Stains

Greathurst are authorised to undertake work for leading insurance companies.

The following guidelines are from the Carpet Foundation

Carpet Care

With regular cleaning and routine maintenance, your new carpet will look good for years. As with everything, the more care you take of your carpet, the longer it will keep its appearance and the longer it will last.

Routine maintenance aims to prevent the build-up of soil so cleaning is less frequent. Dirt and grit are a carpet’s worst enemies! An easy way to protect your new carpet is to place a doormat at entrances to a room or even a left over piece of carpet. Remember that these mats need to be cleaned regularly as well otherwise they will not prevent the transfer of dirt and grit to your carpet.

Vacuum Cleaning

Vacuum your carpet regularly, and certainly at least once a week. Heavy traffic areas should be vacuumed daily.

When a carpet is first laid, there may be some ‘fluffing’ or ‘shedding’ as loose fibres work their way to the surface. Don’t panic – this is perfectly normal!

Your vacuum cleaner must be well maintained in order to be effective. Belts and brushes or beater bars need to be in good condition and correctly adjusted for height, filters and dust bags need to be emptied regularly and filters washed or replaced depending upon the type of cleaner.

For cut pile carpets, an upright with a beater bar brush is recommended or cylinder vacuums with a turbo head attachment. For loop pile carpets, a suction only cleaner is preferred.

Vacuum cleaners are now available that incorporate high levels of exhaust air filtration, such as HEPA filters. We strongly recommend these if you have a respiratory condition.

 

Stains and Spillages

 

SPOT AND STAIN REMOVAL GUIDE

General rules for spot removal

The spot removal charts contain the methods for dealing with accidental spillages and the order in which the treatments should be tried

The EASY SPOTS chart contains those spots that come out relatively easily with the methods recommended or when the carpet is wet cleaned.

DIFFICULT SPOTS are harder to remove and may require repeated attempts with stronger spot removers. Some stains you may find impossible to remove completely in which case the assistance of a professional carpet cleaner may be required

                                       

EASY SPOTS
Spot or stain 1st
Try
2nd
Try
3rd
Try
Blood 5 6 3
Butter 7 5  
Candle wax 8 5  
Chewing gum 9    
Chocolate/cocoa 5 7  
Cola 3 5 6
Cream 7 5 6
Egg 5 6  
Floor wax 7 5  
Fruit juice 3 5  
Gravy and sauces 5 6  
Herbal tea 3 6  
Metal polish 5    
Mustard 5 6  
Oil and grease 7 5  
Paint (emulsion) 3 5  
Shoe polish 7 5  
Tea 3 5  
Urine (fresh stain) 3 5 6

 
DIFFICULT SPOTS
Spot or stain 1st
Try
2nd
Try
3rd
Try
Artificially coloured drinks 3 6  
Bleach 3 13  
C/heating radiator fluid 5 6 13
Coffee 6    
Felt-tip pen 7 or 11 12 5
Furniture polish 7 5  
Glue/adhesive 10 11  
Ink (fountain) 3 6 5
Ink (ballpoint pen) 12    
Lipstick 7    
Milk 4 5 13
Nail varnish 10    
Paint (oil) 11    
Rust 13    
Soot 6 5 2
Tar (asphalt) 7    
Urine (old stain) 6 13  
Vomit 5 6 13
Red wine 1 6  

 TREATMENTS

  1. Blot with white kitchen roll or paper tissues
  2. Vacuum clean
  3. Cold water
  4. Warm water
  5. WOOLSAFE-approved carpet shampoo solution (diluted)
  6. WOOLSAFE-approved spot remover for water-based stains
  7. WOOLSAFE-approved spot remover for greasy/oily stains
  8. Spot remover for candle wax.
  9. Chewing gum remover (solvent or freeze type)
  10. Nail varnish remover or acetone
  11. White spirit or turpentine substitute
  12. Surgical spirit (ethyl alcohol or ethanol)
  13. Call in an approved professional carpet cleaner

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