Expert: Jahann and Sons Persian Rugs - 8/21/2011

Question
Hi, I have some old stains and dirt on my brown color carpet. Most of these stains are salt, slush and dirt water stains from the winter. I have most of these stains near the front entry door. Also the weatherstripping from the bottom of the door has been rubbing on the carpet adding to its dirtiness. These are all old stains, and dirt marks.

I have tried the white vinegar and hot water method. It seems to discolor my brown carpet a bit leaving it a slightly lighter shade with a dirty ring around the outside of the area I cleaned. Either the vinegar has bleached the carpet, or the entire surface of my carpet is very dirty.

What would be some effective cleaning methods that will not discolor the carpet?

I have heard people mixing in hydrogen peroxide to the vinegar but I believe this will also bleach the carpet.

I know someone that has a Carpet Steam Cleaner. He suggested we use that and fill it with purple power as the cleaning/degreasing agent.

Thank you for your time.

I also have a few follow up questions.

How can you remove old paint drops without having to cut them out of the carpet?

What is the best method to remove old red candle wax and the dye from brown carpet?

Also what works best to deodorize old carpet?

Answer
Hi Dan,

Thank you for your questions.  I would agree with your friend and clean the entire carpet.  Purple Power, though it may seem like an odd choice, does a good job of getting out stains.  Because your carpet is so dark, I would first do a test patch in a closet or somewhere inconspicuous so you can see if it affects the color.  Instead of using the product directly in the machine, consider using it (diluted by at least 50%) for spot cleaning, and then use a regular rug shampoo to clean the rug.

As far as your other questions, for paint drops, we usually use paint thinner in small, diluted quantities directly on the rug.  However, this is quite harsh, so again, do a test spot, but also, don't get too optimistic.  Sometimes the best way to remove paint spots is by cutting them from the carpet, or just picking at the paint until it has come off.

You can remove candle wax by placing a paper towel over the wax and then using a low iron to iron over the wax and get it to adhere to the paper.  Unfortunately, removing the remaining red dye may cause more trouble than it is worth on your rug because the rug is brown.  Most of the time, the color brown is made with red and green, so if you were to use color removers to get rid of the red, you'd be left with a weird green stain instead.  Perhaps you can use permanent markers to color over the red?  Prismacolor brand markers come in tons of colors and are available at art supply stores.  

Deodorizing wall-to-wall isn't my specialty, to be honest, because I mostly clean area rugs which can be dipped.  However, we use a product called Odorcide for really strong odors, and I bet if you add a bit to your rug shampooing machine (after doing a test spot, of course) your rug would turn out quite well.

Hope the information is helpful!

Regards,
Katie

www.jahannandsons.com