Carpet Problems and Solutions
WATER MARKING
OXIDIZING (yellowing)
| Oxidizing basically means adding oxygen to something and a burning process begins. Its like biting into an apple, let it sit for a bit of time, and see that it has turned brown. Its oxidizing, carpets can also oxidize. Another name is brown-out. Other things beside jute backing can produce a brown-out situation. There are four basic ingredients necessary for brown-out to occur in carpeting: 1. High pH residue.....like soaps that are above 7 on the Ph scale. 2. High moisture and remaining wet for a long time 3. Oxygen 4. And time. Oxidizing can look brownish yellow, gray, or brown. A normal fix could be a solution as simple as lemon juice and water .....1 part lemon juice and 4 parts water. This is a simple acidic solution. Apply with a sprayer by fogging on the area, wipe gently with your hand and you should see it start to disappear fast. Then blot with an old bath towel. There are times when a carpet can be oxidized so badly that there is not a way to fix it. One of the main reasons why this happens is cleaning with high Ph soaps left in the carpets and or over wetting the carpets.. |
RETURNING STAINS
| There are a few reasons why stains return. The reason dirt or any substance will stick to the carpet is because the carpet is wet. Most of the time the carpet can be wet with water and the other is oil or a substance that never dries. Water is fine because it drys, oil is NOT OK because it NEVER dries. Because the oil on the carpet never dries is (in most cases) the reason a stain will reappear. To make matters worse, its not all that easy to get that oil off the carpet without damaging it. There are many ways a professional carpet cleaner can get that oil off, but I'm guessing that carpet cleaning is not the life long profession you want to do. Sooooo, what to do? Understanding the mechanics will help, and I may get into it, but meanwhile you want to know what can be done NOW! Okay, okay try to relax. What you need it a solution that will not leave a residue to compound the problem. One is the Chem-Dry's stain extinguisher.....hmmmm however that is spelled. The other is to order Mylk from us. Depending on how much oil is on the carpet is how much of a nightmare it will be. Use the above products lightly and be aware that it will take more than one time to clean. The idea is to strip the oil off without fraying the carpet. That will take time. Each time you clean you will be looking for longer and longer periods between having to clean that spot. |
POOLING
| Pooling is the carpet laying to directions that some around into a circle. You can tell this by looking for shading in the carpet and then feeling the carpet laying in opposite directions. As you move your hand in one direction the carpet will stand up and then suddenly will lay down forming a circle or a large darker shade patch This does not have anything to do with water or the carpet getting wet. This pattern does not seem to be due to manufacture defects, traffic patterns, or cleaning procedures. Their cause and prevention remains a mystery to the carpet industry. Khemkleen does consider water marking a manufacture defect and we feel its the responsibility of the manufacture to deal with such problems.. |
NYLON VS POLYESTER CARPETS
| One of the major factors in durability is "abrasion resistance." Abrasions make carpet appear dull. This Apparent dullness is due to scratches which reflect light differently from fibers that are not abraded. The thicker the yarn, the better the abrasion resistance. The rating of carpet fiber for abrasion puts nylon first, then polyester, olefin, acrylics, mod acrylics and is last wool. "Compression resiliency" is the capacity of the carpet fibers and yarn to return to the original shape after deformation. Deformation can result from heavy traffic or furniture legs. In overall recovery nylon is first again, then wool, acrylics, olefin, and last is polyester. "Absorbency" is the ability of a dry fiber to regain moisture. Absorbency affects clean- ability and drying times. This measurement is made by determining how much water a fiber will absorb at 65% humidity and 70 degrees F. Under these conditions, wool absorbs about 16%, nylon 5%, acrylic 2.5%, polyester 0.8% and olefin has virtually zero moisture regain or absorption. The above factors and many years of cleaning by many different carpet cleaning companies come to the conclusion that Nylon fiber carpets are by far the easiest to clean and maintain. Polyester and Olefin do have an inherent problem. This fabric does bond with oil and will be almost impossible to clean and have this carpet looking good. |
| Water Marking is the carpet laying in two different directions. As you look at the carpet you can see what looks like a river or a crushed path running down the middle of the carpet somewhere. Plush carpets are really know for this. When you first get the carpet you will not see this until normal waking in the affected area starts. As time goes on this will look worse. This does not have anything to do with water or the carpet getting wet. This pattern does not seem to be due to manufacture defects, traffic patterns, or cleaning procedures. Their cause and prevention remains a mystery to the carpet industry. Khemkleen does consider water marking a manufacture defect and we feel its the responsibility of the manufacture to deal with such problems. |