Carpet Problems and Solutions by Chase and Sunny KhemKleen
WATER MARKING of your carpets
OXIDIZING (yellowing) of your carpets
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 in the carpets
There are a few reasons why stains return. The reason dirt or any substance will stick to
the carpet is because the carpet  or substance spilled is wet.  Carpet can get wet with
water, sugars or with an oil. Any substance that never dries.  Many carpet spot cleaning
products have that oil in them called soap.   Water is fine because it drys, oil is NOT OK
because it NEVER dries.. When a stain comes back, check closer to the backing.  Notice
that the carpet is still clean and only dirty on the top.  There is a residue left behind that is
still wet, yet not wet to the touch.
There are many ways a professional carpet cleaner can get that oil out of your carpet.
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.  What you need is a solution that will
not leave a soapy residue to compound the problem.   One is the Chem-Dry's stain
extinguisher.....hmmmm however that is spelled.   The other is to order
Mylk or carpet
solution from us on eBay.  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 of the carpets
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. However
as stated by Michael Hilton (
the carpet buyers handbook) that when the carpet is
replaced, water marking will occur in the in the same area suggesting that the cause is
environmental in nature.
What is water marking, oxidizing (yellowing), returning
stains, pooling, and nylon vs polyester carpets?
Simple spills and how to care for your carpets
 There are times when someone spills a liquid on that carpet.  It could be a carbonated
drink, juice anything.   First thing is to get as much as you can off the carpet.  An old terry
cloth towel is best.  The towel will not shred or fall apart, and it will soak up the spill
.   
 
Next, if you have to do anything at all, is to use  simple things like water, club soda,  
water and lemon juice (natural) or water and white distilled vinegar.  
Spray one of them on
the spill and blot (do not rub) with an old terry cloth towel.
 Do not use soaps, or shampoos, they are oiled based and will leave a residue causing the
stain to return.
 Here is our KhemKleen product  (Ebay)
 Vacuum the carpet at least once each week.   Hard particles will cause the carpet to
wear, so vacuuming is important.   
 Anytime the carpet gets wet with anything is when it could get dirty.  A wet carpet will
cause the dirt to stick.   There is two basic ways a carpet can get wet,  water or oil.  
Water will dry and there will be no harm... Oil on the other hand is potentially bad
because it never drys.  There can be oil on the carpet and nobody can tell until that spot
appears or comes back.  Test the spot by looking at the fibers close to the bottom or jute
backing.... notice that the spot is dirty on top but not at the bottom.