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?
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. |