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Spot and stain removal is one of the most challenging aspects of carpet appearance management. Spot removal should be performed on a daily basis, because even one unsightly spot can ruin an otherwise attractive carpet. Any office cleaning supply manager should make sure to have the proper cleaning tools and cleaning chemicals on hand.



A spot or stain is either water- or solvent-soluble. A water-based spotter is normally used as a daily, all-purpose spotter that can be relied upon to remove 90 to 95 percent of common water-soluble carpet spots.



An all-purpose water-based spotter should be as residue-free as possible to give you some margin of error when rinsing out a spot. Even if some spotting agent is left in the carpet when it is applied, the low-residue spotter will not attract much soil. This gives you and “edge” in combating carpet spots, because no one (and no spotting chemical) is perfect.



For the tougher problems, an all-purpose solvent-based spotter should be able to remove a wide range of spots such as gum, tar, ink, marker, and oils and still be easy to rinse from carpeting. The gelled variety lets you keep the product on the spot longer without risking harm to the carpet backing.



However, when tough spots and stains cannot be removed by using all-purpose water- or solvent-based spotting chemicals, you may need to use a professional spotting kit with a variety of chemicals.



A spotting kit lets you treat the most difficult spots and stains that damage carpet fiber if left untreated. A kit usually contains water-based spotters specifically designed to remove certain food, soft drink, and coffee stains; and solvent-based spotters to remove specific types of gum, tar, and oils, as well as adhesives and copy toner. Specialty spotters, to remove rusts, odors and dye stains, should also be included.



Whatever the spot, use an extractor with hand-tool accessories to rinse the area before you spot. You may speed up the spotting process by quickly rinsing out spots with an extractor.



Provided by nuClean From the February 1996 edition of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine.
By Peter C. Batchelder, vice president of marketing at the Technical Services Division of The Ramsey Co., a manufacturer of carpet care systems in Marlborough, MA.



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