Which Stains Are Removable From Carpet?

 3 Primary Categories of Stains:

Category 1.  Petroleum based stains.  Petroleum derivative-  example: Chewing gum, grease, tar, ink, adhesive, oils, etc. 80-90% success rate.

Category 2.  Synthetic based stains.  Stains containing man made dye-  example:  coldrinks, fruit punch, colored sweets, cough syrup, etc.   50% success rate.

Category 3.  Organic stains.  Stains from a plant or an animal source.  Example:  Wood, furniture stain, mustard, coffee, mold, tea, urine, blood, vomit, inks, etc.  Unfortunately these have only a 75% success rate. This will give you some idea. Keep in mind, the longer the stain has been in the carpet, the more likely it can be permanent. Fresh stains are easier to remove.

The percentage is the estimated likelihood of removal

Urine Stain (70%) – When urine is fresh, the chances are good. If the urine has been there a long time, or attempted to be removed with an improper shop bought spot remover, the chances are slim. However, urine will continue to deteriorate the carpet, so it is extremely important to remove the urine deposits even if the spot does not come out. Every day we remove urine spots and every day we find urine spots that will not come out, so it’s unpredictable.

Vomit (50%) –  Same as urine (If red from cat food, see red dye removal).

Blood (75%) –  If blood has not been cleaned, and if hot water or alkaline cleaning products have not been used, chances are good, but no guarantee.

Rust (90%) –  Chances for rust removal are excellent, however never a guarantee. We do encounter problems with blue and grey coloured carpets.

Red dye (5%) – (wine, crayon, make up, cold drinks, cat food throw up, fiberglass insulation)

Lipstick (50%) – Chances are good that we will be able to remove it with solvents, however some lipstick may be in the red dye category, which give it slim chances for removal.

Furniture stain (20%) – Almost impossible depending on the type of carpet.

Coke and Soda (95%) – Usually not a problem.  Red or green coldrinks may be a problem.