You had a few guests over one night and something got spilled on your carpet. You immediately cleaned it up and made sure to get up every visible drop. Then, a few days later, you notice that the carpet looks stained again.

Is this a figment of your imagination? Has the stain come back to haunt you? It is not your imagination or a ghostly apparition; that stain is definitely back. Let us tell you why.

Soiling from the Carpet Cleaner

If you did not thoroughly clean up all the cleanser you used to get up the stain, the residue may have lingered in the carpet fibres. That residue becomes sticky and attracts new dirt and dust, which can make it seem like the original stain has returned.

Wicking from Subsurfaces

If you properly rinsed and blotted the stain on your carpet, chances are you weren’t able to thoroughly dry the backing of the carpet. Sometimes, if the spill was large enough, even the underpad may be wet. Even though you got the stain out of the carpet, it may be reabsorbing liquid from the surfaces underneath – essentially re-staining the carpet.

Wicking is usually seen in carpets that are wet – especially if you have attempted to steam clean your carpets yourself. Rental steam cleaning units are simply not powerful enough to extract all of the water from the carpet fibres and the resulting wetness can cause your carpet to “wick up” the liquid from underneath it. To ensure wicking does not happen to your carpet, you should always hire your local Toronto carpet cleaning company when you need your carpets steam cleaned.

You Can Prevent Reappearing Stains from Happening

As soon as you notice a spill you should clean it immediately, in order to stop liquid from seeping into the sublayers. After treating your carpet, place a stack of paper towels or a light-coloured towel down on the stain, and use a heavy object, like a stack of books, to weigh it down. The weight will help the towels absorb any extra moisture that may remain in the carpet.

In extreme cases, you may need to pull back the carpet to let the underpad – and possibly subfloor – dry out. Once you are sure that everything is completely dry, you can reinstall your carpet. It is always recommended that you bring in a professional service before attempting to remove or reinstall carpet, in order to ensure a proper restretching of your carpet.

If you suspect that soiling may be the culprit, pour a small amount of lukewarm water on the spot – just enough to re-saturate the trapped cleanser. Blot up as much of the water as you can then place a stack of paper towels or light-coloured towel down on the spot, weighing it down.

If you are still having a difficult time getting rid of stains from your carpet, it is time to call in the professionals. Our team of professional carpet cleaners and repairers will help you get your carpet back into pre-stain condition. For more information, or for your free quote, please call Dr. Carpet today at 647.800.5199 today!