 | Patrick Goebel has been involved in the home improvement industry for over 10 years and is currently director of retail flooring of the Flooring & Decorating Division of Star Lumber & Supply Co., Inc. You may contact Patrick by email at pgoebel@starlumber.com or by phone at (316) 942-2221. |
Carpet, Tile & Floor Covering
2005-02-01 09:22:00
The carpet forum (series)...
: After cleaning our three-year-old, nylon carpet, it looks clean while wet. But when it starts to dry, high traffic areas turn brown. We tried extra rinsing while cleaning the carpet, but it didn't make a difference. We even vacuumed the extra water out of the carpet. Do you think this is dirt surfacing?
ANSWER: You haven't said what you used to clean the carpet with first; it sounds like some kind of extraction system, since you mention it being wet. Heavy traffic areas do get very dirty and need to be vacuumed at least twice a week and professionally cleaned the way the carpet manufacturer specifies every 12 to 18 months. This could be dirt resurfacing, especially if you overwetted this area and didn't have enough suction to pull up all the liquid and dirt. It could also be residue left over from the cleaning products and/or a combination of both. Another possibility is that you might be seeing "wicking" of soil to the tips of the carpet fibers. As the carpet dries to the air, moisture in the fibers moves upward, bringing minute soil particles with it. When the moisture evaporates, the remaining soil gives a brown cast to the fibers.To determine if this is the case, wipe the carpet with a damp, white cotton towel and note any transfer of soil. If you see it, you may wish to clean again using a more complete rinse and extraction procedure or you may choose to use a dampened bonnet pad to remove the soil and leave the fiber tips free of residue. I suggest you have a carpet cleaning professional clean this area. Between professional cleanings, vacuum regularly and clean the traffic areas with CRI Seal of Approval products that won't cause rapid re-soiling. You can find a list of certified cleaning products by going to http://www.carpet-rug.com/
