We have all had that moment where we watch the plate of spaghetti (or glass of wine, or bowl of soup, you get the idea) fall onto the new rug and it seems like it is all happening in slow motion. You know that there is now going to be an unsightly stain on your rug, so now what? Before you go and find some carpet or rug cleaner spray and douse your rug, there are some things you need to keep in mind when it comes to rug cleaning – the most important being you could actually be causing more harm than good.
Rug Cleaning In Toms River
Attempting to clean your rug on your own can lead to a number of complications and even further damage. First things first, most cleaners you buy at your local grocery store are full of harmful chemicals. Sure, these chemicals will be able to disinfect and kill any bacteria within a 10 foot radius (ok, we may be overexaggerating there), they are often too harsh on the fibers of your rug. Unfortunately, this often leads to color fading. Color fading is a very common result of using at-home, self-cleaners because of how concentrated the chemical cleaning agents are. So, you may be able to remove the stain, but you will also end up removing some of the color from the rug itself. Trying to fix one unsightly problem and replacing it with another does not seem like a good solution.
Another risk of trying to spot-clean your rug at home is stain spreading. Seems completely absurd that attempting to remove a stain can, in fact, make the stain worse, but that is exactly what happens more often than not. The problem is that the fibers that make up your rug are very absorbent. That means that when something is spilled on your rug, the fibers will absorb all the liquid and lock it in. When you then introduce a cleaning agent in the form of another liquid, those fibers will open up and release what they have been holding in an attempt to absorb more. Then, when you attempt to wipe or scrub the stain away, you push this liquid further into and around the fibers of the rug. Unfortunately, this results in an even bigger stain. As if that wasn’t bad enough already, some cleaners can have this effect on areas of a rug that do not even have a stain. Often referred to as ‘bleeding,’ rugs can actually release some of the color from their own fibers when certain cleaners are used on them. That can mean you are left with a bigger stain than when you started, not to mention a new discolored portion of your rug from color lifting and bleeding, and now you have an even bigger problem than when you originally started.
Now that we have left you feeling like all hope is lost when it comes to dirty rugs, let us give you some good news. GM Carpet Care has developed 2 different ways of cleaning both handmade area rugs as well as synthetic machine-made rugs that will not result in further damage to your rug- and we even offer on-location and plant-cleaning options. We know how to safely pretreat and clean your rug, whether it’s a spot stain treatment or full service cleaning. So before you reach for that at-home cleaner, consider letting the professionals at GM Carpet Care in Toms River safely and effectively get your rug cleaned and looking its best.