Pet Blog

If your cleaning company is responsible for carpet spotting or overall carpet cleaning, you are eventually going to run across gum that is smashed into the carpet fibers. You may be cleaning up just a piece or two or if you are cleaning the carpet in a school or bowling alley, you may be removing gum every few feet. So is there a fast, easy way to remove these rubbery pieces of goo?

Begin by using a bone scraper and gently, but firmly scrape up as much of the gum as possible. This may remove the bulk of the gum, but don’t forget you still need to remove any sticky residue that remains. For any pieces remaining, use a product such as Unbelievable Goo D-solv-r Pro (from Core Products).

Spray the chemical on a white blotting cloth and then blot the gum - do not spray it directly on the gum or the carpet. Once you have removed the gum rinse thoroughly with hot water. This will remove any of the chemical that is left on the carpet and help to prevent it from resoiling. Some people have found that after using the bone scraper they can use a volatile dry solvent and hot water in their extraction machine to remove any remaining pieces of gum. The heat helps to soften the gum and remove any remaining residues. Or you can use a citrus gel, which is a non-volatile dry solvent. Just remember that you’ll need to rinse the citrus gel to remove any residue. No matter which process you decide to use, do not apply too much chemical.

Another way to remove gum is to “freeze” it. Fill a plastic bag with ice and rub it over the gum. Then chip away the frozen pieces with your bone scraper. After removing the pieces of gum you will still need to use your extractor to remove any remaining residue. There are also aerosol sprays on the market that will “freeze” the gum. Use these products with caution, as they can damage the carpet fibers. The process you use will naturally depend on how much gum you need to remove. If the area is heavily caked with gum it may be easier to use a bone scraper and then a good solvent with an extraction machine as opposed to the time it would take to either “freeze” or clean each spot with D-solv-r Pro.

As you are cleaning up the gooey mess from gum, remember to do a thorough job and remove as much of the residue as possible or the carpet will resoil quickly and you may be called back by an unhappy customer who notices the carpet looks dirty!

Steve Hanson is co-founding member of The Janitorial Store (TM), an online community that offers weekly tips, articles, downloads, discussion forums, and more for anyone who would like to learn how to start a cleaning business. Visit The Janitorial Store’s blog and get inspired by reading cleaning success stories from owners of cleaning companies.

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Pet odor and stain removal from carpet does not require the help of a professional

As a carpet cleaning company, we receive calls every day in regards to how to get a stain out. One of the more “popular” problems we see is how to remove dog or cat urine from carpet.

When your special family member does have his little (or not so little) accidents, the most important thing is getting it up immediately. Of course, this is not always possible, often we do not find our gifts until after work or even the next day.

When this happens, the urine has soaked not only into the carpet face and backing but also into the pad that lies underneath and sometimes even into the slab. At this point, we have two options.

The first method is to pour a gallon of 50% water and 50% vinegar (white) onto the carpet and let it set for a couple of minutes. The vinegar helps to break up the urine salts and basically liquefy the dried urine. After, you let it set, you need to get it out. This is where a wet-vac comes in handy.

Using a good wet-vac, you need to extract all the liquid in the carpet and the pad, this can be accomplished by applying lots of pressure with the wand or hose and do a small spot at a time. After you feel you have the majority of it up, you need to repeat the above steps using another gallon of 100% water to act as a rinse.

A second method is one of the more successful ways of dealing with the problem but also the most difficult. Using this method, you will need to pull the carpet back (carpet is bound on the edges using a tact strip of nails) then cut out the soiled pad.

After the pad is removed, clean the soiled spot of the carpet with a good carpet shampooer, front and back. Also, you will need to treat the slab or wood sub floor with bleach then put in new carpet pad (can be purchased at most big boxes). Replace the soiled pad and use regular masking tape to tape the top of the new pad with the existing undamaged pad.

Last you need to put the carpet back on the tact by stretching it to the edges and pressing it back down onto the strips. This last method is best if only used when the stain is near the edges of a room. If the stain is in the middle or near a doorway, you are going to have a tough time getting the carpet back in tight which will result in it possibly wrinkling later on.

We hope our tips help you keep your carpet in the best shape possible for many years to come.

Gary Andrews has over 45 years experience in cleaning carpet and is the founder of Andrews Carpet Cleaning.

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If you have a carpet, you can count on spilling something on it at some point in time. Getting the stain out is a matter of timing and know how.

Carpeting and Stains

Carpeting has come a long way over the years. The first carpets would get stains from practically any contact. They were a nightmare to get out, if you could even do so. As the years passed, the quality of carpeting has improved particularly in relation to their resistance to stains. While this makes life easier for you when a stain occurs, you still have to put in some work.

One of the biggest issues that you need to focus on in the removal of stains is time. Simply put, procrastination will kill you and your carpet. If you spill something on the carpet, you need to deal with it NOW. The longer the stain sits, the more likely it is to soak into the fibers of the carpet. If you spill it, clean it immediately even if the spill occurs during a party or some gathering. You will be glad you did so.

The second step is, ironically, not to clean the carpeting per se. Instead, you should focus on removing the excess liquid. This should be done by blotting the area with a towel of some sort. To blot, lightly press up and down on the stain. Do not swirl or spin the towel over the spill. This will only spread the stain out and make cleaning it a more difficult task.

Once the excess liquid is removed, it will probably be necessary to apply a cleaning solution. Despite the claims on the bottle of cleaner, it is important to understand the cleaner may adversely affect your carpet, to wit, it may change the color. First try the cleaner in a small, out of the way area such as a closet. Once you apply the cleaner, look at both the carpet and your towel to see if any color has transferred. If everything appears okay, then it is time to remove the stain.

When addressing the stain, it is best to work from the outer edges towards the middle. The idea is to remove the stain, not spread it to a larger area. When rubbing the stain, do not use the bigger hammer theory. Pushing harder on the stain will not help remove it and may actually damage the weave of the carpet. Use a consistent pressure and go slowly. Getting the stain out is important, but not if it results in a patch of carpet that looks like it was run over with a lawn mower.

If you have a carpet, you will also have stains. Deal with them immediately and you should be able to keep your carpeting in reasonably good shape.

Enrique Cleanotto is with CarpetCleaningYeti.com - carpet cleaning information and companies.

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