Dealing with stains and spills

Accidents will happen and carpets and upholstery will stay looking their best if prompt action is taken. For best results, follow these simple stain removal guidelines:

1. Act immediately
This is the most important thing you can do to ensure that any permanent damage is minimized. If you act quickly, you may very well save your carpets from irreparable damage.

2. Scrape up solids
Scrape up as much of the solids as you can using a spoon, knife or similar blunt implement.

3. Blot up liquids
Use a clean, white (or colourfast) cloth or paper towel to blot up liquid spills. Keep blotting until no more of the stain transfers to the cloth or towel.

4. Deal with the residue
Only now should you consider adding anything to remove any residual mark. Pour plenty of water onto the carpet and work it in with a suitable, blunt, implement. Repeatedly blot the area with cloths or paper towel until the stain is gone or no longer transfers to the cloth. Put a thick wad of kitchen towel on the area and weight it down, leaving it for up to 10 hours. Avoid rubbing vigorously as this will fray the fibres.

If there is still a mark on the item, use a carpet cleaning product such as CHEM-DRY STAIN EXTINGUISHER or SPOT REMOVER “PF”. Please don’t use domestic detergents on stains. If the stain does not come out easily - STOP!

5. Still got a stain?
You have done all you can to correct the situation. Now is the time to call us!

Our advice is FREE, so do not hesitate to call us. We will normally only make a charge if we actually succeed in removing the stain. Our charges will be agreed with you before we commence any work.

Cleaning tips and hints

• You are much better off drinking white wine rather than pouring it onto a red wine stain!
• Don’t use salt on any stain – it will fix the stain in place.
• We can usually remove candle wax from carpets - but we can’t repair the scorched or melted carpet after you’ve used an iron on it!
• Don’t let things get too dirty before having them professionally cleaned. It is a false economy, the cleaning results may not be so good and the life of the items will be drastically reduced.