STUBBORN STAINS

Detailers need expertise in this area of carpet & upholstery care

One area of detailing that has most detailers struggling is the area of stain removal. When I first entered the industry it surprised me how little attention was paid to stain removal. You did not, and even today, do not find chemical companies promoting stain removal products for the many and varied stains that might be encountered in automobile interiors.

What I hope to do with this month's article is to provide you with some professional incites into stain removal, and like so many things help you "to know what you don't know."

Identifying Troublesome Stains

Like anything in this business, if you are to remedy the problem, you have to be able to identify the stain first. The best way to know the "what" of a stain is to ask the customers. If they don't know, then it is up to you to be the diagnostician. It all begins with analytical observation:

1. First, make a visual examination, taking note of the color of the stain.
2. Next, the tone of the carpet
3. Determine the depth of penetration
4. Is the origin of the stain at the top or the base of the tufts.

Professionals in the carpet and upholstery cleaning industry offer numerous methods that can be used to determine some of the basic stains.

Water can be helpful in a visual examination. For example, pour a little water on the stain and if it beads up you have an "oil-based" stain. If the water dissolves then it a water-based stain.

If you cannot determine the type of stain by visual examination, you can use a less conventional method. For example, smell" is often a very good indicator. Some stains give off a very pungent odor, providing clues as to what they might be. For example, urine; milk; wine; beer. If you no smell, then other steps must be taken.

Knowing the Basics

Most stains break down into four catagories: ·

• Water stains that leave rings ·
• Fiber stains resulting from some type of colored liquid ·
• Stains that result in discoloration of fibers - bleach and urine ·
• Stains that are due to liquid containing corrosive elements such as - wine; food coloring; rusty water; blood; sweat ·
• Stains from solid deposits like wax; paint; food grease; glues

You will find that the first three types of stains will usually require water and a basic cleaner. The fourth type of stain will require a type of organic solvent. For example, a greasy stain a cleaner with an emulsifier will break down the stain for effective removal.

Probably the most difficult stain to remove from carpets and upholstery is anything with a greasy substance in it. The number one problem stain is "coffee."

The Stain Removers

Solvents and reagents can be placed into four groups, which contain a related substance:

• Non-water mixable solvents which are called hydro-carbons or chlorinated hydrocarbons such as d-Limonene (a natural solvent from the peels of citrus fruits).
• Water-soluble solvents such as glycols, for example ethanol and ketones such as acetones
• Detergents that are neutral such as ammonia or rust removers · Detergents that are protein-based.

If the origin of the stain cannot be determined you may want to try these suggestions in treating the stain:

1. Dissolve it
2. Suspend it with a detergent spotter
3. Digest it with the enzymes bacteria approach

Remove Residue

One of the biggest offenses that most detailers make it that they do not remove what they put into carpets and upholstery. For example, the typical practice for cleaning carpets/upholstery is to spray or splash the shampoo on the surface; brush it in and vacuum with a shop vacuum.

The rule is: "anything you put into the fibers MUST be removed." If you do not then the residue that is left will make the carpet resoil much faster because you are leaving soap or detergents; solvents in the fibers and you are not going to get them out with a vacuum only.

Not only will it make the stain worse, but the cleaning agents are capable of making a stain surface again.

Reappearance of soil can happen for two reasons:

• The cleaners and soil were not properly suspended or emulsified in the first place
• The cleaning agents were not "flushed" out

Inefficient removal of a stain will create further problems. If you do not get the stain out completely it could attract other residues so that you may end up with a completely different stain than you started with.

Research indicates that using two mixable ingredients that do not have the same elements, one being more volatile than the other, can assist in remoing stains. For example, when water is used, apply isopropyl alcohol around the damaged area. By doing this the water will dry out quicker which helps to prevent rings from appearing

Probably one of the hardest stains to remove are "water-based red dye stains." Kool-Aid is one of the hardest, if not the hardest stain to remove from carpets. Try the following steps to remove a red dye stain:

• If still wet, use an absorbent cloth or an extractor to remove as much of the stain as possible
• Treat with a special spot-remover formulated for red dyes · Allow the remover to dwell for 3 to 5 minutes and then blot or extract
• You can also use the heat transfer method whereby after applying the remover place a clean white towel over the spot and place a steam iron on top of the towel to draw out the red dye.

If this doesn't work you can attempt these steps:

• Apply an acid-based cleaner to neutralize the stain. Be sure to follow the use of an acid-based cleaner with an application of a mild alkaline product to return to a normal pH.
• Thoroughly rinse the entire area with cold water.

Facts About Fibers

There are fibers that are less susceptible to staining than others. Nylon is one of these, and we are fortunate that nylon is the fiber most used in automobile interiors. Nylon's soft-texture resists most food and beverage stains, and some oil-based stains. Nylon fibers are also easy to clean and only absort about 7% of moisture.

Stains on non-resistent fibers penetrate into little holes in the fibers called dye sites. Coffee for example, gets into these holes and dries. Eventually the stain seeeps up from the dye sites and comes to the surface. Sometimes after you have spot-treated a stain and shampooed the carpets/upholstery the stain will reappear in a few days. This is called "wicking." It is sometimes necessary to go over a stain two or three times to truely remove it so that it will not reappear.

Educating the Detailer

Improper carpet/upholstery care is simply due to improper end-user training. If products are not use properly they will cause stains/spots/soil to reappear.

When you consider the cost of today's automobiles it is frightening how littel training there is among detailers. Whose fault is it? On one side you could say the detailers, however as a supplier to the industry I believe the fault lies solidly on the shoulders of the "detail chemical suppliers."

Far to few chemical suppliers and their distributors provide any kind of legitimate training for the detailer in basic areas of cleaning, let alone speciailzed areas such as stain/spot removers. I can testify to that by the number of "professional" detailers to whom I have provided training that tell me their chemical suppliers didn't teach them that, or told them that they could use engine degreaser for everything.

And, there is also a tremendous lack of training available from the "industry association." More often than not, we get calls from detailers who have been referred to our company the the :"industry association."

Summary

Remember, there are no fast answers for stain removal, many factors must be taken into consideration when dealing with stains. Key is to educate your customers that a "stain" must be taken care of immediately. Get them to come to you immediately after a spill, etc. Indicate that the stain can more easily be removed before it dries.

And, if you are armed with the proper knowledge and chemicals and training you can make stain removal quite simple.