After Carpet Spotting, Check Your Work

After you have finished the spotting procedure, it is important to inspect your work. For instance, with spills it is especially important to spread the face yarns and inspect the bottom of the yarns and the backing. Remember that there is a large absorbent capacity in the face yarns, backing, and padding of a carpet installation. A spot can appear to be gone at the tip of the face yarns, but still cause a problem if it has not been removed from the bottom of the yarns.

A carpet dries by capillary action and evaporation. The water dries first on the tips of the yarn that are exposed to the air. Then, the moisture at the bottom of the yarn wicks its way up the fiber to the top. As the moisture wicks its way up (by capillary action) it brings with it any foreign substance (what’s left of the spot) that has not been removed from the bottom of the face yarns. That is why spots often “reappear” as the carpet dries. If your inspection reveals more material in the base of the yarns, you may want to use a “spot absorber”. If you must repeatedly work a spot be careful not to over-wet the carpet. You don’t want to cause a problem in your attempt to remove it or create a stain. It is better to use an absorber and come back to rework the spot then to over-wet the carpet and cause permanent damage.

Carpet spotting usually improves with time and experience. Just be careful not to over wet any carpet and always remove the cleaning products while allowing the fibers to dry thoroughly. 

Your comments and questions are always welcome. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean…

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678.314.2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.