A reader writes: “My son spilled a large cherry flavored drink on our den carpet which we installed last week. Help!”

First of all, don’t panic and kill the kid. If this is the worst he does while growing up in today’s society he will probably have a statue erected in his honor one day.

Second point: Panic!!! It is very important that when you have any spill that you act promptly to blot up all the excess liquid as soon as possible. Stain resistant does not mean stain repellant. The carpet fibers can hold off staining for a very limited period of time while the spill is still wet.

In this case you responding quickly enough and all of the remaining soda leeched into the drying towels. It would have been great to have tried

Use a “red out” carpet product if available. Another method is test a small area with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water to see if that helps or hurt. A great option is to contact a carpet cleaning service immediately and have them use a truck mount or heavy-duty portable machine to accomplish the same goal: prompt removal of the spill.

Your comments and questions are important. 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


posted on 7/29/2016