Cleaning Wicking Spots Out Of Your Carpeting
If you have recently cleaned your carpet and have noticed brown spots that appear after the carpet has dried, you have wicking spots that need to be taken care of.
What are wicking spots?
Wicking spots occur when dirt from deep in the carpet fibers rise to the surface of the carpet after cleaning. This can happen because:
- The carpet cleaning machine didn't have enough suction to pull the dirt all the way out of the carpeting.
- The carpet wasn't vacuumed well enough before it was cleaned.
- The carpet was oversaturated with cleaning water and solution.
How can you remove wicking spots?
To remove wicking spots you will need:
- Low pH acid cleaner – a maximum acid level 2.0
- Super-absorbent paper towels or white towels – never use colored towels or the dye in the towels could bleed onto the carpet.
- Scrub brush
- Wet-dry vacuum
- Fans
- Plastic wrap
Step 1: Start by vacuuming the area very, very well. If the area is not completely dry, use a wet-dry vacuum to suck as much deep down dirt out of the carpeting. The more time that you spend sucking the dirt out of the carpet, the better the results will be. If you don't get it all out of the carpet, you will still have wicking spots after the carpet has dried again.
Step 2: Apply the low pH acid cleaner to the spot. You want to use enough cleaner to reach the deepest depths of the spot, but you don't want to apply so much that it goes beyond the carpet padding into the subflooring.
Step 3: Use the scrub brush to scrub the carpeting using circular motions.
Tip: To protect surrounding carpeting, cover the spot with plastic wrap and cut a hole in the wrap the size of the spot. Tape the plastic wrap in place. This will help to ensure that your circular cleaning motions don't spread the spot.
Step 4: Use the paper towels or white towels to blot the spot repeatedly.
Repeat these steps until the spot is no longer visible.
Step 5: Use the wet-dry vacuum to suck the moisture out of the carpeting. Place fans around the room to blow dry the carpet as quickly as possible.
If you notice the spots reappearing after the carpet has dried, repeat the process. If your attempt to remove the spots has failed, or you don't have the time, patience or ability to clean the wicking spots yourself, contact your local carpet cleaning professional for assistance. One company that might be able to meet your needs is Power-Kleen.