Spot Cleaning

[SteveA]

A while back we touched on cleaning fabrics. As usual - short memory for me -  Keith for one has gone down this road.  I'd like to purchase a small, quality, portable machine and would really appreciate suggestions.  Not sure if heat + steam are necessary or just one that has a brush, mixer, and extractor -

Thanks All
SA

[byhammerandhand]

My unit is over 10 years old and has served me well --I've made 10s of thousands of dollars using it.   Good company, good parts availability, and they run regular sales.   I see from a search that Home Depot also has them, and using Ship-to-Store there is no shipping

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/d5/d59c0ff7-c670-47da-9ac8-3d0b1c5ce8b4.pdf

or at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Powr-Flite-PS35E/dp/B001UBLDRM

or from Powr-Flite (the mfr)
http://www.powr-flite.com/product/3.5+gal.+portable+spotter+with+auto+detailer+tool.do?  Where it's currently on sale at a good price

I got the hose shown with my original unit.  After 8 years of regular use and hauling around in the van, it developed a crack.   The new one is not the accordion type, but a soft plastic (like in the last link, above), and I like it a little better.

While the vast majority of cleaning I do is "spot cleaning" for specific stains, it is robust enough to do whole piece cleaning.

I use it with rinse water only as I have a variety of cleaners, based on the specific spot.  I keep those in little spray bottles.   I can give you a few cleaning supplies to buy, if you get that far.

People sometimes think this is "steam cleaning"   Not really, it's water-based (cleaning code W or WS) cleaning.  Hot water works better, usually and I just add hot water into the machine before starting./

Two good sources of information on "spot cleaning" are
http://www.proschoice.com/html/stain_guide.html
CTI makes most of my go-to cleaning products.

and

http://www.baneclene.com/sptgd.html

[SteveA]

 Keith - if you could provide a few cleaners to get started with for   - Dirt - soil - grease -  these seem to be the most common problems I encounter

Thanks,
SA

[byhammerandhand]

These are my most-often used cleaners, in decreasing frequency of use:
All of these are from Pro's Choice that is available either directly from mfr., or carried by many companies that sell cleaning products to the carpet cleaning industry.  I'd suggest buying the first couple and add the rest as you get jobs that need them.   This is where a local distributor will come in handy for quick orders without shipping charges and delays.

Most of what I do is food and "body fluids"    For those, my go-to cleaner is Prozyme+.   It's an enzyme to break up the proteins, and detergent with a touch of d-Limonene (citrus solvent).

I also use Stain Magic, a two-part cleaner that does organic stains like fruit juices, wine, berries.

For tough cleaning, especially greasy stains, PowerGel, dissolved in water about 10:1.

For inks, paints, greases that are no so water-soluble, ProSolve Gel, applied, let dwell and clean out with the above ProSolve Gel.

InkOut for ink stains. It works better than the other 4 or 5 ink removers I use.

Red Relief or Red 1 for red food dyes like Kool Aid and other articially colored red stains.   Other food dyes usually come out with Stain Magic.

Blood, I clean with Prozyme+ first, then apply drug store hydrogen peroxide and extract.   It will bubble up with blood, which is my litmus test for blood.  Keep repeating until you get no more fizzing up.

Here's an article I wrote over at Carr's Corner a number of years ago.  http://www.carrscorner.com/cleaning.php

If you do pet urine, you'll want a deodorizer.   The CTI product smells too flowery for me.   So I use a product called "Wipe Out"

Problem fabrics include chenille
Why does my chenille fabric have these light spots?
Occasionally, we'll get a call from a client, "I have a light spot on my chenille fabric. Can you come and remove it?" If it has been caused by a water-based spill, then no, we may not be able to remove it. Often, a color change of this sort on a velvet or chenille has been caused by contact with water, or a water-based spill. Chenille (French for "caterpillar") is often chosen for its ultra-soft, luxurious "hand". It is basically a less dense version of velvet, and is generally made out of cotton, synthetic blends, and / or rayon. Its lack of density can lead to a "matting" of the pile in high-use areas, particularly seat cushions, and those flattened areas will appear lighter. Rayon chenille, in particular, will absolutely not accept any contact with water. If it becomes wet, the pile is irreversibly and permanently changed. Specifically, the fabric loses its resilience. As a result, the fabric becomes "directional". When new, a rayon chenille pile will not show an appreciable change in appearance when brushed first one way, then another. However, after wetting, it will behave more like some velvets, which can lighten and darken dramatically when you reverse pile direction. Also, the pile will tend to lay down flat, and no longer stand up straight, thus bouncing more light back, and appearing lighter, rather than absorbing and shading light between strands. The only ultimate solution in some cases is to wet clean the entire piece, thus creating a uniform, if not ideal, appearance. (And even then, some concerns remain; a less-than-meticulous cleaning can yield a streaky, uneven appearance.) Until that time comes, your chenille should probably be protected with Fiber-Shield, in order to maximize its water repellency, and minimize risk of pile distortion.


And some 100% cottons that bleed color like mad.

Also Haitian Cotton that has bits of boll and stem in it and will bleed brown with an alkaline cleaner.   There's a special cleaner for this.  (I've only ever had one of these I had to clean).

[brmax]

Keith
Information is super *****


Thanks
Floyd