How to treat common household spills
Certain food and drink spills can be more challenging, especially those with strong pigments or tannins
Stain treatment
Stains in carpets should always be treated immediately. The earlier you treat the stain, the easier the removal.
- Absorb liquids immediately with an absorbent white cloth such as kitchen paper, toilet paper, cotton towel, etc. and dab, not rub.
- Solid substances (e.g. yogurt or similar) remove with a spoon or the back of a knife.
- Identify the stain, in order to select the correct treatment.
- Always work the stain from the outside inwards.
- Dab stains, NEVER rub.
- Always ensure the product is suitable for use on wool carpets.
- Always test the cleaner/stain remover in an inconspicuous area (even better on a carpet sample of offcut), never directly on the stain
- Take care when using solvents. Put on a cloth first and not directly onto the carpet.
- Ensure there is sufficient fresh air supply.
- Always thoroughly dab away the solvent.
- Dab the area treated area dry or if possible, dry use a hairdryer on cool and groom the carpet with a soft brush to realign the pile.
The recommended stain removal suggestions contain the methods in the order in which the treatments should be attempted.
Easy stains: relatively easy to remove by the recommended methods.
Difficult stains: harder to remove and require repeated attempts using stronger stain removers. With some stains it is probably impossible to fully remove them. In this case, help from professional carpet cleaners is required.
Easy stains
| 1st Step | 2nd Step | 3rd Step | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Butter | 4 | 9 | |
| Chewing gum | 6 | 9 | |
| Chocolate/cocoa | 4 | 9 | |
| Cola | 4 | 9 | |
| Cream | 4 | 9 | |
| Egg | 5 | 9 | |
| Fruit juice | 4 | 9 | |
| Gravy / sauce | 4 | 9 | |
| Metal polish | 4 | 9 | |
| Mustard | 4 | 9 | |
| Oil / fat | 4 | 9 | |
| Paint water based | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Shoe polish | 5 | 9 | |
| Tea | 4 | 9 | |
| Urine (fresh) | 5 | 2 | 9 |
Difficult stains
| 1st Step | 2nd Step | 3rd Step | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft Drinks | 4 | 9 | |
| Bleach | 9 | ||
| Radiator fluid | 9 | ||
| Coffee | 4 | 9 | |
| Red wine | 4 | 9 | |
| Felt-tip pen | 4 | 9 | |
| Glue/adhesive (plastic base) | 7 | 9 | |
| Ink | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Ball-point pen | 9 | 9 | |
| Lipstick | 4 | 9 | |
| Milk | 5 | 9 | |
| Nail varnish | 7 | 9 | |
| Oil-based paints | 4 | 9 | |
| Rust | 9 | ||
| Soot | 9 | ||
| Tar (Asphalt) | 8 | 9 | |
| Urine (old) | 9 | ||
| Vomit | 5 | 9 |
Tips for decreasing soiling
Stain Resist
Westex carpets are impregnated with a protective substance called Stain Resist to prevent rapid soiling. Although this treatment is already advantageous, it doesn’t offer 100% protection. Due to the treatment becoming worn over time by mechanical wear and tear from walking on it. Stains and soiling should be removed as soon as they occur.
Doormats
We recommended that doormats are laid at every entrance to the house, as these hold lots of the coarse dirt and will minimise soiling of your carpet. A doormat should be large enough to remove a generous amount of dirt from the outside which may be on the soles of your shoes. A doormat should be beaten out and cleaned at regular intervals, thus keeping the ability to take dirt in.
Treatment methods
1. Dab stains away using white kitchen towel.
2. Dab with clean water and blot dry.
3. Blot with diluted WoolSafe® approved carpet shampoo.
4. Use WoolSafe® approved spot stain remover.
5. Use WoolSafe® approved pet stain remover.
6. Chewing gum remover (solvent or frozen).
7. Acetone without oils.
8. Surgical Spirits / rubbing alcohol
9. Call a WoolSafe® professional carpet cleaner.