GENERAL MAINTENANCE

Don’t allow dirt to build up.
Prevention of the accumulation of dirt is important to your carpet’s beauty and long life. Place washable floor mats in front of all entrances and doorways to avoid tracking of dirt and particles from the outside. Be sure to clean the mats often.

Vacuum regularly.
Vacuum your carpet at least once a week. You can never over-vacuum a carpet, but you should avoid always vacuuming in the same direction. An upright vacuum is best. Tank or canister types should have a separate bar brush unit with a power pack.

Clean spills immediately.
Never allow a spill to soak or set into your carpet, regardless of what spilled, including normal tap water. Spilled material can discolor carpet and increase soiling if not removed. Whenever possible, restrict food and drink to non-carpet areas. (Refer to page 3 and 4 in this booklet for spot removal procedures.)

Change air filters regularly.
Change filters in your heating and air conditioning system on a regular basis or when dirty. Dust, pollen, and smoke can settle on your carpet and increase staining and soiling.

Filtration Soiling: Dust, dirt, pollen, cooking vapors, and other airborne pollutants may appear as dark lines along walls, vents, and doorways. It is usually due to an imbalanced ventilation system that is incapable of removing the volume of air entering the room. The excess air escapes through gaps between floors, walls and doorways. Professional cleaning may clean the affected areas, but the condition will usually return unless the ventilation problems are corrected. Carpet of any quality will perform the same if subjected to filtration inefficiencies.

SPOT AND SPILL REMOVAL

Spot Removal Procedure
Removing spots from carpet can be simple or tedious depending upon the spot and how long it has been on the carpet. At times, multiple applications of the spot removal solution are required. Listed below is a general spot removal procedure. If the origin of the spot is known, begin at the appropriate step. Never use a circular motion to remove a spot as this destroys texture. The final step should always be to rinse with clear water, blot dry and put a thickness of several paper towels over the damp area. Put a brick or a suitcase-weight object on the pat of towels to keep it in contact with the carpet. Allow it to dry, remove brick and towels, and then brush up pile.

Be certain to try, on an inconspicuous area of your carpet, any solutions you plan to use as it may affect color or texture. Do not use if color in the test area marks off on a white paper towel.

Items to have available to remove spots:

White paper towels or white terry towels
Hand dishwashing detergent that does not contain lanolin or bleach, Dawn or Joy. To make a cleaning solution, mix ¼ teaspoon of a hand washing detergent with 1 quart of water.
Spray bottle for applying detergents and special solutions
Ammonia solution-1 tablespoon of clear household ammonia with ½ cup of water.
Isopropyl-rubbing alcohol
3% hydrogen peroxide
White vinegar solution-1/3 cup of white vinegar with 2/3 cup of water
Spoon and dull knife
Brick or brick paver

Water Based Spots

Step 2-Blot up as much of the spill as possible. A wet vacuum is useful if a large quantity of liquid was spilled. If the spot has dried, saturate the tufts in the affected area with tap water. (do not over-wet) Allow it to remain for about 1 minute and blot. If the spot is removed using water, continue until the spot is completely removed. Blot dry and apply the paper towels and brick. If it is not completely removed, go to step 3.

Step 3-Remove as much of the foreign material as possible by blotting with a white paper towel or scraping with a dull knife. Apply a small quantity of detergent solution to the spot. Use a blotting motion to work the detergent into the affected area. Continue applying detergent and blotting with a white paper towel until spot is removed. Rinse with tap water using a spray bottle, blot to remove excess moisture, spray lightly with water, and do not blot this time; apply pad of paper towels and brick and allow to dry. If there is still some stain on the carpet and blotting is not removing it, then moisten the tuffs in the stained area with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Let stand for 1 hour. Blot area and repeat until carpet is stain free. Light will cause peroxide to change back to water so no rinsing is necessary. Apply pad of paper towels and weight down with a brick.

Stains that cannot be removed!

acid toiled bowl cleaners
acne medication
alkaline drain cleaners
chlorinated bleaches
hair dyes
iodine
insecticides
mustard with turmeric
plant fertilizers

Call a professional. Often, the only solution is to insert carpet from a closet or less visible area.

SOME SPOTS REQUIRE SPECIALIZED TREATMENTS

A. Blood, catsup, cheese, chocolate, cough syrup, mixed drinks, soft drinks, soy sauce, starch, toothpaste, watercolor, and white glue. Blot with white paper towel to remove as much of the stain as possible, then neutralize with an ammonia solution. Saturate spot using a spray bottle. Do not wet backing. Blot with white paper towel to remove excess moisture. After neutralizing begin with step 3 of general procedures. All solutions for removing blood must be cool.

B. Beer, coffee, perfume, teal and wine. Blot with white paper towel to remove as much of the stain as possible, then neutralize with the white vinegar solution. Saturate spot using a spray bottle and blot to remove excess moisture. After neutralizing go to step 3 of general procedures.

C. Eggs, excrement, urine, and vomit. Remove as much of the stain as possible by using a spoon or dull knife. Blot up as much as possible then neutralize by applying area with the ammonia solution. Care should be taken to remove all protein matter. Blot to remove excess moisture and go to step 3 of general procedures.

D. Candle wax or other types of wax. Spread brown paper (such as grocery bag) or a terry cloth towel over the area and iron with setting on warm. The wax will absorb into the bag or towel. Remove any traces with alcohol or dry cleaning fluid.

E. Chewing gum. Freeze the gum using an ice cube. Shatter the frozen gum with a knife handle, and then vacuum. Some citrus-based products, such as De-Solv-It, by Orange-Sol, have demonstrated to break down the stickiness of gum so it can be removed.

F. Mud. Allow mud to dry completely. Shatter the dried mud with the handle of a knife, and then vacuum. Go to step 3 of general procedures.

G. Rust. Saturate spot with lemon juice using a spray bottle. Allow remaining for 5 minutes. Go to step 3 of general procedures to remove lemon juice. If this does not work, call a professional. Most rust removers contain a very strong acid and are therefore not recommended for use by homeowners.

H. Nail Polish. Remove as much of the nail polish as possible using a spoon or dull knife. Apply a non-oily remover to a clean white cloth and gently rub (in one direction) or blot the spot. Continue until the spot is removed. Do not allow nail polish remover to get to the latex backing. Go to step 3 of general procedures to remove nail polish remover.

I. Soot, graphite, copier material. Vacuum using crevice tool of vacuum cleaner to remove the soot. If all or most of the soot has not been removed, call a professional cleaner. If vacuuming has removed all particles, then go to step 1 of general procedure to remove any traces.

MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDATIONS

Shaw

Recommends a professional carpet cleaner who uses a hot water extraction system. This system is commonly referred to as steam cleaning. To locate a nearby professional carpet cleaner, call the national referral service listed below.

Institute of Inspection
Cleaning & Restoration Certification
(IICRC) (WA) 800-835-4624
*Must specify hot water extraction cleaner.

For assistance with specific stain removal procedures, contact Shaw Industries Technical Service Department through the information center at 800-441-7429.

Mohawk

Recommends for you to use, at least once a year, a professional carpet cleaner and call one of the fiber companies listed below for recommended cleaning procedures. Always call the fiber company for information on topical treatments. Some are not compatible with your carpet and may void your warranty.

Toll-free numbers for carpet care:

Allied Fibers 800-441-8185
invista STAINMASTER®- 800-438-7668
WearDated Carpet 800-BESTBUY
3M Scotchguard 800-433-3296