Why does the spot come back?

[leofry@1966]

OK I know with encaping the spot is less much less likely to come back correct?
Am guessing the reason is because we are not getting the carpet very wet and are cleaning the top or the tip of the carpet correct ? but what does the spot come back anyway? once again i have always assumed it was because there is a lot of whatever the spot it in the carpet and maybe in the pad correct ? so if this is correct then someone spilling a glass of coke or juce should not come back correct ? its only when whatever it is is a fair amount and we as carpet cleaners are not rising it out very well... so why do you think the spot comes back ?

[encapman]

Wicking may be caused by residue from soil that wasn't completely removed during the cleaning process. However before you convict yourself of being a less than adequate cleaner, it may be reasonable to keep in mind that removing 100% of the soil down at the backing of the carpet may be challenging or next to impossible at times. And that's why wicking is a very common problem. That is especially true when you're dealing with commercial glue down CGD carpets. A CGD carpet has limited airflow when performing HWE cleaning, and the tuft bundles are often crushed and compacted thereby trapping soil at the base of the fiber.

As carpet cleaners we're called upon to clean carpet fiber - the fuzzy stuff up top. But let's think abut what lies beneath the fuzzy stuff. What various kinds of crud and debris have seeped down to the base of the fiber? How much has penetrated the backing? What has gone through the backing and is now in the pad or on the sub flooring? If our carpet cleaning methods were able to totally address the backing and the sub floor then we would be cleaning a lot more than the fuzzy stuff.

Since we can't clean the sub floor (except in isolated areas with a Waterclaw), what lies down at the base of the carpet has the potential to cause a wicking problem. It's unavoidable at times. However there are some methods for reducing or eliminating the condition. Here are some techniques that can minimize the problem. Yet even on the best day, wicking may still occur sometimes.

1. Clean as thoroughly as possible.
2. Accelerate the drying. Use fans, crank up the HVAC system, and or increase air flow to the building.
3. Clean with encapsulation products, or at least finish off the carpet with an Encap product.

The high concentration of polymer in a good Encap product will help to get a wicking condition under control. And if your Encap product has a built in fluorochemical, that can also retard wicking.

Hope that explanation helps to shed some light on the wicking problem. Wicking is something I wrestled with for years in my commercial carpet cleaning business. Fortunately when I discovered encapsulation using good crystallizing chemistry I was able to get the problem completely under control.




Rick Gelinas
The Encapman

[encapman]

Here's a copy of my little trick for eliminating spill stains...

Make sure you're following these steps TO THE LETTER, and your spots WILL NOT return. How can I be so certain of this? It's because we have cleaned millions upon millions of square feet (miles) of carpet and have treated an unimaginable number of spill stains with this technique --- and it works.

TAKE YOUR TIME. And follow these steps carefully:

1. When approaching a spill stain, isolate the stain and thoroughly scrub the carpet surrounding the stain with the encapsulation detergent, leaving the stain untouched. DON'T SCRUB THE SPOT - LEAVE IT DRY.

2. Next, aggressively scrub dry passes over the spot. Criss-cross the scrubber back and forth over the stain and continue to scrub continuously for a full minute or two.

We don't want to get the area wet with any additional detergent. This way, the spot is being aggressively cleaned with minimal moisture.

This is not a totally dry scrub; moisture is captured from the surrounding area and is drawn across the spot as the scrubber criss-crosses back and forth over the stain. However, the moisture is being kept to an absolute minimum.

By scrubbing for a full minute or two, the spill stain is receiving an extremely thorough scrubbing.

3. Prepare a spray bottle of a good crystallizing encapsulation detergent and mix the spray bottle 50/50 with water and detergent. This is an exceptionally effective spill stain remedy.

After scrubbing the spot thoroughly as described above, spray the spot with a few squirts of the encapsulation stain mixture.

4. The final step is to make one final quick dry pass over the treated spot with the scrubber to work the concentrated encapsulator down into the fiber. Now the spot won't return!

This trick for eliminating recurring spill stains transformed our carpet cleaning business. It enabled us to sell "Spot Free" cleaning to our commercial clients. Our customers LOVE it, since nobody has ever been able to remove them as effectively before. The only time we have a problem is when one of our technicians cuts corners and spends less time than they he should have. If they don't spend at least a full minute or two DRY scrubbing each individual spot first - the process is not gonna work.

These steps WILL work for you, providing that they are followed very carefully. In your case, I'd suggest going back and really take plenty of time on each spot, I'm 100% certain that you can eliminate them, because everybody is successful with this procedure for removing recurring spill stains.

Wishing you success!


Rick Gelinas
The Encapman

[ebarnett]

Wick back. Think of a lantern with a wick. As it burns, the oil below is drawn up the wick. Same principle with a stain, the staining substance is deep, often so deep that no type of carpet cleaning can totally get rid of it. So any method can clean the top part of the stained carpet, but if you over wet the carpet, you now rejuvenate the once dried stain deep in the carpet. As the top of the carpet dries, it naturally draws the moisture from below up, with it the stain.

[leofry@1966]

love that answer Rick..... thanks

[ScottMoody]

That method works wonders on CGD carpet, unless there is an underlying problem, not related to your cleaning.

I remember one facility that had installed glue down, rubber backed, carpet tiles. The only problem was a combination of a little too much glue and moisture coming from the sub-floor. No, even the one Rick uses, technique would completely stop all spots from wicking back. We used portables, truckmounts, bonnet, CIMEX w/LST (will before the current CIMEX craze), even a Von Schrader Mach 12. Now that Mach 12 could clean a lot of carpet per hour.

Of course this was in the age before modern polymer-based encapsulation products were available.

[TheCleaningDude]

I like Ricks approach. Will be putting it to use.

What I normally do is clean the entire area and go back to the posts with a dry pad (usually microfiber) and try to remove as much moisture as possible.

Rick's strategy seems way better!

[NJP]

Great info Rick!

[KennyWright]

Great post Rick. I had been doing something similar but I will incorporate this technique from now on. Is this also the technique you would use with a berber carpet?

[encapman]

Great post Rick. I had been doing something similar but I will incorporate this technique from now on. Is this also the technique you would use with a berber carpet?

Absolutely.


Rick Gelinas
The Encapman

[Tumble]

Rick,

How effective do you find your technique on re-occuring spots caused by detergent or solvent residue?

One thing I have noticed about encap detergent, even in strong concentration, is that it will not foam up well (at all), on things such as lubricating greases, or areas where there has been the use of non-volatile dry solvents.

In fact, the only thing I have found to be effective in some cases is special rinsing with a concentrated HWE detergent or special rinsing with a non-volatile solvent.

Phil M.

[encapman]

Yes, this trick is also effective on old detergent residues.

I agree, sometimes old residue, oils, and solvents can retard foaming. But normally cleaning with a slightly stronger dilution that's been preheated works pretty well though.


Rick Gelinas
The Encapman

[Jamie]

When I first started encapping I was paranoid that spots would return and as a result wherever possible I would return to jobs a few days or a few weeks later to check on the carpet to set my mind at ease. When I first started doing post-inspections I was quite scared of what I might see but after several times I just realized that the method works and this was just not really a big issue. I still follow up with my commercial jobs (and some residential) via phone call if I'm not in the area and they all say the carpets look even better days later than the day I cleaned them.

Cheers

Jamie

[Tumble]

Rick,

If this is the case, would you advocate using HWE spotters with encap? I have found that even after using encap on gelled solvents, they still re-soiled, and it wasn't until I used a good does of volatile solvent with special rinsing that I was able to get the situation under control (on a residential polyprop carpet).
Would love to hear your thoughts.

Phil

PS I haven't tried using encap detergent hot.