What you need to know about stain removing

[buda]

If you are lucky when cleaning carpets; floormats and fabric upholstery most spots come out with regular shampooing.



HOWEVER, there are some spots, that become stains, that are quite stubborn to remove unless you have the proper knowledge, chemicals, tools and technique.



All too often customers have "catastrophic" spills in their vehicles that will require a professional with the proper skills to remedy the problem.



Some of such stains that require you step back and do a thorough diagnosis are:



+Cups of coffee or tea

+Food spills

+Condiment spills (ketchup for French fries) or mustard for a hot dog)

+Juices - Kool Aid; orange soda; Slurpees, etc

+Fingernal polish spills

+Paint (in some cases a cans opens, God forbid)

+Pet stains - they call them accidents, but we know the pet knows exactly what

they are doing.



There are several more but these seem to be the most common. The term catastrophe is what describes the reaction of the customer.



EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMERS



Be sure in your helpful tips for car care or your customer newsletter to let customers know that when they have a "catastrophic" spill to literally do nothing other than blot up the liquid or substance. But NEVER try to clean the spot with a chemical which can and often does "set" the stain making it impossible for you to remove.



Any profesional detailer should know that simply using an extractor to "rinse out" the stain will not always work. You must plan how to attack the stain the same way you plan out what to do with the paint finish.



WHAT TO DO?



First, remove as much of the spill as possible before applying any chemical. You can do this by gently scraping, blotting, and then rinsing.



Thank again too.



After removing the excess material, plan your attack.



Before you apply any cleaning chemical, try to determine the nature of the spotting material. Ask some questions of the customer:



a. Did the customer do anything to the spot, such as using something from "under the sink" If they have you can bet this is going to make removal difficult and you need to tell them that unfortunate fact.



b. Is the spot an organic? If so, determine if an enzyme digester will work.



c. Is it water soluble or solvent soluble?



c. Will the spot set permanently if you use hot water? Some protein stains will set when hit with hot water.



d. Will the spot "spread" if a solution is applied to it? Ink, grease, tar stains will do this. So you must determine how you are going to contain the migration.



e. Will residues be left in the fabric or backing that will "wick" to the surface when dry? (Cola soda spills are famous for wicking when dry). How you going to prevent this?



f. If the spot does not eventually rinse from the carpet or fabric what will you do then?



With the right chemicals, tools, processes you can remove almost all stains.



PROPER STEPS TO SUCCESS



For example if you are removing say, spilled spaghetti, an awful material to spill on carpets and fabric seats.



What you would do is scrap away the excess material with warm water, then apply an enzyme digester, work into the fibers and allow to dwell.



Rinse out the enzyme digester with more of the sause that crept into the carpet fibers then use an alkaline spotting solutino to help remove the final material.



The best way to plan your approach to stain removing is to analyze the material causing the spot. Then use the right chemistry and process for removal.



With the right tools, chemistry and knowledge of processes you can virtually remove any spot or stain.



TOOLS



Small plastic scraper

Putty knife

Nylon scrub brush

Vapor Steamer (for stains a mini-vapor steamer is enough)

White towels

Sponges



CHEMICALS



Protein stain remover

Tar & grease stain remover

Red juice or wind stain remover

Tannin stain remover (coffee 7 tea)

Rust stain remover

Pet stain remover & neutralizer



If you need more information on stain removal processes contact me.



Regards

Bud Abraham

DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

[RaskyR1]

Nice thread Bud.



FYI for anyone who read this thread, you can pick up "spotting kits" from janitorial supply places (Jon-Don) which contain everything you need to tackle the stains like Bud listed above ($100-200) but they should last you a long time.

[buda]

Nice thread Bud.



FYI for anyone who reads this thread, you can pick up "spotting kits" from janitorial supply places (Jon-Don) which contain everything you need to tackle the stains like Bud listed above ($100-200) but they should last you a long time.

With all due respect you can get such a kit for 1/2 that price, I know we sell them

[RaskyR1]

With all due respect you can get such a kit for 1/2 that price, I know we sell them

Well now I feel like a sucker.



Care to PM me a link?



I`ve always found it odd that the big Car Care stores don`t carry these items.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[buda]

Depends on the quantity in each bottle.



Yes I will

[Ron Ketcham]

Excellent professional advice, Bud.

Hope it sinks into some who are serious about dealing with various and different interior stains.

Grumpy

[buda]

Excellent professional advice, Bud.

Hope it sinks into some who are serious about dealing with various and different interior stains.

Grumpy

Ketch thanks for the compliment. Hope you will share here some of your vast knowledge on paint finishes, problems and solutions you are one of the best.



Bud A

[David Fermani]

Excellent professional advice, Bud.

I totally agree. This is great information. People are way too concerned with making paint perfect and totally overlook the essentials of making an interior perfect.

[Accumulator]

buda- Good post :xyxthumbs Yeah, it`s easy for the uninformed to end up making things even worse with the wrong approach.



Whose "rust stain remover" do you like best for this?

[Scottwax]

Great information, Bud!