Spilt wax, after Halloween.

I had a call from a woman who was comming to the end of her tenancy, but she had spilt wax on the carpet and was worried that she would loose her deposit.  Now removing the wax, for a professional carpet cleaner is no problem, however she had tried to melt the wax with an iron, and had melted the fibres leaving a melted iron shape in the middle of her room.

Iron marks on carpets are so common! If you get wax on your carpet, there are steps you can take, but before I go into detail, my advise, Google carpet cleaners in your area and get an expert in, this is the safest and most successful method.  If you try yourself, then you are accepting the risks involved. I have spoken to homeowners who have removed wax, without damaging the carpet, and so I will go through how they did it.

Wax removed, but the iron mark is permanent.

The picture opposite shows a carpet, where the owner tried to remove wax with an iron, they failed to remove the wax, but melted an iron shape into the carpet.

If you really want to try yourself, don’t rush! One method is to use ice cubes to freeze the wax, then with a blunt item, chip away at the wax, be careful not to remove any carpet fibres that are in the wax. Then use a solvent, to remove the remaining wax. Test the solvent in a hidden area or on a off cut of the carpet first, then add in small amounts and dab off. Some carpets have backing that are sensitive to solvents, so always test first and only apply in a small amount and dab away.

The most common method is to use an iron.  Firstly, get a tea towel, nearly all the success stories I have heard have been when using a towel rather than paper. Set the iron on a cool setting, test on an off cut of carpet, or on a hidden part of the carpet. If the test area is undamaged, try on the wax. Then set the iron to a slightly hotter setting, test again, and if the carpet is not damaged, try on the wax. You can’t rush this, slowly increasing the heat and constantly testing will save your carpet in the long run. Once you get to a point that some wax has come off on to the towel, but the carpet is not damaged, that is your heat setting, and you may have to keep letting the carpet cool and applying the iron again to remove a little wax at a time. Of course do not leave the iron on the carpet, and keep testing the heat on your test area.

Iron mark from attempts to remove wax from carpet.

I hope I have been clear about the risks, and the steps you should take, the first being to get an expert in to deal with the wax!

If you keep testing on an off cut or hidden area you should see damage there, before you put an iron mark on your carpet as shown in the picture above!  By far the safest and surest way to remove wax is to leave it to an expert, it’s worth a phone call to check prices first, often this can be done as a spot clean, which is cheaper than having the whole room cleaned, and certainly cheaper than a new carpet!

So what are filtration marks?  Over the course of time any carpet that has air moving up through it or even across the top of the carpet in some cases will develop dark marks. The air is carrying with it tiny particles of dirt, and the air travels up through the floorboards, these particles are filtered out by the carpet (this means less pollutants in the air you are breathing!) and over time the dirt builds up and starts to show.

A bad case of filtration marks

Clearly from the picture opposite if you have a light coloured carpet preventing filtration marks is a must. So how can they be prevented?  As filtration marks are caused by air travelling through or across in the case of doorways, the gaps or holes that the air is coming through need to be sealed before the carpet is fitted.  Clearly speaking to the carpet fitter before fitting, or even your local maintenance company will save your carpet in the long run.

So what if this is all too late, the carpet is fitted but you have dark patches, most commonly in doorways?  Your local carpet cleaning company will, when you have your carpet cleaned, pay attention to the marks, and treat them with cleaning agents for that purpose.  It should be noted though that filtration marks, as they develop over time, with a slow build up, are very hard to remove completely.  It is also clear that without removing the air flow, the filtration marks will return.

So care for your carpet before it is fitted, stop concentrated air flow coming up through the floor and fit draft excluders to your doorways, and enjoy clean hygienic carpets.

Richard.

Afresh is a carpet and upholstery cleaning company based in Essex in the UK. Often I get questions from clients, or I come across damage to carpets that could have been avoided if the client knew what do do at the time. So why not give that information before the problem arises, hence this blog.

I will cover topics like spilt wax on fabrics and what to do, many a carpet has iron marks melted on to it!  What about wooden flooring, is it healthier than carpet? Does it matter what your carpet is made from? What is a dust mite?

I hope you enjoy reading and I hope you get the most from your carpet and upholstery.

Richard.

Afresh