Customer DIY Green Cleaning Gone Wrong
When household ingredients do more harm than good.
Customers who are homeownersare always looking to save money, which will include using home remedies for thecleaning of their carpets. It might not be such a good idea to rely on greencleaning and DIY tips that have been found on Internet blogs and tip pages forcarpet cleaning. Of course, the advice that is found online is well-meaning,but that doesn’t mean that it was signed off on by a carpet cleaning expert.
Here is some advice thatmay be better skipped when it comes to green cleaning or DIY cleaning carpettips. Remind your customers that they are better off booking the pros at theonset of a persistent stain on their carpets, and here are some of the bad advicethat will get them into trouble the most if they take these fake stain-liftingcues to heart.
Ammonia may seem like apotent stain buster for carpets, but it is also so strong that it can causepermanent scars to wool rugs and carpets too. Ammonia is a high alkalinechemical, that can strip off manufacturer static and stain guards, colored dyes,and can breakdown carpet fibers before their time. Additionally, ammonia can createtoxic gasses as well for children and pets living and playing in the environment.It may be better to skip this DIY solution for cleaning stains on carpets.
Vinegar may not removestains on carpets at all, and should not be considered a one size fits allproper stain or dirt lifter. If a customer adds baking soda to the vinegar(remember science class volcanoes?) in an effort to lift dirt, don’t forgetthat it requires needing to go back in and also take the extra time out of abusy schedule to remove the residual vinegar and backing soda paste from the carpetagain too to get it clean! Furthermore, never ever mix vinegar with otherchemicals such as hydrogen peroxide. It will be actually creating peraceticacid that is at once toxic, and can create a potentially dangerous gas that maybe responsible for causing serious respiratory problems in humans. Stay away fromthis DIY option, as it is not a viable solution to clean the carpets.
Hairspray has been usedby some to clear carpet stains. The only problem is that hairspray is also notmeant for carpet cleaning, and is likely to create a stain on any carpet whereit is applied. Hairspray is strong and useful to keep your hair in place, but whenplaced and sprayed liberally on a carpet it will only attract more grime anddirt to the carpet area the customer was likely trying desperately to clean.
Water is also not thebest stain remover for a carpet, and this includes water mixed with any type ofhousehold detergent or soap product. If the customers are trying to use wateron an oil-based stain, it could become more set into the carpets (ink or apetroleum based original stain). When a person introduces water to a stain,there is a good chance also that the water will activate the stain all overagain, and allow it to spread and make a bigger stain. If a customer wants totry club soda or plain seltzer water, it may work to help diffuse the stain,but again no promises.
Dishwashing liquid isalso not really meant to remove stains from a carpet. Although it is awesome atremoving and completely lifting stains from dishes, pots and pans, remember toothat it is used in the sink and also rinsed off. But if you apply it to the carpets,it stays in the carpet fibers as a residue until it is rinsed off, and if it hasa high concentration of food coloring in the solution, it may create anotherstain on top of the stain you are hoping to release.
Hydrogen peroxide is ableach and it can erase color from carpets in a heartbeat, if applied in the wrongway. There are many household cleaning uses for this chemical as noted online,but cleaning of carpets is usually not on the top of the list. There is no safeway to use hydrogen peroxide on a carpet, even at the household standard of 3%grade dilution (which is most commonly found on your bottle under the sink rightnow). It is better to skip using this as an option to clean a stain from yourcarpets for now.
Using a hot iron to takeoff a wax stain from a carpet is not the right plan either. Any hot applianceused on a carpet will risk burning a hole or indentation into the carpetitself. There is no fix for an unsightly burn on a carpet. The idea of cuttingout a burn area with a razor blade, and replacing the spot with a new carpetpatch will only be a viable option if your carpet is brand new, and even then,well, not the best solution over time.
Well there are manyreasons not to go rouge DIY all over the carpets. Then what are the customers todo with a visible carpet stain? The best solution is to call in theprofessionals, who are highly trained on how to safely remover carpet stains andwho will do it right the first time. Remind the customers that it is in theirbest interest to call the pros first. Somestains can be easily removed professionally IF the customers have not set the stainin stone by trying to use DIY techniques to remove it. Anyone owning a carpet cleaningbusiness is in a good position to talk to customers with stains, and get themto book their services today!
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