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Carp not at carpet spots FOR the rest of the year one might dispense with carpets in the home. But come winter and one enjoys the feel of warm, carpeted floors. While not everybody can afford wall-to-wall carpeting, most people possess one or more carpet that occupies pride of place in their home. And imagine the distress one feels when a guest spills a beverage on one’s prized Persian rug. Or a careless child leaves a trail of food spills on a woollen carpet.
Before stains and spills can affect the fabric of your carpets, take steps to repair the damage. For that, one needn’t rush off to a dry cleaner at the drop of a spot. Some simple home remedies can save precious rugs from looking like tattered rags after prolonged use. Here is how you can treat stains left on a carpet by various objects: To prevent staining a carpet when shampooing, place pieces of aluminium foil under the feet of furniture which cannot be moved. Spills:
Act as quickly as possible. Vacuum or very lightly brush off spilt
powders. Gently scrape off any solids with a spoon and blot up any
liquids with a clean cloth. Do not rub. Test all stain removal methods
on an out-of-the-way spot. Keep a bottle of correctly-diluted carpet
shampoo solution to treat small spills — but do not use washing up
liquid. Also useful is a solution of 5ml/1 tsp of soap powder in
300ml/2 pint warm water. |
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Grease: Scrape carefully, apply branded stain removal solvent, followed by carpet shampoo solution. Beer: Blot, apply carpet shampoo solution, followed by branded stain-removal solvent when dry. Spirits: Blot, sponge with clean warm water. Apply carpet shampoo solution. Wine: Blot well, sponge with clean warm water, followed by soap solution. Coffee/tea: Act immediately. Blot, sponge with clean warm water followed by carpet shampoo solution. When dry, apply branded stain removal solvent. Fruit juice: Sponge with clean water followed by biological soap powder solution. When dry, treat any traces of colour with methylated spirits. Cosmetics: Use branded stain-removal solvent. Ink: Blot well, then sponge with warm water, repeatedly blotting. Apply soap solution. Professional bleaching may be necessary. Felt-tipped and ball-point pens: Dab with methylated spirits then apply carpet shampoo solution. Chewing gum: ‘Freeze’ with an ice cube, then pick off. Wax: Pick off as much as possible. Cover with blotting paper and apply the tip of a hot iron. Treat any remaining traces with branded stain-removal solvent. Old stains: Add 15ml/1 tbsp of white vinegar to carpet shampoo solution. Burns: Rub the marks from sparks with a cut raw onion. Try rubbing small burns with the milled edge of a silver coin or with fine sandpaper; or carefully snip off the charred fibres with sharp scissors. Compiled by Chetna
Banerjee |
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