carpet stains

[Stacy]

Can we talk about carpet cleaning for a moment? I looked up some old threads, but can't really find what I'm after. 

We're not currently having potty problems, but there was a run with a dog that I was babysitting that was not as housebroken as her mom said she was. Then there was Ava on steroids. And then Ava on fish oil. So I have a few spots that aren't awful, but I can still see them. 

I cleaned them with natures miracle. I hate the smell of Nature's Miracle! And they spots don't stink. When I get down and smell them I can still smell a trace of nature's miracle, but I don't smell urine or poop. The problem is I can still see them. 

I have hardwoods under the carpets. The plan is when the carpet starts looking bad to pull it up and have the floors refinished. But it was brand new carpet less than 2 years ago, and I admit I kind of like the carpet. So I'm not ready to ditch it yet. And I'm supposed to have waterproof pad under the carpet, but I'm not 100% convined that it works. I don't want to get the carpet so wet that it stains the wood. 

Short of hiring a professional and moving all the furniture (yuck) I'm not sure what product to use. Keep in mind these stains are all several months old at this point. Strangely, I didn't really see them so much until I realized that my vacuum was doing a terrible job and replaced it. My carpet is cleaner than it's been since I moved in. But now I'm more aware of the spots. 

Ideas? 

Thanks! Stacy

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Me too. :(

[Stacy]

The cost of living in the right location! It's a good thing I don't like clutter anyway.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, I have clutter all over because I don't have a basement anymore! 

[Stacy]

Oh, I am ruthless! If it doesn't have a specific function and I am not in love with it it's getting kicked to the curb. I definitely kept more stuff around when I had a basement, but even then I tried to keep it to a minimum. And yet I still have too much stuff. But my dad's parents have a sentimental attachment to everything they've ever touched and I am determined not to be like that. 

The kindle was the best invention ever. I have a serious weakness for books. 

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

This will scare you a little bit but you can test it before you try it out.  When my carpet was two weeks old my husband and son dragged a large wall mirror across it and left a long black mark that I could not steam or wash out.  I called the store and talked to their expert. The expert said that most carpet threads are extruded making them color safe.  He told me to go to one of the floor registers, lift it up and pull a few of the threads.  Put them into a bowl with a little bit of bleach and leave it over night.  In the morning if the color remained the same it would be safe to use bleach.  Turns out the color remained the same so I put bleach in a spray bottle so the carpet did not get oversaturated and sprayed, used a cloth to rub it out.  Since then that has worked on the training period with Polly and also when we have a visiting dog that has accidents.  I now use a spray bottle and a sponge mop to scrub it with.  PLEASE REMEMBER TO TEST FIRST.

[Stacy]

You're right! That does scare me, but I'm intrigued. I have a little bit of remnant from this carpet. I'm going to pull some fibers and try it. I feel like that would solve my problem. Thank you! Such a unique idea. I wonder why more people don't know about that.

[Debbie and Toby]

We used OxiClean Carpet and Rug Stain Remover, worked quite well for us. We sprayed the area then left it for about 15 minutes.  I am not sure if you would want to do this with hardware underneath the carpet, but if you did want to try it, spray lightly so it doesn't soak all the way through. We also have the SpotBot, cleans spots quite well, but does leave the carpet pretty wet, so once we are done with the spotbot, we blot the area with paper towels. Not sure if SpotBot would work that well on older stains that are already set in. Also, just make sure the dogs don't have access to that area while the carpet is wet, we turn a clothes basket over on the wet spot so Toby can't walk on it while wet as we don't want any cleaners absorbing into his feet.

[Stacy]

I want to thank everyone for their carpet recommendations. I'm curious if anyone has heard of Folex? I came across it in some of my research and it had really good reviews and it was available at the local hardware store so I just picked some up and tried it. My preliminary experience seems like it's magic! I don't know what's in it, but it claims to be non-toxic, non-flammable, odor free (and I can vouch for this! It doesn't smell like anything! And I'm not a big fan of smells, so this is a total bonus for me) and VOCs, CFC, and petroleum free. The stains just vanished. Now, I can't say if they might come back. But right now they are absolutely gone. And the lady at the hardware store told me that people love the stuff, and she hears more good things about this product than anything. So I'm crossing my fingers that it really is the carpet miracle that it seems. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That sounds great! I hope the stains stay gone!