What Is A Wicking Stain And How It Can Be Prevented
Do you have a stain in your carpeting in which you clean up, but it keeps coming back? While it might take some time, that stain inevitably will return with vengeance and you have no idea why? That is called a wicking stain.
What is a wicking carpet stain?
Just so you fully understand what a wicking stain is, it is a stain that seems to be cleaned up, only to return eventually. The same stain that you clean at the top surface of the carpeting but where the problem is at is underneath. Think of this sort of stain as an iceberg. You see a small spot but under the carpeting is the real issue.
To prevent these sorts of stains you should clean any liquid spills up immediately. This will allow for the liquid to, hopefully, just affect the top layer of the carpeting and prevent further damage from the liquid from getting below. Often times a wicking stain was created by someone who didn’t know what they were doing or care when they were cleaning the carpets. But some wicking stains are due to negligence of the homeowner spilling something and not cleaning it up in time. However, it got there, there are ways to clean up this wicking mess or at least things that you can try.
How to treat a wicking carpet stain?
The best way to treat a wicking stain is to clean the area and try to get that area as dry as possible as fast as possible. This could mean that you need to bring in some large fans to get the air circulating for faster drying times. There are also some professional services that can be done to get these stains from coming back. However, if you are looking for some DIY options to try, you might try cleaning, drying, and then applying a stain repellent such as Teflon®, Bane-Guard™, or Sta-Clene®. There are also some anti-wicking agents that could be applied to see if that would help. You might try a stain-wicking agent. These agents are typically a powder that will pull the stain up through the carpeting.
An acid rinse might be a solution that will work to help treat your wicking carpet stain. This is done after the carpets are cleaned. It is an agent that is used to neutralize the carpeting. There is actually a product called Brown Out® that is used for just this purpose. The name comes from back in the day when jute was used under the carpet. The jute was very high PH. This would cause it to wick. It was discovered if that was neutralized the issue was cured. While this is another option, you really should call on the experts to clean your carpeting properly.
There are many different solutions in which a wicking stain can be dealt with properly. If you continue at failed attempts you may just be setting that stain for good. Call on the experts and let them work at a solution to your wicking stain today.
