Mystery Stain

I met a stain today that I could not defeat....and it ticks me off!!

Very nice house with white carpeting and a large stain from a skylight leak. The key here was that it had a cedar shake roof and the stain looked to be a tannin stain. They had already attempted to clean it, but they couldn't recall what was sprayed on it several months ago and it was a light brownish yellow tint now.

I really didn't expect great results, but I walked away without making any improvements at all. 

This was the first real failure this year, and I don't like it. The house is a very nice $650k home and I had provided bids on several homes in the area the day prior, but I don't think I made a good enough showing for my phone to ring. I went at it in the following manner....where did I go wrong?

1. VERY thorough vacuum
2. Tested a small section with a general prespray and extracted...no change....rinsed it well.
3. Tested another small section with rust remover...no change...rinsed it well.
4. Applied Stain Magic, worked it in with carpet shark, covered with shrink wrap and covered with UV lamp.
5. Checked back a few hours later...nope, no change.
6. Applied a little more Stain Magic...worked it in...left it overnight.....Stain Wins, fight over.

(Pictures didn't capture the stain in the light well enough to see it)

Some carpet repair skills could have come in handy in that situation, not that I posses those skills.

Mo wrote:Some carpet repair skills could have come in handy in that situation, not that I posses those skills.

I don't either, at least not enough to rely upon them. In the end, I think they are stuck with that option.

Something simple like bonded inserts is a great thing to learn. Not too much equipment needed and the customers love you for it too.

Might try a Brown Out, or oriental rug fringe cleaner. Also if you can't do repairs - I can't - it is a good idea to get friendly with one or two local repair guys/installers. That way you can immediately recommend someone to your customer and still be a hero   . You can even make a referral fee deal to earn a couple of extra bucks. I don't take a fee from my guy, but I get great word of mouth from the customers I help...

Ok I must make an instructional video for you guys to start doing bonded inserts. It's easier than you think. Only way you will start is by doing your first one. I still remember my first bonded insert repair. I learned from it too. You get better and faster every time. I will work on this over the next few weeks.

I have no suggestions either. When it's a stain it can only be removed by repair or replacement.

UV rays change stains,   ever try to get cat urine out of an area right under a window that gets a lot of sun,  it can make it unremovable    

you mentioned it was under a skylight, and a light tan/yellowish color sounds like a stain that has been altered by UV  

forum had me questioning my spelling,   but that is how you spell unremovable not sure why it gives me the red line lol

ACpower1 wrote:UV rays change stains,   ever try to get cat urine out of an area right under a window that gets a lot of sun,  it can make it unremovable    

you mentioned it was under a skylight,   and a light tan/yellowish color sounds like a stain that has been altered by UV  

forum had me questioning my spelling,   but that is how you spell unremovable not sure why it gives me the red line lol

I was hoping that the UV would have helped in this case, but you are probably correct. That area does get lots of light and may have added to the problem.

As for the spelling, I hold a useless BA in English and have always believed that we butcher language in order to control immigration. It is like the word "wimp" which used to be spelled "whimp" when I was in school, but the dictionary updates yearly and someone become smarter. I still have an old Webster's that defines a "Doe" as a "deer, a female deer", so there are some characters on that panel.

You shoulda seen improvement with the rust remover or better yet an acid rinse agent with Glycolic or citric acid in it. It's worked for me before for this exact stain.
Otherwise it might be set, a furniture or backing (pigment) dye bleed.

I was able to convince the owner to let me take another run at it on Monday...I hate to lose and worse, hate to wonder what I missed.

I will see if it shows on the camera better this time and keep you all posted.

Try Sodium Percarbonate.

Ist stain magic powered oxygen?
Already tried a rust remover... it is acid based right?
Do u have Joe's step one red remover in powder?
I'm guessing the cedar is stained.. is the stain the same color of the cedar?
Maybe some pog and wet towel and iron?

The stain is of similar color as the cedar shakes, so I expected it to be an organic tannin stain, but it could be anything that was used to treat the shakes too. The problem is that the customer already attempted to clean it up using various things which only managed to smear the stain around.

I am going with a full quiver of arrows this time, so if there is anything that will work, I will find it.

Went for broke...and came away empty handed. I don't know what that discoloration is on that carpet, but it has more stamina than me. The photo still doesn't really show it on my camera phone, but it is dirty grey area on a light beige carpet. Nothing worked.

Browning / souring agents...failed
Peroxides and Stain Magic...failed
Tannin Stain Remover....failed
Rust Remover...failed
Power Scrubbed prespray with Hoss...failed
Filtration Remover...failed
Fels...failed
Begging and cursing...failed

The only thing left was to sell them an end table and lamp, or maybe a nice potted plant...a palm maybe. Either way, I surrendered and they decided to seek replacement instead.