It can be alarming when you start seeing some discoloration on your carpet because of how it ruins its overall appearance. Once you notice it, you’ll want to get to the root cause of the problem as soon as possible.
There are many causes of carpet discoloration and getting to the root cause sooner can help you prevent it from happening in the future. For now, we have listed some of these causes so that you can take preventive measures early on.
Acid Spills
If you have ever noticed that you have green spots on your carpet, your carpet likely came in contact with acid. One that is a common culprit is vomit. Your stomach acid is 10% acid which can leave unsightly stains on your carpet if it isn’t cleaned up promptly. The stain should be neutralized with an alkali detergent solution to avoid permanent damage to your carpet. People are usually quick to clean this mess up due to the smell though. Source: Dye Pro Carpet & Rug Restoration
Stain Removers
Unfortunately, even though these products are sold as stain removers for cleaning up spills or removing stains, carpet stain removers often do more harm to carpet dyes than they do good. The reason is that stain removers are loaded with oxidizers and, as we’ve previously established in this article, those oxidizers react with acid dyes and cause them to change color.
Many household stain removers contain bleach and peroxide, both of which are designed to lighten the color of anything they come into contact with, in this case, your expensive carpet. Stain removers also leave residue behind deep down in the fibers. It’s very difficult to completely rinse away spot stain removers. Due to this leftover residue, every time the humidity in the room rises, that residue reacts and slowly continues to fade the color of your carpet.
Whether you opt for a carpet stain remover that contains bleach, or one that’s peroxide-based, both of these chemicals are bleaching agents. Yes, they do a great job of fading a stain away, but they also bleach the carpet’s color dye. Source: Boas Cleaning Services
Air Pollutants
Fume fading occurs when gaseous pollutants, like oxides of nitrogen or sulfur, react with carpet dyes. This process is gradual but can be accelerated by environmental factors such as:
- Sunlight
- Heat
- High humidity
- Presence of acids on fibers
The most commonly affected colors include:
- Green to yellow
- Blue to pink
- Brown to red
Fume fading typically begins at the tips of the carpet fibers and progresses toward the backing. Preventing fume fading involves reducing exposure to pollutants, controlling humidity, and using appropriate cleaning agents that won’t contribute to acid buildup on the fibers. Source: Dry-Concepts
We hope that from this article you have something to start with when it comes to preventive measures to avoid carpet discoloration. If ever your carpets have already incurred this type of damage, don’t worry – just give us a call!
