Thread: Stiff Fibers

Lots of ideas but I need to know what pre spray you used in your Hydro Force, what rinse you used & ph levels of each? Also did you apply a stainshield of any kind? Do you have a water softener? Make sure to do slow thorough rinse passes as well as dry passes. Give us details please.
P.S. I am not a chemist but I can help

First, understand that not every carpet will clean up 100%. White carpets will be among the hardest to get great results on.

Sometimes what appears to be soil is really scratched (abraded fibers). Most carpets are synthetic fibers, types of plastic. Think of a clear plastic or Plexiglass window. If it gets scratched, all the cleaning in the world won't clean off that scratch. You now have a white mark instead of clear because the light is reflected differently.

The same can happen with carpet fibers. They get scracthed by abrasive soil, sand for example, and will never look like new again. Often this looks like soil or washed out or grayed-out carpet.

Stiff fibers can be from one or a combination of reasons.
1) Some fibers types and carpet designs are naturally stiffer than others. For example olefin is stiffer than nylon or acrylic. Larger diameter (denier) fibers will feel stiffer.
2) Residue from too much prespray not being rinsed out can make fibers stiff.
3) Encap products, especially if over used, will make fibers stiff for a few days until they have been vacuumed out. Many rinse products include encap ingredients to help prevent resoiling. So using too much rinse may be an issue. You did not say what rinse you used.
4) Heavy build up of soil can actually make a carpet feel softer. You are feeling the oils not the carpet fiber. So, sometimes clean carpet feels a little stiffer than it did before cleaning.

A through rinse with acid side rinse product such as End Zone may be the answer.


Resoiling or wicking after carpet dries means some soil was left behind. This may be on the carpet tufts, at the base or backing of the carpet or sometimes even below the backing of the carpet. This wicks back to the surface during drying.

The first key is removing all the soil. Start with very through vacuuming of the carpet when dry. This is the number one way to prevent wick back. I don't recall your post saying that you did the prevacuum.

Heavy soiled areas like entry ways and traffic lanes, maybe in front of favorite chair or sofa, need extra flushing with lots of water and vaccum strokes. The couple of cleaning strokes and couple of vacuums trokes you did may be OK for most of the carpet, but some areas need to be scrubbed and flushed and rinsed extra well.

Also do flushing where you see spills with a lot of liquid have happned. This could be coffee, tea, soft drinks or whatever. FLush thoroughly and extract as completely as possible. Water removed by extracting takes the soils that are disolved in it along with it. Water removed by air movers or evaporation leaves the soil behind. So get as dry as possible by extraction in the heavily soiled areas.

For residues that are in the backing or below or as an insurance policy for other soils, post spray the traffic lanes and spills with Encapuguard which is an anti wicking agent. Stains won't reappear!