Area rug yellowed carpet beneath so says the customer

Some causes of yellowing can be corrected. Try applying either Fab-Set (6 to 8 ounces per gallon of warm water), citric acid (10 to 12 ounces of powder disolved in warm water) or a combination (4 ounces Fab-Set plue 8 ounces Citric acid).

If this corrects the yellowing, you will see some improvement in just a few minutes, but yellow will continue to lighten for 20 minutes to an hour. Sometimes a second application is necessary.

If the yellowing came from the latex, then the rug is at fault, not your carpet cleaning. Customer could have made the carpet worse by placing on still damp carpet.

As to being taken advantage of, you will need to make a business decision if the possible damage to your reputation is worth the cost of the rug. Probaly pay it and move on. It happens.

I have seen yellowing just by area rugs being left on a carpet. I'm guessing the backing of the rug emits some type of gas that causes this. I've seen the same thing in homes where customers lay down plastic runners. I must say though, from what I can see in your video that it actually looks like moisture wicked into the area rug in places and the dye bled through the backing into the carpet. It looks like every place there is a stain on the carpet there is a matching stain on the area rug. That is something I have never seen. This would indicate to me that she did not follow your directions and placed the rugs down very soon after your techs left. Moisture had to be in the carpet for this to happen imho. Wealthier people often hire house keepers, at least that's been my experience, and perhaps one of them put the rugs back within a few hours of cleaning. If these stains are from the rugs' dyes, good luck getting them out. I truly think the customer or someone who works for her put those rugs down early thinking it would not be a problem. You might consider trying to test the rug for color fastness. My bet is they are not color fast and moisture wicked into them causing this problem.

A miracle MIGHT still happen Rob. I have run into this many times myself. The citric acid mix as recommended by Scott worked for me. Try that before paying out any money. Admit no fault even if you end replaceing it. Just say it is your policy to do whatever it takes to have happy customers.

Some questions need to be ask.

You said that you strongly feel that she used another company after the year and a half since your company cleaned for her. I would ask her directly if she had done so. Something else to consider is whether or not she or someone who works for her was using any kind of equipment in the house that wets the carpet like a Bissell for example for quick tough ups or if they used any spot removers on the rug that could have bled through. I frankly don't buy that she called one week after this happened and according to her she couldn't get through so she waits another 1 1/2 years to call again???? I don't believe her. If I saw something like that in my home one week after someone had cleaned I would have hit the roof. I would have called until I got through and insisted someone come out immediately. The fact she waited a year and a half bothers me a great deal. If it were me I would make her take me to court if that is what she wanted to do and let her present her case to a judge. I really think something is wrong with her waiting a year and a half. This should have been dealt with very, very promptly.

Rob, that really sucks that you are in this position. I wish there was a way to screen our customers if they are good or bad when we take their phone call. I've not run into any clients that have threaten me like you are getting. I have had some that will call me back and say there is a spot that returned or that we missed somewhere only to find out when we return, their dog or cat had a new accident. I can't argue with them that it's a new spot even though I know it is. I think there is a price we have to pay sometimes just so they won't go out and bad mouth us small business owners. I do mark them off the list for future dealings when they try to take avantage of me. But it looks like you are going to have to bite the bullet on this one just so she won't go around bad mouthing you across town and bad mouth you to who referred her. The public only gets to hear her side of the story.

I guess as a business owner we are always going to have customers that will have a lack of integrity

Rob,
Is the backing of the carpet latex rubber material of some sort or what? I can not see it clearly enough in the video.

Also, how deep does the staining penetrate? Is it just at the tips or does it goes all the way to the base of the carpet?

SAA

Rob,

One more question. Has anyone thought of removing the tables and removing the carpet completely to see everything that is actually there? It may be nothing but it may be interesting to see if any of this exists under the rest of the rug.

SAA

That is what I would want to see also. I bet the area under the table that has never seen daylight or cleaning is yellow too.
Latex backed carpets over carpet is a definite no no. Hell, latex backed carpets will yellow vinyl flooring underneath them.
Take a couple techs over and clear the table and rug and see what you find.

before applyng anything to that area in attempt to correct the problem, hire yourself a qualified iicrc certified inspector...have that area inspected to determine who and/or what is at fault.

he if you're going to roll over like Grover, might as well fork out the inspectors fee before shelling out anything else. In the end the inspectors fee may well be all that you pay. If after the inspection it is determined that you are at fault, then go ahead and do the right thing. If the rubber backing is at fault, then diplomatically deliver the news to the client.

I would not worry about the real estate agent, give them a copy of the inspection report and again diplomatically explain the results.

Excellant suggestion Rafa-L!

Looks to me like the customer is trying to take advantage of you. She will be unhappy and bad-mouth your company either way at this point, regardless of whether or not you replace her carpet.
That being said, i agree with rafael 100%. Base your decision on the facts and not just what the customer wants. You cant please everybody. If she has only used you once in 2 yrs than she is certainly not a top tier customer anyway. my .02

It looks to me like the rubber from the backing caused this. The backing releases some chemical (cant think of the name, the chemical that keeps the rubber "rubbier") that causes this on a linoleum floor quite often. A carpet with a rubber backing like that is not designed to put on a carpet like that anyways. (that is just my personal opinion) It could be the rubber backing + moisture = this problem. and even then it would be caused because it was put back too soon.

In either case, the rug should not have been placed on the carpet. I might learn from this and make people sign off if I see them using carpets like this in the future.

Since it has been over a year, i don't think you can even be sued over this. I wouldn't want to go back and do another job for her anyways. It is too bad that she will have negative things to say either way. I would be looking into the laws in your area. If she can't sue you then tell her you are not responsible due to the amount of time passed and have a nice day. WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN A HOUSE IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS. Sorry for yelling. I really get mad at this kind of stuff. LOL

Rob, we mention to our clients who choose to own tufted rugs that the latex backing can discolor carpeting, and also certain floors, so it is essential for them to have even just a thin pad underneath them - no to keep the rug from moving around (these rugs are usually hefty) - but to be a barrier between the rug and the flooring.

With colorful woven rugs (woven = you see the same design on the back as the front) - if it is a light carpeting, you might use even one of those sticky thin pad from Home Depot as a barrier because dye can also transfer from a rug on to carpeting.

Rugs are meant to be a hard surface ... over carpeting can be a problem.

I would look for similar rugs in the house to see if the same problem is happening (or maybe in a neighbor's house) - it could show that this is not from the cleaning, but from the choice of rug.

Lisa

www.therugchick.com

I think the cleaning recommendations are right on. If this doesn't come out it is definently heat / burn from stagnant mold. I would personally pull the carpet clean in a plant atmosphere, then dry, dye, replace padding.

This is what I like to hear. Carpet cleaning guys and gals helping helping other carpet cleaners in time of some serious need. Great job everyone for trying to get this issue resloved with as little aggravation to Rob as possible.

This is why I like this board so much. There are a lot of people on here that put others in front of themselves. I like it.

Message:
You didn't do it. Placing a non breathing rug directly on the carpet did. She's just looking for someone to pay for her mistake. She may or may not know it was her mistake, but it was. My wife just placed one of these rugs on our garage floor. It not only drew moisture out of the concrete but the moisture couldn't dry and it made an ugly white spot on our garage floor.

I've seen a few of these yellow areas under rugs that were placed on white carpet. Fortunately the yellow was there before I got there and they couldn't think of a way to blame me. Not that they didn't try. I tried to get out the yellow but failed. Which reminds me. I need to write down Scotts formula for getting out this yellow.

As a professional carpet cleaning and water damage tech in phoenix I've gotten a few calls like that but a year and a half later? Too long ago for them to take leagle action. http://www.theapexcc.com