Got a rug that's relatively large. It was in a flood, sat there for something like a year before we got it. It's turned into a freebie, because owner no longer wants it in current condition, and won't pay for it to be cleaned properly. Therefore, I get to play with it before it goes home with one of the company's owners. Here's my question(s): In my spotting kit, the book says that Protein Spotter can handle mold/mildew. Will that actually work, especially on such a light colored rug? On something this size, with as much spot/stain removal that needs to be done, would it be better to simply let the rug soak in a bath of Protein spotter solution? If I'm way off track with this, if you guys would offer some advice? I'd really appreciate it. I always get some decent input off of you guys. Thanks, Joseph
A protein spotter should work well since both protein and mold/mildew is an organic contamination. The cleaner is probably a Hydrogen peroxide base, like my cleaner Blast-Off. I would only soak it if your cleaner was designed to be used in a bath, most cleaners like mine are designed to be used as a prespotter. That being said, i would cover both sides of the rug because after a year the smell will probably be just as much of a battle as the stains themselves.
Mold will digest natural fibers like wool and cotton as a food source. The backing and or face yarns may be very weak even if the stains are removed. The products that work best on mold stains (peroxides and other oxidizers) can also do further damage to the wool. Protein Spotter is not going to work any better than a mildly alkaline prespray. You could try a filtration soil remover like Filter Free on the spots. This will be interesting to experiment on, but I would consider putting it in a trash can when you were done, not taking those mold spores into someone's home.
