What has given you the best results to remove each? Also, anyone used 40 volume peroxide on the white fringe? I have cleaned a few wool rugs and only one with a fairly fresh urine stain that came out with stain magic for wool but these stains are quite a bit older. Tested for dye bleeding with ammonia today, (saw that suggestion on the board) and no problems. Any suggestions?? Thanks!!!!
I use this product on the fringe. http://www.prochem.com/products/index.php?id=8.695-064.0 I clean it first then overspray with citric acid and use a blower to dry. Works great. When testing for color fastnes use a clean white terry towel and apply a small amount of your most aggresive cleaner you will use to clean it and then press it ( dont rub ) on red blue or green area. Leave it there for 10 sec or so and then check for bleeding. There are a few rust removal spotters out there just be sure to rinse it out. As for urine. Urine starts as an acid and in this state its very easy to remove. But if left un treated then the urine will goto an alkiline and becomes more diffecult to remove. In its acid state u want to use an alkiline cleaner to remove and in the alkiline state you want to use a nuetral or acidic cleaner. If the urine stays untreated long enough it could actually cause an alkiline burn which becomes an uncleanable discoloration. The odor u smell whene its an alkiline isnt really urine anymore but the bacteria thriving or the waste they produce. Its a bacteria off gas. Anything else?
One more question. If the urine is in it's alkiline state, what is and what is not too aggressive for wool? Is there a urine stain remover that is made just for wool? By the way, thanks for the response. I was starting to wonder if I was gonna get one! haha
Wool is very absorbent. The chemical reactions of urine decomposing can creat a permanent discoloration. So start with the idea that urine stains on wool are permanent. Then if you can lighten them or remove them you are the hero. There is at least one product made to remove urine specifically on wool - Stain Magic for Wool. I think StainZONE diluted with equal part water works even better if you decide to go the oxidizer route. Immersion cleaning or in-plant or mini plant cleaning allows some things you can't do with on location cleaning. Consider taking the rug our of the home and cleaning it in your plant (AKA garage, driveway or whatever). After dry soil removal and testing for color fastness, apply Dye LOC if needed. Then apply a urine pretreatment such as TCU NEutralizer and submerse the rug in moving water for anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Here you are trying not to be aggressive with chemicals but rather let time work for you. Flush the rug and clean as normal. Dry. If cleaning on location is the only option, consider putting your vacuum hose or tool on the back side of the carpet and cleaning it through to the back rather than bringing the urine to the surface. I would not use 40 volume peroxide on the fringe. Two reasons. Likely the fringe is cotton. The natural color of cotton is not "bleached" white, but rather off-white. (Your T shirts and under wear are bleached before you buy them.) Changing the natural color to a bleached white color devalues the rug considerably. Any form of bleach, including peroxide, weakens the cotton fibers. They will begin to break off with aggressive agitation, even traffic and vacuuming. If you will be doing a lot of wool rugs or want to concentrate on area /Oriental rugs consider a class. Various classes go from 2 to 3 to 5 to 8 days and even a year long program. There is a lot more to learn than I can type, but Aaron Groseclose, Ellen Amerkan, Ruth Travis and Jeff Bishop all teach classes worth attending. (maybe others as well, but I have not been to other classes.)
