Every few months five or six small gray spots appear on my beige carpet.
They are always in the same place (an area less than one square foot)and
easy to remove using Resolve or any other carpet cleaner.

The spots are in a high-traffic area, but don't really get much traffic
since I live alone and rarely wear outside shoes on the carpet (changing
into slippers upon arriving home).

My theory is that something is bleeding through from the underpad. It's
one of those pads with lots of colors made from scraps of some recycled
material. But as I said, the spots are gray, not one of the colors in
the pad.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

R1

On 10/28/2011 4:12 PM, Rebel1 wrote:
Every few months five or six small gray spots appear on my beige carpet.
They are always in the same place (an area less than one square foot)and
easy to remove using Resolve or any other carpet cleaner.

The spots are in a high-traffic area, but don't really get much traffic
since I live alone and rarely wear outside shoes on the carpet (changing
into slippers upon arriving home).

My theory is that something is bleeding through from the underpad. It's
one of those pads with lots of colors made from scraps of some recycled
material. But as I said, the spots are gray, not one of the colors in
the pad.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

R1



Color shouldn't "bleed through" unless wet. One thought is that there
is something .. grease, chalk, broken crayon, whatever .. that is
imbedded, breaks down from traffic and then mixes into the pile. Pets?
Shampooed the carpet?

Likely something that got deeper into the carpet and wicks to the
surface periodically. Resolve cleans the tips of the fibers but
doesn't go deep enough. A thorough cleaning with a carpet extractor
should help.

On Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:08:01 -0700 (PDT), Ed
wrote:

Likely something that got deeper into the carpet and wicks to the
surface periodically. Resolve cleans the tips of the fibers but
doesn't go deep enough. A thorough cleaning with a carpet extractor
should help.

True. People often clean carpets and walk on it while still damp. The
dirt under / from the pad wicks up and begins to show later when dry.

STAY off wet or damp carpet once cleaned. It needs plenty of time for
the wet pad to DRY out.

On Oct 28, 4:12*pm, Rebel1 wrote:
Every few months five or six small gray spots appear on my beige carpet.
They are always in the same place (an area less than one square foot)and
easy to remove using Resolve or any other carpet cleaner.

The spots are in a high-traffic area, but don't really get much traffic
since I live alone and rarely wear outside shoes on the carpet (changing
into slippers upon arriving home).

My theory is that something is bleeding through from the underpad. It's
one of those pads with lots of colors made from scraps of some recycled
material. But as I said, the spots are gray, not one of the colors in
the pad.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

R1

Perhaps there is something sticky just below the tips of carpet. Even
though you take your shoes off, there's still dust and dirt carried
around on your feet.

It sticks to the sticky substance little by little until it becomes
visible. You clean the dirt away with Resolve but you never get rid of
the sticky substance.

It might be hard to do, but if you could avoid the area for the time
it takes the spots to appear, or cover it such a way that you would
never transfer any dirt to the area, you might be able to determine if
the spots are coming from underneath (which I doubt) or above.

Another (drastic) option, assuming you can find an area that has worn/
faded in the same manner, would be to have a carpet installer come in
and replace the section with a section from someplace else, pad and
all. (Those folks are pretty good at hiding seams) If the spots come
back in the same location, you've got gremlins. If they follow the
carpet, even if moved to area that gets no traffic, then maybe your
"bleeding up" theory is valid...or maybe you got gremlins. ;-)

On Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:12:53 -0400, Rebel1
wrote:

Every few months five or six small gray spots appear on my beige carpet.
They are always in the same place (an area less than one square foot)and
easy to remove using Resolve or any other carpet cleaner.

The spots are in a high-traffic area, but don't really get much traffic
since I live alone and rarely wear outside shoes on the carpet (changing
into slippers upon arriving home).

My theory is that something is bleeding through from the underpad. It's
one of those pads with lots of colors made from scraps of some recycled
material. But as I said, the spots are gray, not one of the colors in
the pad.

Any other ideas?

Something spilled? At work we have a similar problem on a carpet, but
we know it was a stain from something tracked on shoes. We clean it,
put a dry powder cleaner on it, but a few weeks later, the spots are
back.

Thanks, all, for the comments. The carpet is only a couple of years old,
and it has never been cleaned with anything other than my home vacuum
cleaner. There's been spot cleaning with Resolve, and sometimes with a
foam spray. Hardly enough to wet the pad.

I walk along the spotted area in going from my kitchen to my computer,
often carrying a cup of tea. Perhaps there were some drips from a
slightly over-filled cup of tea that left a stick residue as Derby
suggested. The pattern of spots matches that theory. I'll try using some
other solvent cleaner - like rubbing alcohol or an ultra-concentrated
dish washing soap - after first testing on a piece of scrap.

On 10/29/2011 12:18 AM, Rebel1 wrote:
Thanks, all, for the comments. The carpet is only a couple of years old,
and it has never been cleaned with anything other than my home vacuum
cleaner. There's been spot cleaning with Resolve, and sometimes with a
foam spray. Hardly enough to wet the pad.

I walk along the spotted area in going from my kitchen to my computer,
often carrying a cup of tea. Perhaps there were some drips from a
slightly over-filled cup of tea that left a stick residue as Derby
suggested. The pattern of spots matches that theory. I'll try using some
other solvent cleaner - like rubbing alcohol or an ultra-concentrated
dish washing soap - after first testing on a piece of scrap.



Careful with alcohol. Milk in your tea? Try ammonia. If you leave soapy
residue, it will be sticky and cause spots. Try sponging on some normal
laundry detergent, let it soak with a wet towel or something on it, then
pick up with wet vac. If that doesn't work, you will probably be safer
just letting it be than to try harsh chemicals...denatured alcohol can
warp carpet. DAMHIK

At church, I've been using powder Ultra Tide in the
extractor. About a tsp per five gallons or so of hot water.
Seems to be doing excellent job. I keep pulling up buckets
of mud from the carpet.

Might work for you, also, in a Rinse N Vac.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Rebel1" wrote in message
...
Thanks, all, for the comments. The carpet is only a couple
of years old,
and it has never been cleaned with anything other than my
home vacuum
cleaner. There's been spot cleaning with Resolve, and
sometimes with a
foam spray. Hardly enough to wet the pad.

I walk along the spotted area in going from my kitchen to my
computer,
often carrying a cup of tea. Perhaps there were some drips
from a
slightly over-filled cup of tea that left a stick residue as
Derby
suggested. The pattern of spots matches that theory. I'll
try using some
other solvent cleaner - like rubbing alcohol or an
ultra-concentrated
dish washing soap - after first testing on a piece of scrap.

On Oct 29, 8:02*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
At church, I've been using powder Ultra Tide in the
extractor. About a tsp per five gallons or so of hot water.
Seems to be doing excellent job. I keep pulling up buckets
of mud from the carpet.

What kind of moron continues to suggest what they know is wrong?

"Soap Residue is one of the most common problems that people face in
the battle to have clean carpets. Soaps or shampoos that are left
behind from previous cleanings can cause a list of frustrating
problems for people. Such as, spots reappearing, the carpet looking
dingy shortly after cleaning, premature re-soiling of the carpet, and
browning of the carpet in some cases."
http://www.protectcarpetcleaning.com...ects_soap.html

I corrected you on the use of soap as a carpet cleaning solution just
2 short weeks ago:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.h...n&dmode=source
-----

- gpsman

On 10/29/2011 6:41 AM, Norminn wrote:
On 10/29/2011 12:18 AM, Rebel1 wrote:
Thanks, all, for the comments. The carpet is only a couple of years old,
and it has never been cleaned with anything other than my home vacuum
cleaner. There's been spot cleaning with Resolve, and sometimes with a
foam spray. Hardly enough to wet the pad.

I walk along the spotted area in going from my kitchen to my computer,
often carrying a cup of tea. Perhaps there were some drips from a
slightly over-filled cup of tea that left a stick residue as Derby
suggested. The pattern of spots matches that theory. I'll try using some
other solvent cleaner - like rubbing alcohol or an ultra-concentrated
dish washing soap - after first testing on a piece of scrap.



Careful with alcohol. Milk in your tea? Try ammonia. If you leave soapy
residue, it will be sticky and cause spots. Try sponging on some normal
laundry detergent, let it soak with a wet towel or something on it, then
pick up with wet vac. If that doesn't work, you will probably be safer
just letting it be than to try harsh chemicals...denatured alcohol can
warp carpet. DAMHIK

Thanks for the warning about alcohol. No milk in my tea; just straight
green tea.

What about just using full-strength ammonia to remove any stickiness?

When you suggest normal laundry detergent, do you mean liquid (full
strength) or powder? Also, I don't have a wet vac.

"Rebel1" wrote in message
...
Every few months five or six small gray spots appear on my beige carpet.
They are always in the same place (an area less than one square foot)and
easy to remove using Resolve or any other carpet cleaner.

The spots are in a high-traffic area, but don't really get much traffic
since I live alone and rarely wear outside shoes on the carpet (changing
into slippers upon arriving home).

My theory is that something is bleeding through from the underpad. It's
one of those pads with lots of colors made from scraps of some recycled
material. But as I said, the spots are gray, not one of the colors in the
pad.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

R1

Try a carpet debrowner agent also known as "no-brown". I used to clean
carpet many years ago, it's a agent used frequently when steam cleaning
carpet. You should be able to pick it up locally. Look under "cleaning
supplies" in yellow pages.

http://www.hillyard.com/images/ProductData/HIL00907.pdf

On Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:57:58 -0400, Rebel1
wrote:

On 10/29/2011 6:41 AM, Norminn wrote:
On 10/29/2011 12:18 AM, Rebel1 wrote:
Thanks, all, for the comments. The carpet is only a couple of years old,
and it has never been cleaned with anything other than my home vacuum
cleaner. There's been spot cleaning with Resolve, and sometimes with a
foam spray. Hardly enough to wet the pad.

I walk along the spotted area in going from my kitchen to my computer,
often carrying a cup of tea. Perhaps there were some drips from a
slightly over-filled cup of tea that left a stick residue as Derby
suggested. The pattern of spots matches that theory. I'll try using some
other solvent cleaner - like rubbing alcohol or an ultra-concentrated
dish washing soap - after first testing on a piece of scrap.



Careful with alcohol. Milk in your tea? Try ammonia. If you leave soapy
residue, it will be sticky and cause spots. Try sponging on some normal
laundry detergent, let it soak with a wet towel or something on it, then
pick up with wet vac. If that doesn't work, you will probably be safer
just letting it be than to try harsh chemicals...denatured alcohol can
warp carpet. DAMHIK

Thanks for the warning about alcohol. No milk in my tea; just straight
green tea.

What about just using full-strength ammonia to remove any stickiness?

When you suggest normal laundry detergent, do you mean liquid (full
strength) or powder? Also, I don't have a wet vac.

What kind of carpet is this?! Answers matter.

But avoid SOAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:55:44 -0700 (PDT), gpsman
wrote:

What kind of moron continues to suggest what they know is wrong?

+2

Rebel1 wrote:
Every few months five or six small gray spots appear on my beige carpet.
They are always in the same place (an area less than one square foot)and
easy to remove using Resolve or any other carpet cleaner.

The spots are in a high-traffic area, but don't really get much traffic
since I live alone and rarely wear outside shoes on the carpet (changing
into slippers upon arriving home).

My theory is that something is bleeding through from the underpad. It's
one of those pads with lots of colors made from scraps of some recycled
material. But as I said, the spots are gray, not one of the colors in the pad.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

R1

I might try some oxiclean to get underneath, and dry.
I got raised spots on rug, no stain. When I pulled rug and pad, wood floor
was stained. Foam decomposed, raised, and stained wood. Used oxiclean to
destain wood.

Greg

On 10/29/2011 2:57 PM, Rebel1 wrote:
On 10/29/2011 6:41 AM, Norminn wrote:
On 10/29/2011 12:18 AM, Rebel1 wrote:
Thanks, all, for the comments. The carpet is only a couple of years old,
and it has never been cleaned with anything other than my home vacuum
cleaner. There's been spot cleaning with Resolve, and sometimes with a
foam spray. Hardly enough to wet the pad.

I walk along the spotted area in going from my kitchen to my computer,
often carrying a cup of tea. Perhaps there were some drips from a
slightly over-filled cup of tea that left a stick residue as Derby
suggested. The pattern of spots matches that theory. I'll try using some
other solvent cleaner - like rubbing alcohol or an ultra-concentrated
dish washing soap - after first testing on a piece of scrap.



Careful with alcohol. Milk in your tea? Try ammonia. If you leave soapy
residue, it will be sticky and cause spots. Try sponging on some normal
laundry detergent, let it soak with a wet towel or something on it, then
pick up with wet vac. If that doesn't work, you will probably be safer
just letting it be than to try harsh chemicals...denatured alcohol can
warp carpet. DAMHIK

Thanks for the warning about alcohol. No milk in my tea; just straight
green tea.

What about just using full-strength ammonia to remove any stickiness?

When you suggest normal laundry detergent, do you mean liquid (full
strength) or powder? Also, I don't have a wet vac.

I mean normal laundry detergent, at normal concentration as used for
laundry. I suggested ammonia only in case the spots were milk. I
wouldn't use any very strong chem. without knowing instructions by
carpet mfg. Wet vacs are mighty handy, and can bail you out during
emergencies, like plumbing leaks ) Not very expensive. My hubby was
disinclined to have our expensive wool oriental carpet cleaned
professionally, so I cleaned it in place. Tile floor, so water didn't
hurt anything. Filled watering can (for flowers) with cool water and
Woolite, saturated rug. Let it soak a bit. Scrubbed pile with brush.
Vacuumed, rinsed, vacuumed, rinsed, vacuumed.

If your spots are small and concentrated, you might try applying Woolite
(very mild) with a small bottle with nozzle, scrub with small brush like
a toothbrush....saturating a small spot is not likely to hurt anything,
you can dab it up with a towel. Fussy but do-able; rinse.

For those fussing about using soap on carpet, it ain't the same as
detergent. Mild detergent won't hurt anything, like wool, silk, etc.
Rapid change in temp will shrink wool, and wringing anything wet is
likely to distort it, butcha ain't gonna wring the carpet.