Why Do Spots Come Back After Cleaning Carpet?

Why did the spots and stains you removed in cleaning are back and they’re even bigger?

Re-soiling is caused by a sticky residue that was not completely removed by cleaning. This residue could be from the homeowner’s attempts at removing the spot.
Some common residue causes are over-the-counter carpet cleaners and using dishwash and laundry detergents to remove spots and stains.
Oily, greasy spots can also be a problem - body oil, makeup, hair spray, lotions, suntan oil, medicine, greasy food, etc. If all the oily residue is not removed, it will attract soil as the carpet is walked on.

“Wicking” is another cause of reappearing spots and stains. Most of a spill is not on the fibers, but is instead in the backing and even the pad.
Sometimes your customer used a spotter or laundry detergent or hand cleaner or who knows what else he or she found in the laundry room and removed the spot from the surface, but the spill is still in the backing and the pad. Your cleaning reactivated the spot and wicked back up to the surface. Pay close attention when you’re cleaning for a sudden change in sound due to foam being sucked up.

Drying time is critical to reduce this problem, use plenty of dry strokes and air movers, especially when working with heavily soiled carpet or berber.
If you suspect a spot may reappear after cleaning, the last step after spot removal should be to leave a weighted dry towel or use Stain Blotter.
For large areas of spills, apply ARA Anti-Resoiling / Anti-Wicking Agent.
Application of carpet protector, such as Bane-Guard™ or Teflon^®, can also reduce the tendency for spots coming back.
On commercial loop pile carpet, this problem can be greatly reduced by following hot water extraction with dry bonnet cleaning, especially on commercial olefin loop carpet with a large number of spills.

For individual heavy spills of sticky materials, you can use the Water Claw^® Sub-Surface Spot Lifter to flush out the contaminants and apply ARA Anti Resoiling / Anti Wicking Agent or Stain Blotter to prevent wicking and subsequent resoiling and reappearance of spots and stains.