Ever wonder why is your carpet sticky after cleaning? here are the all information and guides. Having a carpet is a big help as it saves you from the cold floor in the winter along with a classic look. Kids can play safely on it, you can relax on it, and the list will go on. But having a carpet can lead you to several queries too. For example, cleaning a carpet is not always an easy task. So cleaning related queries are normal.
But after cleaning What if you get a sticky carpet instead of a clean and fresh carpet after cleaning? Won’t that be a matter of concern? It definitely would be. So, why is your carpet sticky after cleaning? In this article, you’ll get an answer along with the solution as well.
Reason for your carpet to be sticky after a cleaning
Most of the carpet cleaners are used with some chemical-based cleaning solution or shampoos. Even some home remedies include detergent, shampoo, or dish soaps. During a cleaning, the solution is applied to the carpet with high pressured hot water. Then the solution gets into the fibers to react with the stains or any stuck dirt. As a result, the dirt or stain particles loosen up. Then a powerful vacuum or an extractor extracts the liquid mixture from the carpet.
Generally, the extractor or vacuum used in a carpet cleaner is more substantial than a standard vacuum as it is functioned to remove any extra moisture. But no matter how powerful the suction is, some cleaning solution or soap mixture remains in the fibers. It is called the residue.
After the cleaning procedure, we usually leave the carpet to dry. When the moisture is completely gone, and the carpet dries up completely, the residue dries in the fibers, which ends up being sticky.
Types of residue
There are various types of cleaning solutions that are used on the carpet. Different solutions leave different types of residue. Sometimes it could be hard even to characterize the different residues.
- Acid residue: They don’t attract soil too quickly and feel soft.
- Alkaline residue: It feels crunchy and has a tendency to attract dirt too much.
- Neutral residue: Becoming very famous nowadays, as these are hard to get rid of.
- Compound residue: Cleaning solutions with synthetic compounds will leave this type of residue.
- Water residue: Even using too much water can lead to having residue.
Worse possibilities
When a carpet is left with the cleaning solution or detergent residue, the fibers will eventually get stiff. You’ll feel them being crunchy. But not only for this, the residue becomes sticky with time. The fibers having the sticky residue act as a magnet for any dirt. Starting from dust, all the dirt will stick to the areas. Eventually, your carpet will have worse stains or patches. It’ll look way dirtier than it was before you cleaned it.
Another problem you’ll face is because of the chemicals. The residues are made of the same chemicals or materials you used to clean them. Now they are stuck into the fibers. Well, the carpet is a playground for kids and pets. They’ll play on them, lie on them. They may inhale them. It can be harmful to the kids. Besides, if you have someone with an allergic problem, they might have problematic reactions too.
How to get rid of the stickiness
To get the stickiness out of your carpet, you need to remove the residue. For that, you can follow the remedies below-
By Using Ethanol
Ethanol or ethyl alcohol can disinfect the carpet. Moreover, you use it to clean the residue too.
- First, wear gloves as you are dealing with some chemical residues. And you are applying another chemical to it. So it’s best to keep your hands safe by wearing a pair of gloves.
- Now make a solution by adding some water with the ethanol. Otherwise, you can use it directly over the carpet. But if you are not diluting the alcohol, test it on a hidden area of the carpet.
- Then take a clean rag. You have to take a colorless rag. Saturate it with the solution. Then start rubbing the area gently in a direction.
- Wait for at least 10 minutes for the solution to be absorbed. Then start rubbing the area again. Do not put too much pressure. You don’t want the solution to get into the underlay.
- Once you are done with rubbing the whole area, apply some water, and clean the area with another clean cloth.
- If the stickiness is gone, leave the carpet to dry completely.
By Using Vinegar
If you don’t want to use any other chemicals or chemical-based solution on your carpet again, you can use vinegar. It is one of the best natural ways to remove stickiness from the carpet. In two ways, you can use vinegar. They are given below-
- The first way is to use a steam cleaner. Steam cleaning with a vinegar solution is a worthy option. Pour 250 ml of vinegar into the reservoir of the machine. Then fill the rest with water. Start the machine and wait for the water to make steam. Then run the machine at the desired paces. You can run it on the whole carpet to make sure there is no residue left. Run the cleaner on sticky parts slowly. If the stickiness is not gone at the first attempt. Repeat the process with another round of vinegar solution.
- If you don’t have a steam cleaner, no need to worry. You can do it also with bare hands. Mix a cup of white vinegar with two cups of water. You can apply the solution to the sticky area. But soaking a rag with the solution and then using the rag on the area is the safest way. Once the whole area is covered, let the solution get soaked into the area. Then rub the portion to lose the stickiness from the fibers. Then take regular water and another clean rag or towel. Rinse the area properly, then check if the stickiness is gone. If not, then repeat the process.
Don’t forget to dry the carpet after both processes. It is one of the necessary steps after any cleaning process for carpets.
Conclusion
The best way to get rid of any soapy or shampoo residue is to use a quality amount of water. So, if you have a sticky residue on your carpet, you’ll get an instinct to rinse the carpet with plenty of water. But never do so as it will over-wet the carpet. If the underlay soaked too much water, the carpet wouldn’t dry properly. It will lead the carpet to have a disgusting odor. Just follow the remedies above or discuss any professional to get a clean carpet.