[John Kelly]

I must get a call a Month from cleaners who are having problems with a customer after an attempted stain removal.

[Carpet Dawg]

Just try a small patch (maybe the size of your palm) choose the worse area. If you get a good result after solvent stain removal and rinse, then do the rest and charge.

Doing a small patch is only going take 10 minutes (so no need to charge if it was me) to know if its not happening and just explain this to the client. And make sure you explain well!! before and after attempting a clean!!

I did a clean recently for an asian couple that claimed that i created a stain that wasn't there!   Bedroom carpet was grubby all over no visual signs of any particular stain, this wasnt helped by the fact that it was coated in rug doctor shampoo from a previous clean attempt! Once i cleaned the carpet beautifly this blooming green stain appeared on the carpet from no where!

p.s. This will probably be looked down by some of you guys and the likes of the NCCA but i have caked and i mean caked stains with solvents (mainly gels) with long dwell times i may add! on all types of carpet 100% wool, 80/20's, polys, berber etc over the years and never had any problems or come backs.
There's alot of scaremainering going about.

Tony

[Helen]

I must get a call a Month from cleaners who are having problems with a customer after an attempted stain removal.

which is why it is so important to quantify "best expectation" at quote stage and again before you start the job. Alot of this comes from cleaners who advertise "we'll get every stain out" sometimes you just can't

[Jamie Pearson]

Water based paint remover from b&q or homebase can work for this.
Just paint it on the surface so as not to get it into the backing.

I have used nitromorse on a £100k cashmere rugs before without problem (subject to testing) and lots of rinsing.

[Simon Gerrard]

Again, I'd advocate caution here. There are some interesting answers above, all of which seem to reflect differing attitudes towards stain removal, customer relations and risk taking. I think that Jasonl's approach is unlikely to remove the stain but is most likely to meet an insurances companies criteria for having tried and is therefore the most sensible approach. Some of the other approaches could very easily result in a disatrous outcome and the persons liability insurance being invalidated through reasons of negligence. In other words, because best practise was not used and use of none proprietary chemicals being applied on a, 'Ill give it a try because I read in a forum' our insurance company could very easily use negligence as a reason to deny any resulting claim and that thought should sober the minds of those tempted to use bravado as a reason to give it a go!
Simon

[Hilton]

I would still use shearing in this instance, the other methods have little or no chance of complete success and as mentioned caution and protection has to be a factor.

Insurance companies will, as they have done in the past turn full circle and go back to recommending an 'Authorised' restoration company but of course most of the general public are quite aware now that the insured is quite at liberty to use who they wish to carry out the restoration so long as they are 'professional' and the price is competitive.

Probably best advice is to test clean an area and then and only then get authorised to carry on either by the insured or insurance company, this way you protect yourself and give them the opportunity to back away.

[Jamie Pearson]

I should qualify that my method was used when all others had failed. The client had been fully briefed and was happy to proceed. A test area had proved safe to do so.

You never OWN a stain! Unless you fail to tell educate the customer that you are only ATTEMPTING TO IMPROVE.

Always offer stain treatments. Never stain removal.

[John Kelly]

Doubt any insurer would pay out on this claim anyway, even if they had accidental damage cover. Spray painting a fridge in your lounge is not accidental damage.

[Jamie Pearson]

Doubt any insurer would pay out on this claim anyway, even if they had accidental damage cover. Spray painting a fridge in your lounge is not accidental damage.

No. Its ABSOLUTE GENIUS.

I rebuild Vespa's in mine!!!

[Helen]

Doubt any insurer would pay out on this claim anyway, even if they had accidental damage cover. Spray painting a fridge in your lounge is not accidental damage.

No. Its ABSOLUTE GENIUS.

I rebuild Vespa's in mine!!!

[M.Acorn]

No. Its ABSOLUTE GENIUS.

I rebuild Vespa's in mine!!!

Fair play,my mate has just built a 250cc one with massive long front forks and a tear drop tank,looks mental

[clinton]

Not in his front room mark i hope

[Jamie Pearson]

No. Its ABSOLUTE GENIUS.

I rebuild Vespa's in mine!!!

Fair play,my mate has just built a 250cc one with massive long front forks and a tear drop tank,looks mental

Nice. I have  240cc one that is 42BHP (12bhp is standard) running NOS. Looks bog standard. Totally unreliable.

[Steve Chapman]

Think there was a fair bit of alcohol involved at the time 

Steve

[Neil Williams]

Steve, under the circumstances I would fully explain the possibilities and the risks involved, then get them to sign the paperwork that they understand it.
It looks far more professional and I can't see them getting anywhere for a claim either via insurance or the courts if they were stupid enough to spray paint a fridge in the living room.

[garybristow]

Hard to answer without a pic,i would try a small area with a light spray or covering with a good product of your choice,i would try light agitation with a stiff brush or even a light wire brush,sometimes you can literally lift it off the top of the pile,acetone can work but obviously its a large area,then extract to make it smell nice
Gary Bristowclean

[Steve Chapman]

I am going back for second look Tuesday, will take some pics, i have the paper work in hand, re disclaimer etc, and will give a small area a try,

Will also get some after pics if it goes well   

Will be interesting to see what happens, they accept if it doesnt work it will be new carpet time, and also it will cost them bit for me to put it right.

We will see.................


Steve

[Simon Gerrard]

Steve,

My son is a litigation lawyer and tells me a disclaimer isn't worth the paper it is written on. There are many reasons for this but one of the most obvious is that it could be said that the customer was under duress at the time of signing it. It's a popular fallacy that if you get a customer to sign a disclaimer you are in the clear - but nothing could be further from the truth.

Simon

[Steve Chapman]

Simon I know what you are saying and are probably right,

But if i am armed with at least a signed release form, before pictures and a method statement and a list of products ive used, plus my training qualifications, i cant see any insurance company or others saying im liable,  unless i've been deliberately negligent or careless.

The other thing is if i worried about every job I did and whether it would go wrong then I wouldnt do much work and would probably be better off working in Tesco's . ( or any other major supermarket chain  )

I've often had jobs where the customer has said this is the last resort and if it dont work it will be binned, and they always come good,  because you get the chance to experiment a little without holding back too much in case its ruined.

All that being said it will probably all go pear shaped now 


Steve

[Neil Williams]

My son is a litigation lawyer and tells me a disclaimer isn't worth the paper it is written on. There are many reasons for this but one of the most obvious is that it could be said that the customer was under duress at the time of signing it. It's a popular fallacy that if you get a customer to sign a disclaimer you are in the clear - but nothing could be further from the truth.

But everyday we tie that in with what we see before us.
If the replacement cost of the carpet (if they want to blaim us) is £400 they aren't likely to go through the hassle (and it is) of court action.
Have you seen that series on the BBC about litigation/slander etc? These are court cases going on for 2 or 3 years where at the end no one actually gets anything out of it other than satisfaction.
On the other hand if we're talking about the replacement value being £30k then we as carpet cleaning technicians need to know where the limitations are and if need be when to turn down the job and walk away.
I'm guessing but I'd say the guy who sprays paints a fridge in his living room won't be doing that on an expensive carpet.
Like Steve said, we could frighten ourselves into giving up and going employed at Tescos