Did you ever remove a spot from upholstery or carpeting, only to see the spot you worked so hard to remove re-appear the next day? This happens because soil that wasn’t completely removed “hid” from you at the bottom of the fibers. As the fibers dried near the surface, moisture was drawn toward the drier air from deep down inside the nap. This process is called wicking.

 

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When that moisture also carries soil residue, the soil re-appears at the surface as the fiber dries. There are two main ways to prevent this phenomenon:

Avoid using too much liquid. It’s easy to use too much water while rinsing a carpet with a vacuum-type extractor, or while attempting to remove a spot from upholstery. Excess water that gets deeply inside the nap, beyond the reach of a vacuum extractor, will wick up toward the drier air as the carpet dries. In the case of deep pile carpets, you may need to hire a professional with a powerful truck-mounted extraction system to get rid of unsightly spots and “cattle tracks.” In upholstery, you’ll need to do a lot of vacuuming or blotting to get rid of excess water and loosened soils.

Use proper blotting techniques. Blotting is nothing more than wicking moisture and loosened soils out of a fiber surface and into a clean, white cloth or paper towels. Blot the surface well; if necessary, lay white toweling on top of a damp spot and weigh it down with a heavy object for several hours, rotating the cloth occasionally to expose dry areas. That way, any soil will wick from the surface of the carpet or upholstery into the more absorbent cloth.