Filtration Soiling

Have you ever seen dark soiling left along walls, around vents, under doors, beneath drapes, around the edge of HVAC registers, or anywhere air flow is forced through the carpet, after cleaning?

This type of soiling occurs when air pressure and currents encounter a restriction, and the air passes through the carpet. The carpet acts as a filter, trapping whatever small particulates, oils and other pollutants are in the air.

Filtration soiling is most easily observed on white or light colored carpet but it can occur on any color or fiber.

Filtration soil may include candle soot, particles from incomplete combustion due to a furnace puff back or misadjusted furnace, cooking oils, vehicle exhaust and particles from a myriad of other sources. These very small particles stick tightly to the carpet fibers. They are difficult to remove with agitation. However, they can be removed by products that lubricate and suspend the fine particles. Because the exact make-up of filtration soil will vary from job to job, how well the stain responds to cleaning will also vary.

Always point these out to your carpet cleaner and ask him to remedy this situation.

For a permanent solution to filtration soiling along walls follow these steps.

1.  Disengage the carpet.

2.  Caulk the edge where the wall meets the floor.

3.  Restretch and trim the carpet. This will usually remove present filtration soiling.

4.  Double tuck the carpet back into the gulley between the wall and the tack strip.

CAUTION: There is a possibility that filtration soiling may be accompanied by fume fading. Fume fading refers to color loss as the result of gases passing through the carpet.

Fume fading is often hidden by filtration soiling and not noticed until the filtration soiling has been removed. One can then mistakenly conclude that the cleaner caused the color loss.

Excerpt From Bridgepoint