Cleaning is the new cool. Or so goes the mantra of the growing army of people polishing sinks, collecting Zoflora like they’re perfumes and giving their dusters a name!
We are talking influencers or cleanfluencers – a social media community that loves nothing more than videoing themselves mopping their floors and cleaning their toilets on Instagram.
The leader of this movement is none other than Sophie Hinchliffe, aka Mrs Hinch. She’s the ex-hairdresser who began filming herself while cleaning her home back in 2018. Her simple idea has gained her millions of fans who hang on to her every word and start cleaning conversations on their own accounts – her very own #hincharmy.
Her influence is so strong that over 50% of people who have heard of her say they’d buy something purely on her recommendation alone.
So, what is behind this Hinch hype?
According to research, social media is fuelling this cleaning mania. Almost 30% of people say that social media makes them clean more regularly and 31% say it makes them buy more cleaning products.
But are these tips guaranteed to do what we are being told they do?
Let me explain the reasons why I ask this question:
I took a phone call from a lady this week who had come across a new patch of dog urine on her carpet. Knowing that a urine stain is better to be treated as soon as it’s been spotted, she googled how Mrs Hinch would tackle it.
This was the tip from Mrs Hinch’s book:
Urine: Make a paste with bicarb and white vinegar. Massage into the problem area and hoover away. Finish with a spritz of Febreze.
Simples! Or so you’d think!
NO, it wasn’t!
As soon as she added the paste of bicarb and vinegar to the stain it turned dark brown and not only that, it sealed the urine stain straight into the carpet. This is when she phoned us! Unfortunately, by this time it was too late for us to have any effect on the sealed in stain.
LETS TAKE A LOOK AT THIS:
What’s in Pet Urine?
Pet urine is a combination of ammonia, bacteria, hormones, nitrogen and uric acid. It’s the uric acid that creates a lingering smell even after you’ve cleaned up after your dog’s tinkle area. It can be especially potent when the air is humid like now during the summer months.
Dog urine is highly acidic. A fresh stain shouldn’t cause much damage if it’s taken care of immediately after the accident occurs.
Fresh urine stains on the carpet aren’t too difficult to deal with. The trick is to get all the liquid out of the carpet before the dog urine travels down the carpet fibres and pools at the bottom. Fold a dry cloth or towel and press it firmly over the stain, ideally by standing or stamping on the towel or cloth applying maximum pressure so it absorbs as much urine as possible.
Now you need to dilute the wet area. First, use lukewarm water and add a few drops of dishwashing soap and dab the wet area using a sponge. Avoid pouring the solution on the stain as that will just cause more liquid to sit at the bottom of the carpet.
Repeat this process several times until the urine stain is gone. Once it’s gone, rinse out the soapy area with fresh water and use a dry towel to blot the area.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Avoid using vinegar on fresh pet stains as the acid in the vinegar can react to the acid in the urine.
Old Urine Stains
Once the stain dries, the ph. level in the acid rises, causing ideal conditions for bacteria to flourish. Not only does the bacteria cause the acid to oxidize and stain the carpet, but the bacteria and organic matter in the urine also cause an unpleasant odour. The longer the stain languishes, the worse the odour gets and the harder the stain is to remove.
Our high-performance cleaning system deep cleans, sanitises and deodorises your carpets as standard, however for any problematic areas of pet urine stains we can apply specialised treatments, however there may be an additional charge for this and extra time would need to be allocated for your appointment. Please note that even though we do everything possible to reduce or eliminate odours, spots and stains, due to the depth of contamination, 100% success may not always be attained and can NOT be guaranteed.
Please discuss this with us when you contact our office.
PLEASE NOTE: As professional carpet cleaners we have a number of stain removers to take out most stains from carpets, however once you have tampered with the stain and changed it from its original state i.e. urine into urine + bicarb + vinegar + carpet shampoo, it can no longer be successfully cleaned out of your carpet as it’s no longer the original stain.
Here is our spot & stain guide
Items & Solutions Required:
- Dry white absorbent cloth or towel
- Home made dry cleaning solution – Surgical Spirit (available from most chemists)
- Home made detergent solution – One teaspoon of gentle wool safe washing detergent mixed with half pint of warm water.
- Home made vinegar detergent solution – One teaspoon of white (not malt) vinegar mixed with the detergent solution above.
- Home made ammonia solution – one teaspoon of household ammonia mixed with one cup of warm water.
Final Rinse Procedure:
- Mix one part white vinegar with 4 parts water
- Pour in to a spray bottle and spray over the stained area
- Blot the dampened area DO NOT RUB to remove excess moisture
- Now place another clean dry towel over the stain and stamp on it again, even adding a something heavy on top of the towel for a while to absorb as much of the moisture as possible.
Spots & Stains:
- Liquid Spillages – tea, coffee, alcohol and urine.
A. Act quickly. At first, it’s a spillage, and not yet a stain.
B. Using a white towel or kitchen roll, press all your weight on the spillage, even standing on the towel to blot up as much as possible. This may take a few minutes but is worth the time and patience.
C. Check to see if much of the spillage has been transferred to the towel or kitchen roll and replace with a clean one as often as necessary. Do not be tempted to rub or scrub the stain.
D. Once no more colour is being transferred, dab a clean towel with a small amount of water and continue blotting the stain for few minutes.
E. Now place another clean dry towel over the stain and stamp on it again, even adding a something heavy on top of the towel for a while to absorb as much of the spillage as possible.
F. Assess the spillage area afterwards and if any colour remains.
G. If you are a previous customer of ours we will have left you a free bottle of our professional stain remover. If you have one of these follow the instructions above A to F and then use the spray following the instructions on the label very carefully.
H. If you do not have any of our spotter available use a very small amount of the vinegar detergent solution (listed above) working from the outer edges of the stain inwards, a little at a time and then finish with the final rinse procedure as above.
2. Chocolate, sweets, ice cream & vomit
A. Scrape up any excess using a blunt knife or spoon.
B. Working from the outer edge inwards, spray the detergent solution and blot dry.
C. Follow with the ammonia solution and blot dry.
D. Follow the final rinse procedure as above.
Photo’s courtesy of Freepik
3. Fats, grease, gum and shoe polish
A. Scrape up any excess with a blunt knife or spoon.
B. Working from the out edge of the stain inwards, use the dry cleaning solution as above.
C. Working from the out edge of the stain inwards, this time with the detergent vinegar solution and blot dry.
D. Follow the final rinse procedure as above.
The above processes are pretty effective, and at the very least will remove the worst of spots and stains while causing no further damage to your carpet or making it more difficult (or impossible) for a professional to remove. Please note that even though we do everything possible to reduce or eliminate odours, spots and stains, due to the depth of contamination, 100% success may not always be attained and can NOT be guaranteed.
As always, if in any doubt, please do call us on 01942 864474 for further advice.
