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Spots from Rust from an Old TruckmountThese carpet cleaners bought an old Bates unit and left sodium percarbonate in it over the weekend. The insurance company called the problem an equipment malfunction and paid for the carpet.THE CARPET COLOR: Light Blue CONSTRUCTION: Tufted Cut Loop STYLE: Saxony BACK SYSTEM: Conventional Tufted PRIMARY BACKING: Polypropylene SECONDARY BACKING: Polypropylene THE INSTALLATION TYPE OF INSTALLATION: Residential METHOD: Stretch-In CUSHION: 7/16 Inch Rebond SUBFLOOR: Plywood USE & MAINTENANCE INFORMATION AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION LITERATURE RECEIVED WITH PURCHASE: ADULTS: 2 CHILDREN: 2 PETS: 5 TYPE OF PET(s): Dog(s) & Cat(s) TEMPERATURE 85.8°F - 29.8° C RELATIVE HUMIDITY: 39% VACUUM TYPE: Top-Fill Upright FREQUENCY: Weekly ENTRY MATS: Yes CONDITION of TEXTILE: Good SOIL: See Report HEATING TYPE: Central Force Air Gas COOLING TYPE: Central - Electric CLEANING: Professional METHOD: Truckmount Steam TYPE OF CHEMICAL: None TREATMENTS APPLIED: None REASON FOR COMMISSION The carpet has reportedly spotted and stained. THE REPORT Geographical Background Information This free standing, two story house is located in a residential neighborhood within a few miles of the Pacific Ocean. THE CLAIM HISTORY The claimant reports that the carpet is about five years old It has been cleaned three or four times a year since then. After the carpet was cleaned by the commissioner of this report, it turned brown in certain areas in the girl’s bed-room upstairs. This condition was noticed upon drying. The reported drying time was six hours. The other rooms cleaned did not have this problem. The claimant’s cat reportedly has had some urine accidents at the end of the bed in the corner of the room. Reportedly there have not been accidents elsewhere in the room. DETAILED PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM The stains are located mainly in the traffic lane and at the end of the bed. The stains in the traffic lane have a brown hue. The ones at the edge of the bed have more of a gold hue. Some of the stains have defined edges that are four to ten inches in width. In the corner of the bedroom where the cat reportedly had a problem there is a 10 inch by 20 inch stain in the from of an ‘L’. There is no odor noticed anywhere in the room. The stained material has no texture to it. It is located mainly at the tips of the yarn. IN FIELD TESTING An ammonium salts test was performed using a test kit from E. M Science. This test involved using a small portable hot water-extraction machine and distilled water. Ammonium salts are a by product of urine deposits. The water was tested prior and after the extraction was done. The results of this test revealed that there were ammonium salts present in the corner of the bedroom, but not in the trafficked areas. A 7% ammonium hydroxide solution was applied to the affected area. This product is a professional, alkaline, spotting agent and with a ready to use pH of more than ten. This product was applied to a towel and the towel was blotted on to the affected area. A general spotting agent by Groom Industries called Perky Spotter® was applied to the affected area. This is a non-toxic spot remover that eliminates common spots and stains. The product was applied to a towel and the towel was blotted on to the affected area. There was no change in the stained material. If the problem reported was correctable with ordinary cleaning this test would indicate that. It would also suggest the cause was ordinary soiling. Ordinary soiling would be from unusual foreign matter that cleaning could resolve. The results of this test were no change in the stained material. A 3% hydrogen peroxide solution was applied to the affected area. This product was applied to a towel and the towel was blotted on to the affected area. This strength of peroxide is generally not strong enough to adversely affect the dyes of most textile fabrics by itself. However, it is effective on a variety of pigment sign including but not limited to coffee, tea, urine and, cellulose brown typical of that found in cotton and wool. The result of this test revealed no change in the stained material. Numerous moisture tests were performed using a Delmhorst Moisture Sensor. This test would indicate the presence of moisture in the area that was being tested. It is possible for water to be locked-up in salts compounds from residue, from urine and other compounds long after the affected area has dried. Any recent/ previous over-wetting of the carpet could also be found in the latex backing of a carpet with this device. The results of these tests revealed modest reading in the affected areas. There were little or no readings in the non- affected areas. Numerous pH tests were taken using a pHep + Pen by Hanna®. This device is accurate to ± 0.1 and was calibrated with a laboratory testing solution immediately before these tests were made. All tests were made using distilled water with a pH of 7.0. The test results were as follows: affected yellow areas 6.7 6.9 6.0 6.2 6.8 Ave. 6.52 affected brown areas 6.8 7.1 7.3 6.8 6.8 Ave. 6.96 non-affected areas 7.9 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.2 Ave. 7.64 The pH of any of the above substances if present at the time of testing would be affected by any other substance with a pH and also by dilution with the distilled-water. A tannin spotter from The Ramsey Chemical line was applied to the affected area. This product is a professional, acidic, spotting agent and with a ready to use pH of less than one. Its primary use is for removing coffee, teas and urine stains. If the problem reported was created by an acid, then it might become more severe with this test. If the problem was created by alkalinity, then it might reverse its severity. Also, the presence of pH indicator dyes can be determined with this method. If a pH indicator dye were present, it would likely turn red. This product was applied to a towel and the towel was blotted on to the effected area. The result of this test was that some results were seen in the yellowed areas. An ultra-violet light was shone throughout the installation. This tool draws a yellow reflection from most urine stains and a blue or lavender reflection from detergents with optical brightening agents. Seam sealers are used to tightly bond carpet edges together and to seal the trimmed edge from fraying. The result of this test revealed that yellow stains reflected yellow and brown hues. The brown stains disappeared. A professional rust removing chemical called Erusticator® was applied to the affected area. This product is designed to remove rust or iron oxide stains. This chemical produced an immediate change to the original hue of the carpet in both the brown and yellow areas. THE ISSUE The question that I have been asked to address is: what caused the carpet to turn brown? CONDITIONS THAT CAN CAUSE THE PROBLEM Browning conditions can occur when: 1. wool or natural fibers has been cleaned with too much alkalinity 2. soiling conditions have been too excessive for the cleaning procedure 3. there has been excess wetting or improper drying 4. staining materials have been present in the cleaning procedure. INDUSTRY STANDARDS AND PRACTICES There is a condition that is referred to as WICKING. It is defined in the Flooring Covering Dictionary as "Dispersing or spreading of moisture or liquid through a given area, vertically or horizontally; capillary action in material." A spot may appear after cleaning if a substance has penetrated through the carpet back. This substance would then act as a bridge between the face yarns and polypropylene backing on the underside of the carpet. The unknown spot is defined by the Flooring Covering Dictionary by the following definition. Spots can be caused by a number of things. If the spot was not present when the carpet was installed, there is a 99 + 1 change that it was caused by spillage, tracking or some local agent. It could be related to something the installer used or product found in the home. Spots do not "appear" for some unknown reason after installation. If they have a pattern, they may be related to the manufacturing of the carpet. If they are randomly spaced, they are caused locally. The pH of common substances is as follows: apples, 2.9 to 3.3 hydrochloric acid, 0.1 sodium meta silicate, 12.4 t 12.6 banana, 4.5 to 4.7 lemons, 2.2 to 2.4 soft drinks, 2.0 to 4.0 beer 4.0 to 5.0 borax at .25%, 8.8 sodium tripolyphosphate, 9.4 human bile, 6.8 to 7.0 phosphoric acid at 0.1%, 3.2 to 3.6 trisodium phosphate at 0.25%, 12.3 human urine, 4.9 sodium hydroxide at 1%, 12.1 drinking water 6.5 to 8.0 SUMMARY OF DATA The condition of the stained material being at the tips of the fiber is clearly a wicking condition. Reportedly the carpet is cleaned often, therefore it is not believed that it was badly soiled at the time of the cleaning. The drying time is very good Erusticator® is a unique spotting agent that only works on one kind of spot; Rust. The issue therefore should be, ‘where did the rust come from . As listed in the beginning of the report, the cleaning machine was a truckmount. Truck-mounts have metal coils. If these coils are made of a metal that can corrode, then rust can be ejected into the carpet during the cleaning procedure. As the carpet dries the ‘rust’ would collect at the tips of the yarns causing a brown-out. CONCLUSION The carpet in question has turned brown from rust. This conclusion is based upon the Erusticator® test. RECOMMENDATIONS This is a solvable problem. A suitable rust remover needs to be carefully applied to all affected areas. Afterwards care MUST BE TAKEN to remove or neutralize all residues. The technician MUST also take note of ALL of the toxic risk of the product of choice. |