Should I use club soda for wine spills?

Be advised that spot cleaning has the best chance of 100% removal on the first attempt. Often spots are set as stains by inadequate or improper spotting techniques. We would prefer that you call us for a visit to professionally attend to the problem but many times people wish to undertake spot cleaning themselves. There are many variables involved such as the fiber content of what the wine was spilled on, the volume of wine spilled, when the spill occurred and so on. As club soda may be a relatively benign spotting agent, it is prudent to pretest this or any remedy in an inconspicuous area, such as the carpet inside of a closet, before attempting to remove the spot itself.

I purchased a 'one-step' spot remover that seems to work well. Is that OK?

First off, weigh the cost of your spot remover with the cost of whatever it is you are working on and ask yourself if it is worth the risk of permanently damaging your belonging. A penny solution seldom works for a dollar problem. Furthermore, many 'off-the-shelf' super-market spot cleaners contain optical brighteners that essentially mask the spotting substance but do not actually remove it. These can come back to haunt later when the carpet or upholstery is overall cleaned as 'ghost' spots. Beware. If you insist on spotting yourself, stick to carpet and rugs as upholstery fabrics are easily damaged and pretest, pretest, pretest, in an inconspicuous area.

I worked on the spot already but it did not come out entirely, can you get it out?

It is impossible to predict because each case has its own unique characteristics such as what was spilled; what was used to clean it; how much was used; was it properly dried; how long did the spot/spill reside before cleaning attempts, and so on. We receive many calls like this and unfortunately, it is purely speculation as to whether or not a spot can be removed 100% after the fact. Usually the initial attempt is the most crucial. If it is not completely removed then, additional attempts become less and less likely to be successful (not to mention there is risk of permanent damage from over working a spot). All of this aside, many times (but not always) secondary attempts are successful.

Does elapsed time matter with pet stains?

Absolutely. The longer a spill or pet accident resides on carpet or upholstery the more likely it will be permanent. It is important to act quickly. Follow the effected item's manufacturers cleaning instructions closely (and remember to pretest) and then call Christopher's immediately.

What if I have a spot cleaning emergency after hours or on the weekend?

Professional spot cleaning advice is only a phone call away when a spot/spill occurs. You can reach Christopher's 24 hours, 7 days a week by calling our 800 number. A representative will call you back promptly and be able to advise you on the steps to take immediately. If your spot is time sensitive, a textile care specialist can dispatched, usually within 12-24 hours.

Do you sell a Spot Removal Kit?

We sell a spot cleaner for carpet and rugs. It is specially formulated to our specifications and is safe when used as directed on high quality carpets and rugs. Just ask for Christopher's Own - Spot Cleaner. Spot cleaning of upholstery is a different story and usually requires specialized equipment to do the job properly. For example, you have probably seen spots on upholstery with a ring around them; these are spots that have been improperly cleaned and thus a secondary spot called a ring spot (which is usually permanent) encircles the original spot.

Note of interest: Christopher became a contract cleaner in the early days of Christopher's for one of the nation's largest manufacturers of fabric protection. This manufacturer sells their protectant in bulk to furniture showrooms. The showrooms, in turn, sell it to their clients with a warranty card promising furniture replacement if a spot can not be 100% removed. The client is sent a spot remover kit when they encounter a spill. Christopher learned first hand from these clients that they usually begin to feel a sense of urgency, get tired of waiting for the spot cleaner to show up and do it themselves; or, if they do wait, commonly misuse the cleaning kit and inadvertently set the stain. At this point the homeowner again contacts the manufacturer who hires a local cleaner to go out and work on the stain. Mostly, unbeknownst to the homeowner, the cleaner is required to fill out a report including all the details of the homeowner (such as the general condition of their home!). Often the homeowner eventually finds that they voided their own warranty by skipping a minor step or not calling within a specified amount of time. Needless to say, there is a lot of fine print with these warranties and caveat emptor applies. Some intelligent person once said, 'You get what you pay for'. It is unlikely that anyone could sell for $50 or $75, lifetime warranties of 100% stain removal or furniture replacement, and carry through on it as easily as perceived by the buyer of the warranty. There are many loopholes for the warrantor to wiggle through.