muddy carpet - anyone want a 6'7" son?

[bmpsands]

So Simon came for his first overnight stay in our new home last week. Where we have carpet downstairs it is all new and a bit light coloured. We all take our shoes off when we come in (it'll wear off soon I guess) but Simon forgot the rule a couple of times.

He also let the dogs come straight in from their walk without containing them in the kitchen until their paws were in a fit state.

So - having brushed the offending areas vigorously I still have a few dark marks in the pile. As the carpets are new I don't want to take any risks but I don't want to live with the mucky marks.

Help please?

[manda]

Now lets back track a bit here....6'7"...what on earth did you feed him ?!!

As for the mucky marks...were they mud? If so I wouldn't srcub when they are wet I would leave them to dry and then hoover them up ...might still be an option now but take a few times because you will have pushed the dirt into the pile...failing that I'd contact the people who laid the carpet and ask their advice or if you know the manufacturer ask them.

[Freeranger]

Used to own a guest house, so the memories are flooding back. You didn't send 6'7" to us by any chance did you?!!
Hoovering when it's very dry is best, and maybe a brush, but if not then soap bubbles from frothed up soapy water and absorbent paper should do it, dabbing and lifting rather than rubbing. (The idea of using only the bubbles is to keep it as dry as possible - put a stool or something over the area afterwards to keep it clean until it dries out.) Carpet foam is the same sort of thing but probably not necessary for a simple muddy mark. If it's oily then carpet foam as directed.

[Grannyof4]

Tell him to walk on his hands, then you would have muddy footprints on the ceiling but would be a great talking point as to how they got there!!!! Men....they don't think. When I retired from doing B&B I recarpeted stairs and landings with lightish carpet and wood floor from the front door through the dining room. Big notice NO OUTDOOR SHOES.......just 1 son-in-law who can't read!!!! Grandkids can...just need to teach them to keep greasy fingers off light coloured walls!!!

[bmpsands]

Manda - my son tells everyone it was cows***t in his wellies. Not true as we only moved out of town a few months ago.

Grannyof4 - he can barely cope with walking on his size 14 feet, so asking him to acquire another skill requiring co-ordination is a big ask. He's 34 now and I've left it too late.

I did leave the mud until it was dry - so what the remnants of the mark are I have no idea and since there is a farm next door I hardly dare speculate.

Thanks for the suggestions, which I shall try in the morning. A friend, who cleans for a livng (more fool her) has suggested Vanish pink laundry powder in a strongish solution. I'll try to gentler methods first I think.

Bea

[Freeranger]

Bea, if trying Vanish, do make sure you get the right product as some of them contain whitening agents. Carpet foam is designed for the job.

[bmpsands]

Re Vanish - one benefit to me is that my daughter gets it for me for 2p a bucket as she and her partner both work for Reckitt Benkiser (which I think I have just mis-spelled) and factory over-runs go into the works shop. Scott actually is a reasearch and development bod in houseware and gives me great advice about what products to use where. His opinion is that the carpet foam is more likely to leave an area that attracts future dirt than the pink Vanish used in a weak solution will. There is some technical stuff about surface fibres that I didn't understand. Mary is a scientist in the quality control section of pharmaceuticals but she tells me that she has used pink Vanish on her carpets without any problems. This still sounds like chemical warfare to me so I have tried the gentler solutions this morning. We'll see what the marks are like when everything has dried. If there are still stains I may have to go down the pink route.

[derra]

No thanks - I,ve already got 2 sons that are 6'7 and 6'9 respectively, together with dogs, a farm and the Irish weather - Mud is a major problem here so downstairs is either wooden or tiled floors except for the main sitting room. I go along with the advice to let the mud dry, brush it with a stiff brush then foam wash it. I now have a carpet shampooer that sucks up the dirty water too.

[bmpsands]

Blimey Derra - you and I seem to have passed on the tall gene. I'm only 5 ft 6" but both OH and I have very tall relatives,

The foam seems to be working OK - but the residual dark stuff (which I don't like to speculate about) gave way to the Vanish stuff. Hurrah

[derra]

Mad isnt the size of our lads - clothes and footwear are such a problem! Me I,m 5'8 and my brothers are 6 footers so its come from my side and I think I fed them too well, lol.
Glad your carpet came out okay - its best not to speculate what the mud is made up of either, lol.