Why Does My Carpet Look Worse After Cleaning?

You have a big event approaching, guests are coming over to visit or you’re putting your house up for sale. There couldn’t be a more perfect time to give your carpets a much-needed cleaning. However, after shampooing, your carpet now has new stains and bald spots, leaving you feeling defeated.

Your carpet can look worse after you clean it if there is carpet shampoo left in the fibers that dirt clings to. A carpet can also look bad after you shampoo it if dirt and debris underneath the surface rise to the top. It is also possible that a carpet can look dirty after you clean it if it is 10-15 years old.

Knowing how to avoid any of these potential issues can help keep your home looking its best and give you a better understanding as to why your carpet is experiencing bald spots, new stains, or other undesirable qualities.

Let’s examine all the conceivable causes behind why your carpet looks worse than it did before you cleaned it.

Wicking occurs when stains deep below the fibers of the carpet resurface. This problem is caused by the carpet padding becoming wet during cleaning and then the underlying dirt and stains are released to the surface.

When these types of stains appear after cleaning, they are not new. Instead, they were buried under the plush pile and are now coming back up as the carpet dries.

If this is the case, it’s very likely that the carpet experienced too much moisture during the rinsing phase of cleaning. Excessive rinsing of the carpet leads to saturation and allows water to infiltrate into the carpet backing and pad.

As the moisture is evaporated and the carpet dries, filthy water below the surface is wicked upward into the carpet fibers. The result is a stain, that was once below the carpet’s surface, now visible on the outmost layer.

Unfortunately, beyond vacuuming and cleaning surface dirt, there isn’t much you can do to eradicate stains caused by wicking. This is usually a sign of an underlying problem with your carpet and your situation will greatly benefit from phoning a carpet cleaning expert.

Reappearing stains caused by residue are shallow and originate from really dirty carpet fibers that have just recently been cleaned. In these instances, some of the shampoo, soap, detergent, or other cleaning product collected and remained in your carpet after cleaning. Because of this, the residue will still be present, even after the carpet has dried.

Residue from soap and shampoo is very sticky and will attract dirt and grime leftover in your carpet. If the carpet is considered to be a high traffic area, this issue will be even more evident (more on this below). When you step on the carpet with shoes, the dirt from your souls will stick to the residue in the carpet fiber, leaving visible staining.

Detergent remnants in your carpet can even lead to mold and mildew growth. Vacuuming will not release the soil that is stuck to residue within your carpet fibers and the same spots will continue to appear. The sad truth is that traditional carpet cleaning methods that involve shampoo and rinse, will never completely remove residue.

Residue from soaps and detergents will collect most in your high traffic areas – such as your stairs and inside your doorways. The sticky residue is just waiting for pairs of shoes to pass through and capture all of the soil and dirty, burying it deep into the carpet. Residue in high traffic areas is essentially a magnet for dirt and grime.

In addition to collecting dirt from foot traffic, the residue is also catching the dust particles that are swirling around the room. As these particles settle onto the carpet, when someone walks over it, the dust it shoved deeper into the carpet and creates a whole new layer of dirt.

Unfortunately, vacuuming the carpet will do little to free the dirt or soil from the residue. At this point, it has penetrated deep into the fibers that simple spinning brushes will be unable to reach. If you notice stains and spots reappearing weeks after a carpet cleaning, odds are that excessive soap is the culprit.

Another reason why your carpet may look worse after a recent cleaning could be because of its age. In general, carpet tends to last anywhere between five to fifteen years. If your carpet is approaching its lifespan, it may be the cause of undesirable results after a cleaning.

Over time, your carpet becomes faded, worn down, and frayed. Before cleaning, the carpet pile is lying flat and after the steam is applied, the fibers are pulled upwards. When the pile is pulled up, the varying lengths and worn fibers are very evident.

In certain areas of the carpet, it may appear to be balding. While this may indicate that it’s time to replace your carpet, once the carpeting starts to lay back down, it’ll return to normal and the worn look won’t be as noticeable.

For the best results, you should have your carpet cleaned professionally. However, to save money, many homeowners take the task into their own hands and opt for a more do-it-yourself approach.

While this method of carpet cleaning is more affordable, it isn’t always as effective, takes a considerable about of hard work and time, and may possibly yield some undesirable results. In fact, depending on the method you use to clean your carpets, you may cause permanent damage.

In order to avoid any possible damage to your carpet and prevent it from looking worse for the wear, you should be aware of the following most common DIY carpet cleaning mistakes:

Instead of using the traditional shampoo and rinse method for cleaning carpets, you can avoid some of the above problems by hiring professional carpet cleaners that specialize in dry extraction. While not entirely “dry,” this method controls moisture to still effectively clean carpets and leave it dry.

Dry extraction uses cleaning solutions that don’t contain the same detergents or oils that generally leave dirt-attracting residue. It also is able to reach deep into the carpet fibers without the risk of over-wetting or wicking.

If you’ve previously had some undesirable results from conventional carpet cleaning methods, it may be worth your while to look into the alternatives offered by professional carpet cleaning companies.

If you notice that your carpet looks worse after a recent cleaning, it is likely caused by residue, carpet wicking, the age of the carpet, or a combination of the three. When stains and spots are apparent immediately after the carpet dries, wicking is probably the culprit. Put simply, wicking occurs as a result of overwetting the carpet, backing, and pad.

Whereas, if the spots and stains take a couple weeks to appear after the cleaning, excessive soap and detergent residue is likely the reason. If you cannot remedy the negative effects of wicking or residue yourself, you should consider professional carpet cleaning services. They offer a number of alternatives to conventional cleaning methods that can produce very desirable results.