For some folks, the holiday season brings thoughts of shopping, decorations, family gatherings, and of course, big meals. This time of year also brings happy thoughts to us in the carpet cleaning industry - the office telephone ringing, a fully booked schedule and positive cash flow.

Previously, we discussed several types of stains you may encounter during the holiday season. Here are some more common issues you may encounter, and how to deal with them.

Soft Drinks - Most soft drinks can be removed fairly easily with standard HWE procedures.

There are a few precautions:

• Wicking, stains that seem to clean up but reappear later, is the most common problem with soft drinks. 

• Be sure to thoroughly flush the spill from the carpet using the Water Claw Spot Lifter. If you are not doing an overall cleaning, start with Avenge Neutral Spotter and tamp it into the stain. Allow 3 minutes dwell time and then extract to rinse.

• Here is a step that will prevent wick back.  After rinsing, spray the problem area with Encapuguard mixed according to label directions.

• Speed the drying with additional air movement.

• Sugar in the drinks can be caramelized by excess heat. This makes it more difficult to remove. If you run a super hot machine, dial down the temperature so that you don't have above 180°F at the carpet.

Beverages with Artificial Coloring - After cleaning some beverage spills, discoloration from food color (FDA dyes) may remain. If the carpet has been protected with Maxim Advanced Protector, you would find they come out easily when extracted. In other cases, your success will depend on the construction of the carpet, the age of the stain, and other variables.

• I suggest you try the reducing formula first. This was described in part 1 under the "cheese sauce" heading. If it doesn't work, you can rinse it out, allow the carpet some time to dry and then proceed to Stain Zone.

Alcoholic Beverages - There are a variety of sources, and the possibilities are endless. Start by flushing out as much of the stain as possible. Again, the Water Claw Spot Lifter is a very useful tool for this step. It allows a thorough flushing without over wetting the cushion or subfloor. Next, move to your normal pre-spray or Avenge Spotter. If any of the ingredients leave color behind, follow the suggestion above for removing stains caused by artificial coloring.

Dyes (from skirting or wrapping paper) - There are a variety of possible dye types.  Begin by doing some testing to see which process will yield the best results. Try each method on only a small spot until you observe the reaction.

• Start with All Solv. This solvent may dissolve the dyes and allow them to be removed by blotting or extraction.

• Some can be extracted with hot water extraction using your normal pre-spray.

• If the stain does not respond to the above options, apply Stain Zone. Read and follow the label directions.

Pine Sap - This is a terpene. You may recall that "like dissolves like." Citrus Solv and Gel Break contain solvents and terpenes that can make quick work of pine sap.

Candle Wax - As with all spots and spills, remove as much excess as possible using a bone spatula or Gum Getter along with vacuuming. Use brown Kraft paper or an unprinted area of a paper grocery bag. Place this over the wax. Put an iron on the bag (on the lowest temperature setting, usually "wool"). The paper will absorb the wax as it melts.

Change to a fresh section of paper when one area gets saturated with wax. Repeat as necessary.

• Apply Gel Break if any waxy residue remains. If color remains, grab the Stain Zone.

Ice Melter - In some climates this powdery white residue on the carpet is a normal part of winter. The various salts used to attract moisture from the air. This keeps them just damp enough to strongly bind to the carpet.

• Use of walk off mats to prevent this stain is much easier than removing it. However, if you must deal with ice melting products, begin by repeated vacuuming.

• Before applying any pre-spray, extract with Fab Set diluted at 6 ounces per gallon.  Keep water pressure and volume low.  Too much water can dissolve and spread the residue.

• Extract using Zone Perfect and End Zone in your rinse water.

• For complete removal, you may need to follow up by bonnet cleaning with Fab Set.

Remember that additional information on dealing with these stains and many others can be found online at www.ecleanadvisor.com.