I accidentally got some Unibond roof and gutter sealant onto our charcoal g rey carpet (only a few weeks after we've had it laid) and understandably, m y wife isn't best pleased. I scraped away as much of it as I could, but did n't want to risk trying to get the rest out until I found the proper proced ure. By the time anyone reads this, it will probably be fully 'set' (the in structions say 24-36 hours) which might make matters even worse.
Unibond's website describes this product as 'a specially formulated butyl-r ubber sealant designed to fill connections and joints in guttering, downpip es and other roofing applications', in case that helps.
I've phoned and emailed the helpline for Henkel, the firm that makes it, bu t can't get a reply.
I have in the past when we smoked in the house had a cigarette burn on the carpet, I carefully cut the burned pile out and glued some pile from a an offcut in its place. It lasted for years and nobody ever noticed.
Contact your home insurer. They may offer a replacement carpet, or legal helpline for a divorce.
If it's only on the top surface of the pile it might be possible to shave the carpet with hairclippers and remove the residue that way. If it's sunk in you'll need a solvent.
It could be slightly worse - you may have a little more leeway with the carpet being dark grey. If it had been white ...
I'd be looking for solvents. You should probably try first to find a solvent for non-set sealant, I would start by looking at white spirit, acetone (nail varnish remover), methyl ethyl ketone, cellulose thinners.
If one of these will "dissolve" fresh sealant, you may have a chance. I think I would expect a commercial carpet to be resistant to these solvents but couldn't guarantee they might cause some sort of colour change or in the worst case, cause the pile to separate from the base.
Often time is of the essence but I doubt if this sealant actually sets irreversibly (like epoxy resin, for example). I think I would expect it to consist of rubber particles in some sort of "goo" which is thinned by a solvent. So it sets relatively slowly by evaporation of the solvent. If you can soften the "goo" you have a chance of removing the goo plus the solid filler particles mechanically although this will not necessarily be easy.
Henkel are technically a pretty competent firm, but I have no idea how helpful their technical people might be to a domestic enquiry. You may be able to find, on the web, a "materials safety data sheet" or MSDS for this product which might well identify the solvent.
Yes, here it is
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White spirit! Honestly, I did not do the look-up before writing the suggestions before.
Depending on how much contamination you have, and where it is, and what type of carpet it is, the other option might be to cut out the damaged area and patch it with new. If you had it laid by a good fitter, they might well be able to do something virtually invisible.
You have my sympathy, but I would not go so far as to say emigrate (yet).
If you have a spare piece of carpet big enough to cover it: Carefully align the lay of the bits, and tape the piece over the stain. With a straight edge and a sharp Stanley knife cut a triangle out cutting through both pieces of carpet at once. Your knife cuts can slightly over-run the corners of the triangle. You should be able to remove the stained piece and replace it with the new bit fixing with tape or adhesive underneath.
grey carpet (only a few weeks after we've had it laid) and understandably, my wife isn't best pleased. I scraped away as much of it as I could, but d idn't want to risk trying to get the rest out until I found the proper proc edure. By the time anyone reads this, it will probably be fully 'set' (the instructions say 24-36 hours) which might make matters even worse.
-rubber sealant designed to fill connections and joints in guttering, downp ipes and other roofing applications', in case that helps.
En el artículo , snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com escribió:
Contractors at work dropped a bucket of tile adhesive on a carpet at work a while back:
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they scooped up what they could with flat-edged pieces of card, plastic, etc. then used a professional carpet cleaning machine to deal with the rest. They got it all out without any stains or marks left behind, somewhat to my surprise.
I suspect a lot will depend on whether the sealant you used is waterproof (it probably is) and the pile depth of the carpet.
A carpet fitter might be able to stitch a patch in if you have an offcut. Failing that, let it dry and pick out as much as you can. I wouldn't try to dilute it with a solvent at this stage
It maybe goes without saying that whatever you try you should always try it out on an offcut first. Which is fine if you have any. If you haven't if you contact the original supplier and explain they should be willing to supply you with offcuts or samples of carpet made from the same material at least. Carpet presently under furniture might be second best for trials but only if the furniture is never going to be re-arranged a hostage to fortune if ever there was one.
Of all the suggestions Tim's
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Suggests their 'Silicone Sealant Remover Gel' can be used to remove old sealant
seems the most promising although even this may effect the dye. Same as with all different the solvents you could try. The point about solvents is that while they keep the stuff liquid before they evaporate, this is usually but not always a one way process in that once they've evaporated the glue etc. has irreversibly changed it chemical properties. Although possibly not the dye in the carpet.
Something else you might want to try is heat from a heat gun. 25ish is from a shed and useful for softening old putty should the need ever arise. Basically with your sample heat it as hot as you can without scorching and see if this is any help in removing it.
Its likely that the carpet material whether wool, synthetic or the mix might make a big difference as well
It maybe goes without saying that whatever you try you should always try it out on an offcut first.
Sorry forgot to add the tool you use to remove it may make a big difference. If you attack it with a really stiff wire brush it may be possible to break it up physically such that it can be rubbed off as it were without damaging the carpet at all. This may well depend on the actual adhesion of the sealent to the fibres of the carpet. Basically as a solid mass the sealent will "stick" to the carpet but if broken up maybe not.
Some years ago I was walking through the lounge, on my way to the garage, shaking a new tin of polyurethane varnish, thinking "I really mustn't drop this on my light carpet". I think you may be ahead of me by now. :-(
I scraped up as much as possible, and got to work with white spirit. If anything the centre of the deposit cleaned up better than the edges.
The solution was to get a larger IKEA rug, since I had just missed the edge of the existing one.
The rug is probably overdue for replacement by now, but they don't seem to have any that size these days.
If trying this approach then don't forget to align the pile directions of both carpets. You'll probably notice that brushing the carpet in a certain direction makes it look as though flatter. Do this on both fixed and off-cut and then do the above with pile direction matched.
One (slightly off the wall suggestion) is to find a lab who will let you have a Thermos flask of liquid nitrogen (half a pint would be plenty).
- Ensure decent ventilation (google says that will be about 6 cu-ft of gas).
- Pour the liquid N slowly onto the gunk to freeze it.
- Give the gunk plenty of time to freeze right through to the centre.
- Hit it with a lump hammer. If you are lucky, this will convert the gunk to fragments that you can then hoover up.
It's pretty safe to pour liquid N onto your skin, but you can get a very nasty burn if you touch any metal that has been in contact with it - so BE CAREFUL.
Nice idea but I think the regulations concerning the handling (and in particular who is allowed to handle) liquid nitrogen are very tight these days.
I've been nagging a friend who works for Semex (cattle artificial insemination company) and has access to buckets of the stuff (liquid N2 that is) for the odd thermos flask full. No can do alas... :-(
Yeah, I agree. I doubt it will ever be back to 'prime' condition.
But, don't simply try to patch it. Find similar pile carpet cuts and design something the wife will like. I have done this for people on 2 occasions using simple cuts.
One a largish parrot design the other a simple petal design.
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