Carpet 'spot' cleaning?

[GoHabsGo]

Hi all,

Spot is in quotes in the subject because my problem really isn't a spot but rather a long smear of some sorts about 10 feet long. I think that it was a heavy suitcase or trunk that may have been dragged and ground either some plastic or a peice of eyeliner or pencil crayon or who knows what.

I tried steam cleaning and using carpet spot remover with oxyclean and no luck. My plan tonight is to try googone.

Carpet is a light grey coloured berber (closed loop) and the mark is black.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Larry

[Charlie]

What is the carpet made of? If it a synthetic fiber, there is the possibility that the friction of dragging a heavy object may have melted the fibers.

Or try

Charlie

[Ricky Bobby]

If you can't get it out--- and you're not married-- putting a runner on top of it would be one way to go...

[Frank]

Solvents like paint thinner or acetone may dissolve if plastic, eyeliner or crayon. Bleach and soaps are not going to attack such a stain except by mechanical removal. Make sure you do a test area before attacking spot with solvents.

[norminn]

Plastic probably would not rub off onto carpet, and if pencil should be just a thin line. Rubber - bike tire? Tar? I would try mineral spirits and isolate the fibers if possible so that if you do dissolve the stuff it won't soak down further into the carpet. Try wrapping a flat blade, like a putty knife, with clean cloth and put in down into the carpet pile alongside the stain. Then take a cloth well wrung out in m.s. and wipe the stained pile. Good idea to try on inconspicuous spot first.

[GoHabsGo]

"Charlie" wrote in news:gq8iv6$7mt$ [e-mail]:

I was thinking it was something like this. Or perhaps the edge of the heavy object (I am suspecting a large suitcase with a broken wheel) melted and fused itself to the fibres. I would suspect that the light grey fibres would have just melted and stayed the same or similar colour, that is why I think it may be part of the object that rubbed off onto the carpet.

Unfortunately this mark is right smack in the middle of the carpet.

[DanG]

You could get a contrasting color of the same type of carpet and cut in an accent diamond as a focal point in the center of the room. Very impressive if done in two tones. I've done this for several folks who didn't want to change the entire carpet.