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removing grease spots from carpets?

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bugbear

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Sep 4, 2006, 5:16:10 AM9/4/06
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I'm hoping someone here will have knowledge to help me.

I was cleaning up a bought-at-auction Record #82 quick release
vice (10 quid!).

I'm sure people are familiar with the sort of stuff
that was crudded on to the main screw; a pleasing decades
old mix of grease, oil and black stuff.

Having rendered the vice wonderfully functional,
I left the workshop.

Later, I want back in to check on something.

AND MUST HAVE PICKED UP A PIECE OF GREASE OF MY SLIPPER.

Subsequently, my lounge carpet (quite light in colour)
has little dark spots, around a stride apart.

I cannot believe I'm the first and only person
to have done this, especially in present company...

So:

Does anyone have a favourite trick to remove
the grease and dirt without spreading it further
(the obvious problem if I try a solvent) and without
wrecking the carpet?

BugBear

Dave Baker

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Sep 4, 2006, 5:47:32 AM9/4/06
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"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote in message
news:44fbeedc$0$3587$ed2e...@ptn-nntp-reader04.plus.net...

Swarfega and a toothbrush to dissolve the grease followed by a good scrub
with carpet cleaner or rent one of those carpet machines.
--
Dave Baker
www.pumaracing.co.uk
"Why," said Ford squatting down beside him and shivering, "are you lying
face down in the dust?"
"It's a very effective way of being wretched," said Marvin.


Algernon

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Sep 4, 2006, 6:38:18 AM9/4/06
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Get a spray can of engine degreaser. Spray liberally untill the
grease is dosolved. The degreaser is then water soluble, and can be
washed out with soap and water, or carpet shampoo. This works with
shirts and suchlike too. I have had white shirts covered in oil and
grease, and they come up spotless as long as the treatment is the
first thing tried.

Alan

--
The Source For Premium Newsgroup Access
Great Speed, Great Retention
1 GB/Day for only $8.95

david.s...@bem.fki-et.com

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Sep 4, 2006, 6:54:17 AM9/4/06
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My wife has a little can of 'de-solveit' (i think thats the correct
spelling) spray for just such occasions ;)
I think it came from sainsburys, or similar supermarket. seems to
remove almost anything.
the only problem is then you are left with little clean spots about a
stride apart... a dead givaway!

Dave

philipte

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Sep 4, 2006, 7:09:26 AM9/4/06
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bugbear wrote:


>
> Does anyone have a favourite trick to remove
> the grease and dirt without spreading it further
> (the obvious problem if I try a solvent) and without
> wrecking the carpet?
>

I've used Easy Start for dealing with errant grease spots and found it
to be very effective......possibly not a good idea if you're a smoker
though........

Regards

Philip T-E

SAMMM

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Sep 4, 2006, 7:34:52 AM9/4/06
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i don't have an answer, but i did laugh as i have done that same thing at a
friend's home.
the carpet was a light tan or ivory color....
to this day, i won't even walk on that carpet.
she still speaks to me.
sammm

--
za...@pghmail.com


"bugbear" <bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote in message
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John

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Sep 4, 2006, 8:36:58 AM9/4/06
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> Swarfega and a toothbrush to dissolve the grease followed by a good scrub
> with carpet cleaner or rent one of those carpet machines.
> --
> Dave Baker

Swarfega used like this will do the job. We have a VAX that is
wonderfull for cleaning carpets. I once managed to drop a full tin of
coloured wood varnish on a light tan carpet. This may not be in the Vax
manual, but I loaded it with Turps and shampoo'd the carpet. All the
varnish came out. A conventional clean removed the turps from the
carpet and Vax together. All is now perfect again.

John

bugbear

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Sep 4, 2006, 9:21:54 AM9/4/06
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bugbear wrote:
> Does anyone have a favourite trick to remove
> the grease and dirt without spreading it further
> (the obvious problem if I try a solvent) and without
> wrecking the carpet?

Many thanks for all the replies;
one thing I need to emphasize;
this is not nice new clean grease;
this is decades old, loaded
with black grime grease. (*)

Think old engine oil in grease form.

BugBear

(*) and not M&S grease ;-)

Algernon

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Sep 4, 2006, 11:05:24 AM9/4/06
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The engine degreaser shoudl do it.

Eucalyptus oil works for beach tar, so that might do as well...and
leave a nice smell.

Neil Ellwood

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Sep 4, 2006, 11:46:47 AM9/4/06
to

I don't know if it is still available but 'Thawpit' used to work well on
woollen carpets. Don't forget to try it on a part that is unseen first.


--
Neil
Delete l to reply

Message has been deleted

bugbear

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Sep 15, 2006, 5:57:34 AM9/15/06
to
bugbear wrote:
> Does anyone have a favourite trick to remove
> the grease and dirt without spreading it further
> (the obvious problem if I try a solvent) and without
> wrecking the carpet?

Many thanks to all who responded.

In the interests of feedback, and helping
anyone else who finds this thread in the google
archive...

In the end I used swarfega green gel (not the new
hand washing stuff with granules) on a toothbrush
to loosen the grease.

I then used a VAX vacuum clean/carpet washer
to remove the swarfega and dissolved grease.

After drying, the result is excellent.

I can just about see where the marks were,
but I think this is as much due to a texture change
from the cleaning process as from residual dirt/grease.

BugBear

Jim Guthrie

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Sep 15, 2006, 6:34:21 AM9/15/06
to
On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 10:57:34 +0100, bugbear
<bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:

>I can just about see where the marks were,
>but I think this is as much due to a texture change
>from the cleaning process as from residual dirt/grease.

More important, would a wife notice :-)

Jim.

Algernon

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Sep 15, 2006, 8:30:53 AM9/15/06
to
On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:34:21 +0100, Jim Guthrie <j...@sprok01.plus.com>
wrote:

Obviously not as he is still alive to tell the tale :)

david.s...@bem.fki-et.com

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Sep 15, 2006, 12:01:14 PM9/15/06
to

Algernon wrote:
> On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:34:21 +0100, Jim Guthrie <j...@sprok01.plus.com>
> wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 15 Sep 2006 10:57:34 +0100, bugbear
> ><bugbear@trim_papermule.co.uk_trim> wrote:
> >
> >>I can just about see where the marks were,
> >>but I think this is as much due to a texture change
> >>from the cleaning process as from residual dirt/grease.
> >
> >More important, would a wife notice :-)
> >
> Obviously not as he is still alive to tell the tale :)
>
She has noticed, just holding it back for the perfect moment...
Blunder Points are non expireable

Dave

Peter Harrison

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Sep 15, 2006, 2:27:03 PM9/15/06
to

On a related note, a couple of years ago, the cat managed to cover
itself with Sadolin woodstain. I could not imagine what we could do for
it so took it to the vet. Later that afternoon, we were told we could
come and collect him. Expecting to find a naked hairless cat we were
very surprised to find a wonderfully clean, fluffy, odourless cat. He
had never looked so good. We asked how they had done it, expecting some
secret paint remover. Turns out they scrubbed him in swarfega. What
wonderful people - that is both the vet and the people who make swarfega.

Pete Harrison

din...@codesmiths.com

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Sep 15, 2006, 2:52:09 PM9/15/06
to

Peter Harrison wrote:

> On a related note, a couple of years ago, the cat managed to cover
> itself with Sadolin woodstain.

I came home once to find our "red" setter looking unusually red. A few
pounds bag of red raddle, iron ochre cement pigment, was involved.

There was a dog-height stripe around every wall. Had to re-decorate to
get rid of it. Fortunately it washed out of the sofa loose covers (ah,
those '70s and The Days Of Dralon) and vacuumed out of the carpet
pretty well, but nothing would take it off a rough wallpaper surface.

The dog just rolled in his usual couple of cowpats for shampoo and
carried on as if nothing had happened.

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