Water spotting, what’s that? Does this type of staining really exist? The answer is yes! For those who don’t know, water spotting is caused from minerals in the water and soil in the upholstery/carpet being cleaned. Let’s talk about it.

Here goes, so what exactly are water spots? What causes them? First, water spots are dried mineral deposits left on the surface of upholstery or carpet after air drying. This is a completely natural process through time with the evaporation process. Water spotting or spots can look different as they take different patterns and shapes depending on the mineral content and soiling on the fabric or carpet. Yes, you don’t know what your going to get with this type of issue. Mainly, water spotting starts off from over wetting your carpet or upholstery and the moisture saturates the foam padding beneath the sofa, love seat, chair or ottoman. Basically, anything that has a padding beneath the outer shell can water spot from over saturation. The more soil in the item being cleaned, the more concentrated the water spot will look. For example, a lightly soiled (light colored) sofa when water spotted will look light tan as little soiled has wicked into the fiber. Depending on whether your area has hard or soft water, the water spot will look like salt stains and round in shape. Having said that, a sofa with large amounts of soil will leave a dark rusty brown stain from soil wicking into the fiber. You would be able to see a considerable color difference between the two. So water mineral content, condition of sofa and color will all play a role with this type of stain.

Next, let’s discuss how to remove this type of stain from your upholstery or carpet. First, before we begin, the internet is full various ways to remove water spots. For example, many mention that using vinegar will remove the water spot from upholstery and carpet. This is mentioned because vinegar is a mild acid that attacks the minerals, therefore dissolving them from the upholstery or carpet. So, will this method work, the answer is yes! But, the downside is that the acid CAN DISCOLOR your upholstery or carpet…not recommended! So you might remove the stain, but be left with a permanent round light spot on your sofa! Honestly, is just not needed! Here’s why, minerals from hard or soft water do not bond to plastic or any type of synthetic fiber. Most water spots can be removed easily with warm water, a little agitation and vacuum suction. If you have a wet dry vacuum, this process is super easy! Here’s how.

  1. Use 6-12 (oz) spray bottle filled with warm water…that simple!

  2. Depending on size of water spot (spray area 7-8 times) let sit for 20-30 seconds

  3. Agitate lightly with finger or upholstery tool (non abrasive)

  4. Use wet/dry vacuum to extract the moisture from the fabric and let dry

  5. Repeat process until desired results are achieved