Damp rid issue

[Zee]

Customer I see once every 3-4 weeks spilled this "Damp rid" stuff in a closet onto the carpet.
http://www.amazon.com/DampRid-FG50T-Hi-Capacity-Moisture-Absorber/dp/B0029EGUNG

We tried a few things....keeps returning. (powermax, flex powder, citrusolve type solvents, fels, 40+vol, stain magic, Releasit ds2, Encapuclean O2, Encapuclean ds and some other stuff)

I tried heavy prespray slow wand strokes...I tried waterclawing.... encapping fast drying...anything....area cleans up perfect and a few weeks later its back.

Looking at the fibers: they don't show contamination down to the backing.


What would you try?



These people I really don't want to let down..they use me a lot and refer me a lot...and let me drive their brand new Porsches and Audis (like a Macan or S6 or Cayman)

 

[Able 1]

No pics?

 

[Zee]

No pictures.

Very light colored Nylon, almost white. Affected area turns slightly beige, not too dark..

This might be the appropriate msds, if any of you chemist could figure out what the antidote would be...that would be cool:
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pdfImages/43/43ab947f-62e3-4ce0-bcce-6e3b80e9c564.pdf


Yes I did notice it warns against the use of strong oxidizers...ooopppss

 

[Kernm1229]

Good morning: this product is largely calcium chloride, the same material found in certain types of ice melter. Folks doing commercial work are all too familar with this substance. It never dries and forms a sticky, syrupy residue. It is highly water soluble but it takes a LOT of water to completely dissolve.

You can sometimes get faster result by pretreating with a product that contains a chelating (a.k.a. water softening) agent. Citric acid solution is useful. ChemSpec's LiquaSteam might also work well in this application.

 

[J Scott W]

yes, treat it like an ice melter. If it gets dry, vacuum up as much as possible dry.Plenty of water to flush. Acid pretreatment. Acid Rinse.

Ice Melt Compounds Other salt sources, salt water, salt from water softeners, dessicants etc.


Description

A real nuisance in some climates. The stain may look like wet pools in the carpet, white powdery residue or black stains. Any of these conditions or a combination can be caused by tracking in potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium chloride or urea based ice melt compounds. Caution! Resoiling and wick back are common with this type of stain. These products attract moisture from the air and so the carpet may feel damp. Some products also feel oily when damp.

Degree of Difficulty 3


1) Saturate affected area with Bridgepoint TCU Neutralizer

2) Clean carpet with appropriate prespray appropriate for the carpet fiber, Zone Perfect for nylon and most synthetics, Traffic Slam for olefin, Wool Zone for wool, Flex for heavy commercial soiling. Use plenty of water. The salt will dissolve in the water and dilute the spilled material.

3) Rinse with acid side product such as Bridgepoint End Zone. Use plenty of water. The salt will dissolve in the water and dilute the spilled material. Extract as much water as possible, because the contamination will be in the water. If you recover 80% of the water and leave 20%, you will also be leaving about 20% of the spill.

4) After HWE cleaning, follow with Bridgepoint Encapuclean Green DS with Brush Pro or 175 RPM floor machine and bonnet or a spray application of Encapuguard Green

 

[GeneMiller]

I've removed it dozens of times here in south Florida. It's a staple in closets. Never needed more than just water to flush it out.

Gene

 

[Zee]

How is that possible then.....that I have tried all those products and always rinsed with Cobb's acid rinse or fresh water and still show up. Every time I clean it, it disappears and looks perfect...yet it comes back.


I'm starting to think it wasn't that damprid stuff that got spilled there.

 

[Goomer]

Inside a closet should be a easy place to pull the carpet and get a look at the pad.

Maybe change the pad or put a sheet of plastic between the pad and the carpet and clean again?

Probably easier to just pad/towel off whatever wicks up without getting it wet again and be done with it.

 

[Zee]

See, that is the reason I brought this issue here..I tried almost all the above suggested procedures, including the very low moisture mist and towel stuff. So I just want to hear what everyone would do or try. It's interesting..

I was already suggesting the replacement in that closet but they don't want to do it. They don't care about that carpet that much to empty out the closet...