what causes browning??

[steve g]

what causes browning like on a white sofa, and say a nylon carpet that has a synthetic backing

 

[hogjowl]

Nylon carpets with a synthetic backing should not brown, unless you have done a poor job of removing the soils (like maybe you didn't vacuum) and there's wicking involved. Browning on natural fibers, like maybe that white sofa, is a pH problem.

You IICRC certified, by any chance?

 

[Larry B]

what causes browning

Not wiping

 

[ruff]

White sofa, could be a non refined cotton, which means that not all the seeds of the cotton were remove. Not necessarily a cheap fabric, more of a style. If it is you can see little brownish/blackish small dots in the fabric. You can test on the hidden zipper area it will brown with just water. A high pH will not necessarily cause browning (could be other colors,) though it could.

Browning on white nylon carpet could be different things. Is it all over universally , streaking, one large spot?
Need more info to speculate.
Good luck.
Ofer

 

[Greenie]

I think what some call browning on a synthetic fiber carpet is just wicking of deep soil that wasn't prevacuumed well, and wasn't properly emulsified and extracted well.

 

[hogjowl]

That's correct Greenie. My post should have read synthetic WON'T brown, but I think you understand what I'm talking about.

 

[steve g]

You IICRC certified, by any chance?

yes I am, you didn't really answer my question, I know what can cause it and under what conditions it can happen, what I wanna know is specifically why its happening, I guess I am looking for a simple and understandable forsythe answer if there is such a thing. so browning on white sofa, could be caused by the oils in the cotton not being rinsed and refined enough, am i correct??? that is why generally a white t shirt will not brown. so I guess what is happening to cause the reaction of browning on a white sofa

ok browning on nylon/syn backed carpet, lets say the carpet was water damaged and it had poor to no extaction and dryed slowly causing the browning. what is causing this??

 

[rhyde]

Browning is wicking & oxidation of sugars from plant fibers and wicking from synthetic fibers is soil wicking not browning.


at least the admin has gone from deleting my post to simply editing it... :roll:

 

[Jose Smith]

Natural fibers will brown for different reasons. A cellulose (plant/vegetable fiber) will brown for a different reason that a protein fiber will.

If a cellulosic fiber turns brown, it is called "cellulosic browning". It is more of a moisture problem than anything else. A higher pH can make it happen quicker, but it is not necessary.

Cellulosic browning happens because of a chemical compound in the cell wall known as lignin (lignin-cellulose). Lignin is "hydrophobic", meaning it does not like water. In fact, moisture can make it unstable to the point that it will release a colored pigment. This color is usually yellow or brown (because of the cellulose), but I have seen gray, red or purple depending on the pH of the moisture, amount of moisture and finishes on the fabric.

Jose Smith

 

[steve g]

ok so you guys stance on browning when it occurs on synthetic fibers is that its wicking soil, if that is the case then why often times on an olefin berber that has had water damage, that often I can merely mist it with an acidic product and remove it??

 

[DRScrivner]

[quote="steve g":3i4mnczu]what causes browning

Not wiping[/quote:3i4mnczu]
Great minds think alike!

 

[sweendogg]

ok so you guys stance on browning when it occurs on synthetic fibers is that its wicking soil, if that is the case then why often times on an olefin berber that has had water damage, that often I can merely mist it with an acidic product and remove it??

I wouldn't say merely mist it. Alot of times synthetics will mimic browning when there is an abundance of moisture left in the carpet. Any soil deep down in the pile and even beneath the backing and in the pad such as construction dust, fillers in the latex breaking down or an assortment of deep down dirt gets brought up during the drying process. In your case, the water damage has saturated the pad and carpet much like a careless cleaner. Any soil in the carpet and pad can be brought to the surface. There are several ways to mitigate the problem. Also any minerals in the water allbeit the water damage source or just plain moisture if its a harder water, could cause the "browing" as well.

Clean or Reclean it and force dry the carpet with several fans and lots of dry passes during extraction.

And post pad the area to get the carpet as dry as quick as possible.

Or you can opt for a low moisture method if the carpet has already been cleaned and dried. Use your favorite encap shampoo and either bonnet clean it, pad encap it, or straight encapsulation being careful to not cause friction burns in olefin.

Or as you mentioned, you could try the misting acid rinse but it probably is not a result of a pH inbalance and so an acid rinse is most likley not going to remove the wicked up soil and spots. I've heard that Ricky G's new shampoo EncapHydroxy is great for these issues.

Otherwise, the browning on the white couch if it is cotton or a cellulosic fiber, is best explained by Jose Smith.