Stains: what comes out, what fades and what stays for good

The question "will you get this stain out" almost always has an honest answer before the visit — from the type of stain and its age. Below is what we tell people on the phone, without promises that have to be taken back later.

Comes out almost always

• coffee, tea and juice, if the stain is a few weeks old at most;
• grease and food stains of any age;
• fresh urine, pet or child, with an enzyme product;
• the general grey film of daily use — the most visible result;
• shoe marks and street dust on a carpet;
• white streaks from winter road salt.

Fades, but a trace stays

• red wine older than a month;
• long-standing yellow marks on a mattress — the colour has bonded with the fibre;
• blood that was not rinsed out immediately with cold water;
• urine of several years' standing: the smell weakens, the mark lightens.

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Never comes out

• old dye and hair colour;
• rust from metal furniture feet;
• sun-bleached patches — that is discolouration, not a stain;
• ink, toner and superglue;
• yellow patches on old upholstery when they are oxidised glue or the foam beneath the fabric.

In that last case people often pay twice: once for the cleaning and once for a second attempt. We say so beforehand — not because we do not want the job, but because we would not get a result either.

What to do before the cleaner arrives

Blot a fresh stain with a dry white cloth from the edge inwards; do not rub. Do not pour water on it — that spreads the stain and drives it deeper. Do not use a chlorine stain remover: on coloured fabric it leaves a pale patch that cannot be undone.

For wine, sprinkle salt and let it absorb; that does not remove the stain but stops it spreading before we arrive.

Why there is no universal product

A stain is not dirt on a surface but a substance bonded to the fibre. Grease dissolves in alkali, protein in an enzyme, dye in an oxidiser, and none of the three substitutes for another. So the cleaner identifies the stain first and picks the product second.

The fabric matters more than the stain

Velvet, chenille and flock need less water, natural wool shrinks under extraction, and leather is never cleaned with water at all. The same stain on two different sofas is two different forecasts — which is why the cleaner tests a hidden patch first.

What it costs

There is no "per stain" price: the item rate applies. A sofa from UAH 1,600, a mattress from 999, carpet at 130 per square metre, an armchair 545. The minimum dry-cleaning order is 2,600, so one item is often booked with another.

Related pages

Upholstery and carpet cleaning · Sofa cleaning · Mattress cleaning · Dry-cleaning prices