Let’s talk about what I use on my carpet to get out stains: Folex carpet spot remover.
Stains of all kinds…even blood.
We’ll get to that later.
Show of hands: How many of you thought I just misspelled “Rolex” in the title?
Well, Folex, the carpet spot remover, is kinda like the Rolex of carpet cleaners to me, so you weren’t far off.
Here’s a little background of the messes in my life since we have owned the house with WHITE BERBER carpeting:
* Three large indoor dogs, ranging from 54-75 lbs.
* A daily spuking (or puking, to you normals out there) hairball-afflicted indoor cat.
* Teenaged Boy and friends.
* Garry and a general, “Oh, did I do that?!” innocence.
* Me and my bringin’-the-outdoors-indoors schmutz.
* Sweet E and his drooly, peey, poopy orifices.
Did you catch the part about my WHITE BERBER carpeting?
That list is a whole lotta dirt to grind into all that white.
Enough to make one crazy if one didn’t have anything to clean that WHITE BERBER carpet with.
You caught the yelly part about my white carpet, right?
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Enter Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover :
While it doesn’t look like much, meaning the packaging isn’t fancy, this stuff works.
Here’s the stuff I love about Folex:
#1: It’s odor-free.
#2: VOC’s, CFC’s, and Petroleum free.
#3: NON-TOXIC: this is a biggie for me, as I won’t buy the toxic stuff because, HELLO!, it’s toxic. Plus, can’t have Sweet E on my carpets rolling around in chemicals.
#4: No solvents = non-flammable. This was more of a fun fact for me, but maybe for you it’s important.
#5: Folex is safe to use in carpet cleaning machines.
Folex’s suggestions for using in a carpet cleaning machine:
Only use on colorfast, and color stable carpets.
If you are using a machine with a direct draw tube: put the tube directly into your bottle of full strength Folex.
If you are using a machine with a mixing tank: mix 1 part Folex with 4 to 6 parts warm water.
The softer your water is, the better your results will be.
Do not use hot water when cleaning your carpet, as excessive heat can set stains.
You should pre-treat heavily soiled areas with full strength Folex, agitating into stained areas, just prior to using the machine.
It is not a soap, so you do not need to add a defoamer.
It will not leave a sticky residue, so you do not have to rinse.
It is not a solvent, so your carpet backing will not be damaged.
Folex is “Non-Ionic”, so it will not attract dirt back to the cleaned area.
It is “Non-Toxic”, so your newly cleaned carpet is safe for your children and pets.
Using Folex in a machine was a revelation to me.
I only discovered I could do this last year, even though I have been using this product straight from the bottle for many years.
I don’t know why it never occurred to me.
D’OH!
Usually, I follow the instructions (always test on a hidden area) and it works, but for some reason I never knew you could use it in the carpet machine.
Even then, I was a bit skeptical.
So, what did I do?
I tested it for ya!
Here are my results (I didn’t get “before” pics, dang it.)
Please note these carpets are 20-years old.
This is the area in front of the couch.
We spend lots of time here with Dexter Dog.
The whiter spots are where I spilled and it’s still w-e-t. Hence, the fan.
HENCE!
Out teeny tiny hallway is up next:
As you can see, the Folex didn’t make the carpets “like new” but it went a long way in getting the path less-worn looking.
This is the area that leads from the kitchen to the other rooms:
This area gets lots of traffic.
Probably the most traffic in the entire house.
Think Dexter charging through with muddy paws, bounding in from the garage, think Husband straight from work, with work boots still on, think hungry boys piling into and out of the kitchen, think Patti and her cake messes.
Still though, look at that whiteness.
Folex knocks out the schmutz!
In this pic, I want you to look at the area right by the door.
That area is notorious for a dirty hue.
We all drag the outdoors in with us.
After a cleaning (and the drying) it was very clean. (those darker wet spots dried to a normal hue)
The Opposing Camp:
I asked around to see if others I knew used Folex or had heard of Folex and I got a mixed bag of results.
Those who love it, LOVE IT.
Those on the fence had this to say: Folex turns the cleaned spot light, when completely cleaned.
Fair enough.
I have experienced this also, but since I have that white berber (I have never ever regretted my decision to get that carpet!), my perception has been that the lighter spot is the cleaned spot when using full-strength.
FYI: Folex can also be diluted.
How I Use Folex:
I used one full bottle diluted with water to clean my carpets with the machine.
Typically, though, I use the product full-strength, spraying right out of the bottle, for spot cleaning, then brushing the spot as directed.
After a few seconds, blot.
Repeat steps if necessary.
Final Analysis:
I have tried almost every non-toxic product out there.
With the cat, I was spot-cleaning those carpets on a daily basis and nothing was working.
It was out of desperation that I tried Folex.
I’d tried everything else on the shelf, so I though what could it hurt. I took it home, used it, and BOOM! haven’t looked back.
I am definitely in the LOVE IT camp.
If you noticed on the label it also claims to remove blood stains.
~DUN-DUN-DUN~
I got the chance to test that claim this week.
Garry cut himself while working on a job site and bled all over the front of his jeans.
~hurk~
After cleaning up the best he could, he continued working in the 100° Texas temps (Texas Tough, y’all!), effectively baking in the blood stains.
Good job, baby!
When he got home that evening, he explained what had happened and asked if I could get the stains out.
Lawsy.
I washed the jeans a four times (but didn’t dry) before I remembered the Folex.
I grabbed the bottle, sprayed the area, worked it in, then washed again.
The stains were definitely lighter, but required a few more washings with a few more sprays of Folex.
Today, the only thing left of the massacre is a faint small brownish spot.
We’re counting it as a success.
I feel certain if I had caught the stains earlier and had remembered to use Folex immediately there would be no traces of blood left on his jeans.
If you need an amazing product that cleans stains you thought hopeless, you should give Folex a try.
It’s one of my must haves.
Happy cleaning, y’all!
Original post: August 27, 2013. Updated: April 17, 2019