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Carpet Cleaning Terminology

While carpet cleaning can be confusing on its own, many carpet cleaning guides complicate matters even further by using terms known only by professional cleaners. What is a pherobloc? And what does ORM-D stand for?

Below is a list of terms for our carpet cleaning products and formulas to assist you in selecting the correct carpet cleaner for your home. In addition to defining industry terminology, we’ll answer common carpet cleaning questions like "What do enzymes do to a stain?" and "Does my carpet show signs of over-wetting?"

If you’re still confused about a carpet cleaning term or you have a question about your particular situation, contact one of our carpet cleaning experts today.

  • Acrylic Polymer

    Used in our carpet cleaning products to help repel dirt and stains.

  • Aerosol

    A substance dispensed from a pressurized container.

  • Anti-Resoiling Agents

    Help repel dirt and stains, making carpet care & cleaning easier each time.

  • Biodegradable

    The surfactant (or detergent) in the carpet cleaning products that can be "broken down". This reduces the amount of surfactants discharged into the environment. This breakdown prevents the product from being toxic to fish and other aquatic life.

  • Bleaching

    Term used to describe color loss to the carpet. For light color carpets, the color appears whiter and brighter, for darker color carpets, the color can be a lighter shade of the original color or a different color entirely. ie: bleaching on a blue carpet can turn the carpet peach.

  • Browning

    Brown carpet discoloration caused by over-wetting, either with a carpet cleaning product or with water alone. It is the saturation of the carpet that may allow moisture to reach the carpet backing or even the padding.

  • Carpet Discolored

    When a carpet color change has occurred.

  • CFC-Chlorofluorocarbons

    These propellants were banned in 1978 and are no longer used in any aerosol products, including all of our carpet cleaning products!

  • Colorfast

    Means the dyes used in the carpet will not bleed or run when odor remover or carpet cleaning products are applied to them.

  • Enzymes

    Help breakdown complex soils, especially proteins such as those in blood, egg or grass stains, so they can be easily removed.

  • FibraPure®

    Odor neutralizer added to Heavy Traffic®, One Step™, Fabric & Upholstery, and Pet Stain & Odor Remover carpet care products. FibraPure® eliminates tough odors by helping to prevent the release of malodor molecules. Similar to a Fabric Refresher.

  • Hydrocarbon Propellant

    Type of propellant used in Woolite® Carpet & Upholstery carpet cleaning aerosol products and upholstery cleaning products.

  • Manufacture Cleanability Codes

    Furniture is coded using the following symbol which refers to solubility of the dyes in the upholstery fabric. Carpets will occasionally use these codes:

    • S- Dyes Stable in solvent only
    • W - Dyes Stable in Water only
    • W/S - Dyes Stable in Water and solvent
    • X - Dyes not Stable at all

  • Non Caustic

    Woolite® Carpet & Upholstery products are non-caustic. Caustics are substances which can corrode, burn and dissolve items they come in contact with.

  • Optical Brighteners

    Woolite® Carpet & Upholstery cleaning products do not contain optical brighteners (whitening agents used in laundry detergent.)

  • ORM-D

    According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), aerosol products such as Woolite® Carpet & Upholstery fall into a shipping category referred to as other regulated materials or ORM-D. This indicates the material is not a hazardous chemical, but its' contents are packed under pressure and may be flammable. In order to meet DOT shipping requirements for such products, Woolite® aerosols must be shipped with an ORM-D indication on all packaging. When requesting a Woolite® aerosol product be returned by a consumer, the prepaid label must be stamped ORM-D.

  • Over wetting

    Over applying a product. If a carpet becomes over wet, the primary or secondary backing may release a dye like substance. The carpet may appear clean at first but in time the dye like substance may resurface on the tips of the fibers as a yellow or brown residue.

  • Pherobloc

    Found in Pet Stain & Odor Remover, discourages pets from returning to the same spot. Woolite's pet stain remover products are proactive!

  • Ph

    Used to express the amount of both acidity and alkalinity on a scale whose values run from 0-14, with 7 being neutral. Numbers less than 7 represent increasing acidity, numbers greater than 7 represent increasing alkalinity.

  • Phosphates

    Are detergent additives which soften the hard water that is found in many parts of the United States. By themselves, phosphates do relatively little in cleaning. But when added to detergents they increase the effectiveness of the detergents in removing soil from fabrics and hard surfaces.

  • Propellant

    A gas in a pressure bottle for expelling the contents when the pressure is released. Propellants are used in Woolite® Carpet & Upholstery cleaning aerosols; Heavy Traffic, One Step, Fabric & Upholstery.

  • Surfactants (detergents)

    A surfactant is the main ingredient in detergents. It functions as a wetting agent to help remove soil and prevent it from being re-deposited. A surfactant allows the carpet cleaning product to spread out and penetrate.

  • Wicking

    When the residual stain underneath the carpet resurfaces to the top.

  • Yellowing

    Carpet discoloration caused by either the stain itself or over wetting.