Can somebody help me out of the dog house?

Oct 15, 03 7:22

Post #1 of 15 (2652 views)

Here's the problem. I don't have a lot of space to work on my bike outside, and because of the ungodly heat in Dallas during the summer, I wouldn't want to anyway. Garage space is very limited, too, and so this summer, I put down mats in the upstairs office, and did all my work up there in the nice, cool, air conditioned house.

You know where this is going... I managed, to the horror and outrage of tri-spouse, to get some small (and not so small) grease spots on the office carpet.

The question is... Can anyone else who has made this stupid mistake recommend a cleaning product to get these spots out of the carpet? Is it possible, or should I resign myself to having to replace the carpeting?

Steve

-------------------------------------
Steve Perkins

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:33

Post #2 of 15 (2638 views)

All I can offer is the suggestion that you have the carpet professionally cleaned. Most good shops will tell you whether they think they can get the grease out or not.

Also, this might eliminate the likelihood that my wife could talk your wife into buying you a Computrainer. ;)

------------------------------------------------------------

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:33

Post #3 of 15 (2637 views)

Been there, done that. First try Resolve spot magic or Woolite oxy deep spray. If those don't do the trick, try Opps or Goof-off. You can find the first two at most grocery stores or Wal-mart, the others can be found at the Home Depot.

Good luck!

Dave from VA

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [DC Pattie] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:38

Post #4 of 15 (2625 views)

Thanks, Dave. I'll give it a shot.

-------------------------------------
Steve Perkins

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [jmorrissey] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:41

Post #5 of 15 (2618 views)

Yeah... I'm not sure anyone could work enough magic to talk my wife into letting me get a Computrainer. But you're right... I've now probably decreased the chances even more! :(

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:43

Post #6 of 15 (2614 views)

I did the exact same thing before we built the garage. Wife was a bit ticked. No problems there is stuff available to remove grease from carpets. Just drop down to the local hardware store and the clerk can help you out.

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:46

Post #7 of 15 (2597 views)

Simple Green has worked for me - plus it is non-toxic (for those who care) and has not bled any color out of anything I clean with it. I also de-grease my bikes and clean them with Simple Green.

----------------------------------------------------------

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 7:57

Post #8 of 15 (2569 views)

Steve,

I worked in a bike shop that had carpet in the work area and we would have it professionaly cleaned every so often but some of those citrus cleanears work pretty good also. Good luck.

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 8:13

Post #9 of 15 (2554 views)

Spot Shot rules. You can buy it at Home Depot.

Also, it may earn major points with the wife to have all the carpets cleaned - bonus points if you do it while she is out shopping or something.

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 8:18

Post #10 of 15 (2546 views)

for bike grease in carpets, nothing works for me as well as "simple green".

Where would you want to swim ?

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 8:46

Post #11 of 15 (2490 views)

When I used to clean carpet about 15 years ago we used electrical contact cleaner for small grease or oil spots. You can't soak the carpet down because you will dissolve the backing on the carpet. Spray some on a rag and work the spot out. Make sure that you flush the contact cleaner out with some water and blot it dry. If you can get a hold of some 111 trichloroethane that is the best. If it is cotton or wool carpet it would probably be best to buy her a giant shiny diamond.

jaretj

(This message sent with 100% recycled kilobytes!!!)

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 8:46

Post #12 of 15 (2489 views)

For grease spots I used to used dry cleaning solvent, but it is hard to get ahold of today thanks to the EPA. How big are the spots? If they are on only one or two strands of a plush-type carpet, try snipping the strand out at the "root." If that leaves a bare-looking spot, you can "transplant" some new strands in by sipping some strands out of an inconspicous spot and gluing them in to the bare spot with a dab of epoxy. When you get good at that, you may be able to start a new career as a hair-plug technician. This technique works well on ink, bleach, or kool-aid spots that don't respond to cleaners.

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [tri_bri2] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 8:55

Post #13 of 15 (2475 views)

Do these suggestions also work for cars? I have so much chain grease in the back of my SUV from being careless when I put my bike in. I have had it cleaned at a car wash place, but they either they didn't try hard or just couldn't get them out. Has anything worked for anyone else?

Bri Gaal
One Step Beyond
http://www.osbmultisport.com

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [steveperx] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 11:43

Post #14 of 15 (2326 views)

You guys have it all backwards :-). You need to ensure that you have a tri room in your house, with a home weight gym, treadmill, Vasaswimtrainer, CT and rollers. Grease is an inherent part of such a room and when your tri spouse gets upset with you, she should be banishing you to the "tri room" for a 2 hour workout to burn off excess energy and calm down.

God bless my wife as I have all of the above. Once she actually threatened to paint the room at which point I got all defensive and said that it needs to be like gym and not look too pretty :-). She gets the other 1800 square feet to decorate (and she does a damn fine job), so I get my 300 square feet down the in the basement :-)

Re: Can somebody help me out of the dog house? [devashish paul] [ In reply to ]

Oct 15, 03 11:55

Post #15 of 15 (2306 views)

Wow. I need your wife to "explain things" to mine in triwife-speak. My triwife doesn't seem to grasp the necessity of a tri room, no matter how many times I try to explain it to her. I may as well be speaking Martian to her.

Although... I may be starting to get through to her... She signed up for her first ever triathlon yesterday. Maybe I'll get lucky and the tri bug will bite her, too, although she doesn't seem to have the competitive spirit that I do.

-------------------------------------
Steve Perkins

Our Partners

transition-DOT-area-AT-slowtwitch-DOT-com

Advertise with us

©1999-2024 Slowtwitch, Inc., and Slowtwitch.com
Reproduction of material from any Slowtwitch.com page
without written permission is strictly prohibited.