Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

[Maul]

Ok, first, I'm a Meguiar's fan through and through. I bought some Quick Out a while back when detailing my dad's truck. It did a decent job considering how tough the stains were, and figured it would have done better if I'd had enough time for a couple more rounds. Then a co-worker had a coffee spill in her car so I recommended it. She'd used everything else under the sun to no avail and then the Quick Out worked! Fast-forward, my wife I just bought a used Lexus RX 330 last week, with tan interior. Overall it's in great shape, save for a small stain in the back. I wasn't overly concerned with color testing since I'd seen it work before and my co-worker having such great luck with it. I now realize the error of my ways. I applied some, let it sit the 3-5 minutes recommended and didn't really notice any difference. I did a second round, applied a little more liberally next. Again, no difference. Finally, I did a third round, still liberal, and let it sit for like 15 mins or so while I was vacuuming out the hatch area. When I went to blot/vacuum it up this time, the stain still remained, the area around it started to lighten. It's now gone pink! Is there ANYTHING anyone can recommend? The stain looks closer to the real color so I'm about ready to just pour some coffee back there or something.

[roushstage2]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

Get some carpet/fabric dye and re-dye that spot.
Here's a start: http://www.customfinishes.com/Vinyl-Carpet-Dye.htm

[yalerd]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

You let it sit for too long, Quick Out is a fast acting product in my opinion.
Like Tyler suggests, re-dye that spot

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

I would also look into getting a product that removes the red/pink stains. A carpet guy we use to use, had a product. I believe it was called red-out. Evidently this is a fairly common occurence with carpet. The carpet guy had a spot on our carpet. Gave it 2 treatments and the spot is gone. Hope it works for you.

[roushstage2]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

Re-reading the first post. The car has a tan interior and there was a brownish- "The stain looks closer to the real color"- (dirt, grease, oil?) stain in the back, how did become pink? Were you using a red shop towel or is the pink from the Quik Out? I think I answered my own question, but just wanted to double check.

[Maul]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

Sure, np. The interior is tan, and the stain was a darker tan or brown pretty much. Coffee maybe? That's just what I assumed anyway. The stain didn't change color at all, just the area around it that had no stain, it went pinkish. I'll try and get a pic later maybe. I was wondering about a dye/paint for the carpet, but am a little nervous about that too. Would I be opening up another can of worms going that route? I guess I may just have to decide what's worse, a dark spot or a light spot.

J. A. Michaels: Thanks for the advice! However, since it's not really a red stain, but just the carpet itself that's discolored, I don't know if it'd work. However, I'll keep that in mind for the future, just in case!

[roushstage2]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

If the actual color is gone, the only way to fix it would be to dye it. What you need to do is get the interior carpet color code, or just the color of it, from a Lexus dealership, and look around for that dye. Colorbond had a LARGE selection of dyes. Here is a color chart. Since it is Lexus, you should of course look at the Toyota colors. I'd go from there. They also have a product called "Carpet Refinisher," but is only available in more generic colors. You can give them a call and I am sure they will be able to help you out! If you do go that route, just make sure the entire carpet is clean, mask off the area, and follow the directions!

Colorbond---

http://www.bryndana.com/index.html

[Mosca]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

There's another possibility; that it's a pink or red stain, like koolaid, or an original discoloration, perhaps from a chemical like gasoline or kerosene, that was dark from attracting dirt and soil.... and the Quick Out removed the dirt, leaving the original stain or discoloration. If the discolored area is the spot that was originally stained, then that is the probability. If the discolored area is larger, like the size of the area sprayed with Quick Out, then the Quick Out possibly caused the discoloration.

A photograph would be helpful.

[Maul]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

Sorry it took so long for the photo. My wife and I were out of town for our 5 year anniversary. Here's the pic. I still haven't touched it since. Also, forgive the dirt in the seat track to the right, still haven't done a full detail. To be honest, this left a sour taste in my mouth and scared me a little bit. There's a few little places on the front passenger mat and I was always like "Oh, no big deal, Quick Out will knock it right out." Now I'm terrified to try it. What about APC or a carpet cleaner from the Professional line? I imagine they'd be the same or stronger, so it wouldn't really be a good idea to try them here. Anyway, here's the pic, the stain is the dark (now more correct color ) you see in the middle:

[Don]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

In a way, it almost looks like you made a clean spot and the rest of the carpet is still dirty

[Maul]

Re: Help! Quick Out discolored my carpet!

Lol, yeah, it does. Maybe the stain has a lightened a little, but it was the same size and noticeably darker than the surrounding carpet before I did anything.