There are two possible reasons carpeting and rugs can be cleaned after a spill appear to be fine and then have the stain reappear later.
Do stains come back after cleaning carpet.
At other times the spots and stains come back after the passing of a few weeks.
There are other effective treatments to seal that area of carpet to keep the stain from wicking again.
A reappearing stain called wicking may get removed from the surface with traditional cleaning methods but not from the carpeting or upholstery padding underneath.
With time the fibers can reabsorb the still liquid stain and bring the stain back to life much like a flame relighting a candle after burning through the wick which is where the name comes from.
Removing these stains from carpet or upholstery especially stains that have set in over time and keep returning to the surface can be frustrating.
Sometimes spots can reappear as soon as the carpet dries.
This is most often a result of wicking which will be discussed below.
Other times the spots come back after several weeks have passed.
Wicking this is when the carpet stain has soaked through to the backing of the carpet.
If you have a carpet stain that keeps coming back it probably needs to be re cleaned more thoroughly.
When you clean the stain you are cleaning the surface of the carpet.
After cleaning a spot or stain from your carpet there are times where it will return just shortly after the carpet dries.
When the carpets dry the stain comes right back to the top.
The reappearance of spots and stains is actually a very common occurrence when a carpet is cleaned using a traditional shampoo and rinse method.
Get rid of the reappearing stains.
Due to the inefficiency of the steam cleaner sometimes the stain simply gets moved around or pushed deeper into the carpet rather than picked up.
When the remaining carpet cleaner is left to stew in your carpet it will begin to attract dirt debris and soil in the same spot making it appear like the same stain is coming back time and time again.
At this point cleaning the stain itself will clean the carpet fibers or surface but it won t clean the remnants of the stain left in the backing or underpad.
This is most often referred to as rapid resoiling.