I had a fun dye job yesterday- 2 discolorations that looked exactly like foot prints!

There are several reasons why these could have occurred- first, the person could have stepped in a strong cleaning solution, like chlorine bleach, that then damaged the dyes in the nylon carpet. It is also possible, as the carpet was near a pool of sorts, that the chlorine used in the water was strong and caused the bleaching if the person’s feet were wet.

A third option, and the one I tend to think was the culprit, was a benzoyl peroxide-based medical cream was on the feet of this person. Peroxide is a bleach, and will cause discoloration to occur particularly on nylon and wool carpet. These creams might be used to treat acne or athlete’s foot.

The good news is that they are repairable, most of the time! This is NOT done by using RIT dye or magic marker. To permanently fix the discoloration, the area must first be thoroughly neutralized and then redyed with acid dyes. It is a time intensive process, and is not a cheap fix, but is certainly cheaper than replacing $1000s worth of carpet!

If you are interested in a quote to repair a bleach discoloration, send me a message or email at dave@theflyingrugguy.com!