Cleaning Product Review: Folex Carpet Spot Remover Consistently Saves My Carpet
Folex does what it’s supposed to do and that impresses me. My family and I truly live in our house. I have a seven year old with many neighborhood friends who frequently congregate at our house. There are also the pets and a husband who frequently forgets to wipe his feet at the door. Drinks get spilled , animals have accidents and life goes on. Some things are not worth fretting over. House cleaning is not one of my favorite chores, but having the right products makes a big difference in the task.
Folex is great for removing spots and cleaning traffic areas and it can even be used in a carpet cleaning machine. I prefer using it full strength as a spot and stain remover. Folex can also be used to clean furniture upholstery, which I’ve tried and it works. I’ve used it to remove stains from a white sofa. The Folex directions even state its use as a laundry pretreatment for stains. I tried this recently on several stains on my child’s clothing. I was impressed with the results. The stains were completely removed.
The Folex website states this about the product, “Folex is a water based non-ionic surfactant.” This is definitely one of Folex’s greatest assets. In other words, it won’t attract dirt to the freshly cleaned area on the carpet. I tried several carpet spot removers that did exactly that and they only made the stain worse in the end. Folex never attracts dirt back to that same area. It still amazes me.
The Folex website also states, “Water based means that it uses water to wash the stain away, for safety, and virtually residue free cleaning. Unlike some soap, solvent, or oil based cleaners that could be smelly, toxic, flammable , leave a sticky residue, or damage the carpet backing.” All I know for certain is that it works and it works almost miraculously. I have used Folex on some of the worst stains a pet can possibly make from either end of it’s body.
Folex is also very simple to use. I have been using it for several years and have developed little techniques that work for my carpet. I discovered the hard way that white paper towels work best, as the Folex Spot Remover will bleed the colors from printed paper towels onto the carpet. If the stain is large and dark, use patience and remove the stain in steps. A white cotton towel also works great with the Folex to remove stains
Apply a sufficient amount of Folex to wet the stain and agitate the Folex solution with your finger. It won’t work if the Folex is just left sitting on the stain. For small stains that aren’t from a disgusting source, I will just use the end of the sprayer on the bottle and work the solution into the carpet. Then blot the stain with a white paper towel or cloth. Repeat the process if the stain persists. It really is that easy. For stains from a nasty source, I agitate the solution with gloved fingers or a sponge. Once the stain is wet with Folex and agitated, I blot with strong pressure applied, not forceful rubbing. Repeat until the stain is gone.
The only word of caution I have about Folex is that it works so great, you may have a area cleaner and lighter than the rest of the carpet. This is especially true if the carpet hasn’t been shampooed for a long time. If you’re not ready to do an entire carpet cleaning, then be prepared to at least blend the freshly cleaned area into the surrounding carpet. If not, there probably will be a nice clean circle on otherwise dirty carpet.
I have a carpet steam cleaner and it doesn’t remove stains as well as Folex. As I stated earlier, I’ve used Folex in the machine and didn’t get the results I do from using it as a spot remover. It just seems to waste too much of my Folex. I know when I use my carpet steam cleaner I will have to remove stains with Folex before or after I use the machine anyway. I also have carpeted stairs which everyone knows can be a pain to clean. I no longer use a machine to clean the stairs. I use Folex with a sponge, concentrating on stains but raising the carpet nap at the same time. Blot the stairs with a towel and they honestly look cleaner than they ever did with a machine.
I purchase Folex at my local Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse. I can get a gallon size of Folex and use it to refill my one-quart spray bottle. It’s actually much more economical to purchase it this way as well. A gallon of Folex is $14.00 and unless it’s used in a carpet cleaning machine, it will last a long time. You can visit the Folex website to find a list of retail stores in your state that sell Folex Carpet Spot Remover.
