I’m cleaning a rental apartment and the previous tenants left the place a mess! How do I treat the stains if I don’t know what they are?

Answer: The good news is that there only a few types of stains, so you can cover most of your bases using just a couple of products. Oxygen-based cleaners, like OxyPro® or OxyPro® Pet, will take care of stains that came from substances with a lot of dyes or color in them. Enzyme-based cleaners, like Pet Stain & Odor Pre-treat for Carpet & Upholstery, will take care of organic stains like food or pet accidents.

After treating the spots with both types of cleaners according to the directions, do an overall deep clean with an upright deep cleaning machine and formula. If the spots are still there, the tenants may have done permanent damage to the carpet that cannot be removed without replacing the carpet, in which case I hope that they paid you a security deposit.