Let’s face it; we are living in precarious times. Corrupt politicians, a struggling economy, low wages, high unemployment and an entitlement mentality provide a breeding ground for distrust, unpredictability and anxiety. Pundits provide various views and opinion of the future of our country and of our economy. One thing is for certain, during times of economic adversity social pathologies increase including crimes of burglary.

During the investigation of a burglary forensic law enforcement specialists will dust for finger prints using powder composed of an array of complex ingredients. Most black finger print powder contains rosin, black ferric oxide and lampblack. Many also contain inorganic chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, silicon, titanium and bismuth.  If law enforcement gets this powder on your carpet (and they will) you as the home owner will be none too happy. While their intentions are honorable, law enforcement officers are not carpet cleaners. Whatever you do, do not take their advice to vacuum the powder from your carpet using your home vacuum cleaner.

To remove finger print dust from your carpet follow the guidelines listed below.

1. Ensure the powder remains in a dry state.  For this reason DO NOT wet the powder with any water, cleaner or other type of moisture
2. Vacuum the finger print powder using a vacuum hose ONLY such as a wet/dry vacuum. DO NOT use any type of vacuum brush or bristles as this will only serve to embed the powder further into your carpet fibers.
3. Using the vacuum hose, vacuum from the outside of the powder area working your way towards the middle. This will ensure the powder does not spread to other areas of your carpet. At this point all of the loose powder should be completely vacuumed off the carpet leaving behind residue that attached itself to the carpet fibers.
4. Call your local professional carpet cleaner, such as Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning, who has successful experience in removing complexed stains such as finger print dust.  They should have products that will ensure the safe and complete removal of the finger print powder. In the meantime ensure the area(s) remain in a dry state.

A word of caution…There are many ” do it yourself ” remedies on the Internet for removing finger print powder from your carpets. All of them, in this author’s professional opinion, will not remove the powder stain. Most involve using products such as 409 Cleaner or Scrubbing Bubbles. Using  any of these products on your carpet involve significant risk including bleaching and discoloration.

If you live in the Inland Empire area of Southern California be sure to call Mark at Heaven’s Best Carpet Cleaning at (909) 856-5353 or (760) 952-7544 for all of your carpet and upholstery cleaning needs.