Actichem Red Fix 500ml kit

Product Overview

Actichem Red Fix is a two-part reducing stain remover for the colour stains that ordinary spotters cannot touch. It is the tool for synthetic red and orange dye — cordial, sports drinks, red wine, food colouring, children's medicine — and it also works on tannin staining and cellulosic browning.

Red Fix does not dissolve the stain. It destroys the colour. Sodium metabisulphite, activated at the moment of mixing, reduces the dye molecule and breaks the part of it that carries colour. That is why it succeeds where detergents, solvents and enzyme spotters fail, and it is also why it has to be handled and rinsed properly.

The kit is supplied as two separate components with a mixing bottle. Activated metabisulphite has a short working life, so Part A and Part B are kept apart until you need them and mixed one to one immediately before use.

Which pack size do I need?

• 500 ml kit (AP499.005) — the spotting-kit size. Right for a van kit and occasional red work.
• 5 litre kit (AP499.05) — the volume size for operators doing regular red removal or working across multiple crews.

Both kits are the same chemistry at the same strength. Only the volume differs.

How Red Fix Actually Works

Most spotters try to lift a stain out of the fibre. A reducing stain remover works differently. Sodium metabisulphite donates electrons to the dye molecule and breaks its chromophore — the conjugated structure that absorbs light and produces the colour you can see. The molecule is still in the fibre afterwards, but it is no longer coloured.

Two practical consequences follow from that, and both matter on the job.

• Speed depends on chemistry, not scrubbing. Some dyes reduce within five minutes. Others need the full thirty. Agitating harder will not speed up a reaction that is waiting on dwell time, and it will fuzz the pile.
• Rinsing is part of the process, not an optional finish. Because the dye molecule remains in the fibre, an area left loaded with unrinsed reducing agent can occasionally show partial colour return over the following weeks as the chemistry reverses. Thorough rinsing after treatment is the practical defence, and it also removes residue that would react badly with the next product applied to that area.

Why Professionals Choose It

• It removes colour, not soil. Red dye stains are a colour problem. Red Fix addresses them directly rather than trying to wash out something that is chemically bonded.
• Controlled activation. The two-part format means you activate only what you need, when you need it, at full strength.
• Broader than red. It also decolourises juice, coffee, tea, alcoholic drinks, cool drinks, cellulosic browning and many food stains.
• Works on natural and synthetic fibres — subject to pre-testing. See the limits set out below.

Safety Information — Please Read Before Ordering

Actichem's own product listing describes Red Fix as non-hazardous. Actichem's current safety data sheet for Red Fix Part A does not. It classifies Part A as DANGER.

Where a manufacturer's marketing material and their own safety data sheet disagree on a safety point, Carpet Cleaners Warehouse publishes the stricter reading. The classification below is taken directly from the Part A safety data sheet, version 2.2, issued 25 September 2025.

Classification — Red Fix Part A

• Signal word: DANGER
• H318 — Causes serious eye damage. Serious Eye Damage Category 1. This is not eye irritation. It is the top eye category.
• AUH031 — Contact with acid liberates toxic gas. The gas is sulphur dioxide.
• Poisons Schedule: not applicable
• Not regulated for transport of dangerous goods

What that means on site

• Eye protection is not optional. Chemical goggles, or safety glasses with unperforated side shields. A single splash of Part A in an unprotected eye is a Category 1 eye damage event.
• Have running water available. Actichem specifies an eyewash unit. In a domestic job that means knowing where the nearest tap is before you open the bottle.
• Never mix Red Fix with an acid. Acid contact liberates sulphur dioxide. That includes acidic rinse agents, acidic tannin spotters, rust removers and toilet or tile acids. Rinse the area thoroughly before any acid product goes near it.
• Never mix Red Fix with bleach, hydrogen peroxide or any oxidiser. Reducing agents and oxidisers neutralise each other at best, and react at worst. Do not combine Red Fix with peroxide-based stain removers in the same treatment.
• Ventilate. Part A has a pungent sulphide odour and thermal decomposition produces sulphur oxides. Actichem lists an occupational exposure standard for sodium metabisulphite of 5 mg/m³ TWA. Natural ventilation is adequate in most circumstances, which means opening the room up rather than working a closed bathroom.
• Protective clothing. Actichem specifies overalls and a PVC apron.

Part B safety data sheet

Actichem currently publishes a safety data sheet for Red Fix Part A only. We have not been able to obtain a current sheet for Part B, and the sheet for Part A does not cover Part B or the mixed solution. Carpet Cleaners Warehouse has raised this with Actichem. Until a Part B sheet is issued, treat the mixed solution with at least the same caution as Part A, and do not rely on the Part A sheet for a Part B risk assessment.

If your safe work method statement for Red Fix was written on the basis that this product is non-hazardous, it needs to be redone.

Applications

• Red and orange dye stains on carpet and upholstery — cordial, sports drinks, soft drinks, red wine, food colouring, children's medicine
• Coffee, tea and other tannin staining
• Cellulosic browning
• Juice, alcoholic beverage and food stains where colour remains after normal cleaning

How to Use

Read and understand the safety data sheet before use. Always pre-test in an inconspicuous location for substrate sensitivity. Some fabrics and delicate carpets will lose colour.

Mixing

Mix equal amounts of Part A and Part B in the mixing bottle provided. Mix only what you will use — the activated solution does not keep.

Application

1. Extract as much of the stain as possible first, with extra dry vacuum strokes. Red Fix works on what is left, so removing the bulk of the spill first improves the result and reduces how much product you need.
2. Apply the mixed solution directly to the stain and agitate briefly.
3. Allow 10 to 30 minutes reaction time. Some stains respond in 5 to 10 minutes; others need the full 30.
4. Extract, or blot with a clean white absorbent cloth. Do not rub.
5. Rinse the area with clean water or Rinse Pro. Do not skip this step.

Using heat on stubborn stains

Stubborn stains may respond to heat. This is where damage happens, so it is worth being deliberate about it.

1. Apply Red Fix to the affected area and agitate gently with a brush.
2. Cover the area with a damp white terry towel.
3. Iron over the towel cautiously with a steam iron. Only heat as much as is needed to create dye transfer onto the towel.
4. Lift the towel and check whether colour has transferred.
5. Move to a clean patch of towel and repeat. Watch continuously for colour loss in the carpet.
6. Rinse the area with clean water or Rinse Pro.

Take extreme caution not to burn or overheat the carpet. Heat accelerates the reduction reaction, which is the point — but it accelerates it on the carpet's own dye as well as on the stain, and synthetic pile will glaze or melt under a stationary iron. Keep the iron moving, keep the towel between the iron and the carpet, and stop as soon as transfer stops improving.

What Red Fix Will Not Do

Being clear about the limits saves a wasted call-back.

• It will not restore colour that has already been lost. A bleach spot, an acne-medication spot or a benzoyl peroxide mark is missing dye, not added dye. Reducing it further does nothing. That is a colour repair job, not a spotting job.
• It will not remove rust. Rust is iron oxide staining and needs an acid-based rust remover — which must never be applied over unrinsed Red Fix.
• It will not fix ink, dye transfer from a rug, or permanent marker reliably. Those are solvent problems.
• It is not a substitute for extraction. If the spill is still wet and heavy, extract it first.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping the pre-test. Wool, silk, viscose and fine printed fabrics can lose colour. Pre-test every time, in a hidden area, and let it dry before judging.
• Mixing more than you need. Activated metabisulphite has a short working life. Mixed solution left in the bottle from last week is not the same product.
• Not rinsing. Unrinsed residue is the main cause of colour return and the main cause of a bad reaction with the next chemical used on that area.
• Reaching for the iron first. Give the chemistry its dwell time before adding heat. Most stains that will move, move without heat.
• Following Red Fix with an acid rinse or a peroxide spotter. Rinse thoroughly with water first, then decide.
• Working a closed-up bathroom or a small unventilated room without opening it up.

Technical Specifications

Composition of Part A, from Actichem's safety data sheet: sodium metabisulphite (CAS 7681-57-4) 10 – <30%, citric acid (CAS 77-92-9) <10%, proprietary surfactant <10%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it supplied as two parts instead of one bottle?

Because activated metabisulphite does not keep. Held as a single ready-mixed solution it would lose strength on the shelf, and you would have no way of knowing how much strength was left. Mixing at the point of use guarantees you are applying it at full activity every time.

Can I mix a batch in the morning and use it through the day?

No. Mix what you need for the stain in front of you. A solution mixed hours earlier will be weaker, and a weak reduction that half-decolourises a stain is harder to finish than an untreated one.

The stain came back a few weeks later. What happened?

Reduction breaks the dye's colour without removing the molecule from the fibre. If reducing agent and reduced dye are left in the carpet, the chemistry can partially reverse and some colour can reappear. Thorough rinsing after treatment is the defence. If colour does return, the area can generally be re-treated.

Is Red Fix safe on wool?

Actichem states it is safe for use on natural and synthetic fibres, but requires pre-testing of fine fabrics for fibre and dye stability. Wool is a protein fibre and is more likely than nylon to show dye movement, particularly when heat is added. Pre-test, and be conservative with the iron.

Will it take the colour out of my carpet as well as the stain?

It can. Red Fix does not distinguish between spill dye and carpet dye — it reduces whatever dye it reaches. Most modern solution-dyed and acid-dyed nylon carpet tolerates it, but printed carpet, some wool, viscose and silk may not. This is exactly what the pre-test is for.

What is the pungent smell?

Sulphur chemistry. Sodium metabisulphite releases sulphur dioxide, which is what you are smelling. It is not dangerous at the concentrations produced in normal use with ventilation, but it is a signal to open the room up. If the smell becomes strong, improve ventilation rather than pushing on.

Can I use it with a hot water extraction rinse straight afterwards?

Yes, and you should rinse. Use clean water or Rinse Pro. Avoid an acidic rinse agent directly over unrinsed Red Fix — rinse with plain water first if you intend to follow with an acid-side product.

Related Products

• Actichem Red Fix 5 litre kit — the same kit in the other pack size. Identical chemistry and identical classification.
• Actichem Rinse Pro — the recommended rinse after Red Fix. Rinsing is part of the process, not a finishing touch.
• Actichem Brownaway — the acid-side option for cellulosic browning. Effective on a different mechanism. Never apply it over unrinsed Red Fix — acid contact with metabisulphite liberates sulphur dioxide.
• Actichem Protein Spotter — for protein staining, which is a different problem to dye staining.

Summary

Red Fix is the specialist answer to red and orange dye staining, and it earns its place in a professional kit precisely because nothing milder does the job. It is also the product in the range most likely to be underestimated: Actichem's own listing calls it non-hazardous, while their safety data sheet for Part A carries a DANGER signal word and a Category 1 eye damage classification. Treat it as the serious chemistry it is, protect your eyes, keep it away from acids and oxidisers, and rinse properly — and it will remove stains no other product in the van will touch.

Safety Data Sheet

Actichem Red Fix Part A Safety Data Sheet — version 2.2, issued 25 September 2025

A current safety data sheet for Red Fix Part B is not published by Actichem at the time of writing. Carpet Cleaners Warehouse has requested one.

SKU: AP499.005

Not sure whether the stain in front of you is a dye problem, a tannin problem or a protein problem? Contact Carpet Cleaners Warehouse before you order. Choosing the right spotter first time is cheaper than buying three.