Stelco Tan Off 5Ltr
Tanoff is a water-based acidic spotting agent that solubilises tannin stains that originated from vegetable matter including coffee, tea, grass, beer, spirits etc. Complete with its own built-in lubricant it can be applied without the need of mixing any chemicals. SAFETY DATA SHEET
Where tannin comes from
Tannin stains are vegetable in origin — coffee, tea, grass, beer, wine, fruit. They are acidic-side chemistry, which is why an alkaline product will often set them rather than remove them.
If someone has already treated the spot with a general alkaline prespray, say so when you ask for advice. It changes what will work next.
Method matters more than the product
Apply to a white towel rather than pouring onto the carpet where you can. Work from the outside of the spot inward so you do not spread it. Tamp or agitate gently rather than scrubbing — scrubbing distorts pile and leaves a permanent mark that is more visible than the original stain.
Rinse and extract afterwards. Spotter residue left in the pile attracts soil, and the spot comes back as a dark patch a fortnight later — which the customer reads as your work failing.
Before you use it
Read the safety data sheet for this product and follow it. Solvent-based spotters in particular require ventilation and appropriate gloves — check the SDS for the glove material, because it is not always the same across products.
Always test on an inconspicuous area first. Fibre, dye and backing all react differently, and a spotter that is safe on nylon is not automatically safe on wool or on a solution-dyed synthetic.
Information documents
Not sure which spotter the stain calls for? Tell us what it is, what the fibre is and what has already been tried, and we will talk it through — the wrong first move on a spot is much harder to recover from than the spot itself.
