Carolyn X-TOL is shampoo chemistry, not an enzyme formula. In-plant rug washers have cleaned wool and Oriental rugs with it for over fifty years. Now it comes in a size that fits your house.
The answer changes the method, and in a few cases it changes whether you should be doing this yourself at all. Start here.
01
Hand-knotted, antique, or simply expensive. The fibers that need the most care.
Tip. Test a hidden corner first, use 1:16 for heavy soil, and dry the rug off the floor if you can.
02
Machine-made wool, synthetic blends, flatweaves and everything in the middle.
Tip. Vacuum both sides, then clean at 1:32 for routine care.
03
High traffic areas, whole rooms, and anything going through an extractor.
Tip. Mix at your working dilution and add it to the extractor's solution tank.
04
Sofas, chairs, cushions and fabric furniture that cannot go in a machine.
Tip. Work by hand with a soft brush and blot. Do not over-wet the fabric.
05
Pet accidents, spilled drinks, tracked-in dirt and the one that has been there a while.
Tip. Pre-treat the spot at 50 percent strength, then clean the whole area.
X-TOL is a concentrate. You dilute it with warm water, which is why a small bottle goes further than it looks.
Dry soil comes out easily. Wet soil turns to mud. Vacuum thoroughly before anything else, both sides of the rug if you can lift it.
Mix a small amount at your working dilution, apply it to a hidden corner with a white cloth, and check the cloth for color transfer. Let it dry before you judge it. On an antique or a rug of unknown origin, do not skip this.
One part X-TOL to 16 parts warm water for heavy soil, up to 1 to 32 for routine cleaning. Use it in an extraction machine, or apply with a soft brush and blot. For a set-in stain, pre-treat the spot at 50 percent strength first.
Do not over-wet, especially on wool. Blot out as much moisture as you can, then dry with air movement and, if you can manage it, off the floor. Wool that stays damp is where browning and odor start.
Pick the job and how much solution you need.
Ratios from the label.
That is the whole problem with reaching for the most popular bottle on the shelf. Enzyme cleaners work by breaking down protein, which is exactly what makes them good at pet accidents. Wool and silk are protein fibers. An enzyme formula cannot tell the difference between the stain and the rug.
X-TOL is shampoo chemistry. It lifts soil out of the fiber and rinses clean without leaving a tacky residue behind, which is why professionals have used it on rugs they cannot afford to get wrong.
It is also worth saying what X-TOL is not. It is a shampoo, not an odor neutralizer. If pet urine has soaked through into the backing of a wool rug, no surface cleaner is going to fix that, and the right answer is a professional who can flush and dry it properly.
Enzymes break down protein. They cannot tell the stain from the rug.
Shampoo chemistry lifts soil out of the fiber and rinses clean.
X-TOL is a concentrate. Dilute it with warm water and a small bottle cleans far more than it looks like it should.
Makes up to 4 gallons of cleaning solution. Enough for several rugs, a few rooms, and the spills in between. This is the one most people want.
Makes up to 32 gallons. The size professional rug cleaners buy, and the one to reorder once you know you like it.
Not sure how to dilute it? The ratios are on the bottle, and the dilution calculator does the math for you.
These are verified Amazon reviews, in the customer's own words.
I had two stains to deal with on a newer expensive white wool area rug. First a urine stain from my dog. The next one was red Kool-Aid from a sleepover. I tried everything and nothing was working. After two treatments with this product it's gone.
Worked great, got my wool rug super clean. Didn't seem to be any residue. Didn't have any problem with color bleeding or anything like that.
I thought that the bottle seemed small, but used it on my carpet at the ratio that was written on the bottle. I haven't seen my carpet this clean in years, and hardly used much cleaner at all.
FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY, and here is whyThe bottle says FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY, and that is not a mistake or a legal reflex. X-TOL was made for in-plant rug washers and on-site cleaning crews, and it is a concentrate that expects you to dilute it correctly and test a hidden corner first. We would rather explain what that means than quietly leave it off the label.
If you are comfortable measuring a capful into warm water and spot testing before you start, you are the person this product was built for. If you would rather not, the guidance on this site will tell you when to stop and call someone.
Case pricing, standing reorders, the professional dilution chart and the Safety Data Sheet are all on one page. Single units and cases ship from stock in Cleveland, Ohio.
