Name: Bill
Message: I've been searching the web for ideas on how to lighten/fade a color fast commercial carpet. Your site contains some very interesting ideas for removing dye, but I'm not sure if they will work on the carpeting. I have tried laundry bleach, lemon juice, acetone, and a toilet bowl cleaner that contains hydrochloric acid (I didn't mix any of these together). Can you recommend something?  The carpet is a variated medium brown color.

You've tried a lot of different chemicals! If none of them altered the color at all, I think that you probably have a dye that cannot be lightened. Some dyes cannot be discharged no matter what chemicals you use.

I do not see a reductive discharge on your list, only oxidative discharges. It is possible, though not very likely, that a reductive discharge might succeed where the oxidative discharges have not. Reductive discharges include Rit Color Remover, Thiox, and Formusol. These chemicals all require moist heat to activate the reaction with the dye. See "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?".

Your carpet may be made from polypropylene (Olefin) fiber, in which case the dye will have been added to the molten plastic that was then used to extrude the fiber. I don't believe that there is any way to remove this sort of dye.

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