Hi everybody, I hope this is the place I can find my answer!

 

I work for a carpet cleaning company and one of our cleaning processes for removing coffee stains involves using a mixture of 3 chemicals..

 

IPA

Hydrogen Peroxide

Ammonia

 

My problem lies with the ammonia. Previously we have purchased something called "aromatic ammonia" or "odourless ammonia". I tried to purchase some more recently and it seems nobody has ever heard of it, let alone sells it!

 

We had bought it from a chemical company in Southampton and it seems they are no longer trading.

 

So I got a 1 litre sample of some "Ammonia 880-890" 33% approx and the odour is so strong it absolutely blows your head off. There is no way we can use that on our customers carpets!

 

We have been trying to neutralise the smell with various essential oils (lavender, rosemary etc...), but, as you can imagine, the smell is so strong that there is no way that's going to work!

 

So my questions are:

 

 

Is there anything else we can use to neutralise the odour of the ammonia that we have? (we have thought about using acids but not too sure how this will react with the carpets).

 

Does anybody know where we can get some aromatic ammonia?

 

Sorry about the long post, and thanks in advance for any help!

 

This?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/aromatic%20ammonia%20spirit

Main Entry: aromatic ammonia spirit

Function: noun

: a solution of ammonia and ammonium carbonate in alcohol and distilled water perfumed with the oils of lemon, lavender, and nutmeg and used as a stimulant, carminative, and antacid—called also aromatic spirit of ammonia

This?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/aromatic%20ammonia%20spirit

Main Entry: aromatic ammonia spirit

Function: noun

: a solution of ammonia and ammonium carbonate in alcohol and distilled water perfumed with the oils of lemon, lavender, and nutmeg and used as a stimulant, carminative, and antacid—called also aromatic spirit of ammonia

 

Hmmm, that could well be it. Is that the stuff they use as smelling salts?

 

Unfortunately the bottle we had it in says nothing other than "aromatic ammonia" on it.

 

I forgot to mention that I am in the UK.

Hm, there is both ammonium carbonate and ammonium bicarbonate. The wiki says the bicarbonate only smells mildly of ammonia, and can dissolve in water (slightly alkaline), and is used as a source for ammonia. It can substitute for baking powder in cooking.

 

Since upon decomposition this contains no solids and acts as a source of ammonia but with less smell, it seems likely that is what you want.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_bicarbonate

 

On the other hand, the carbonate dissolves in alcohol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_carbonate

 

Ammonium nitrate apparently gets used as a cleaner for some things but is also an explosive, and probably will be too harsh for a rug.