When you invest time into selecting a carpet, money into buying it and energy
into keeping it looking good, the last thing you want is for your carpet to
fall victim to a big ugly stain (or small ugly stain, for that matter) that
tarnishes your carpet’s appearance forever. While you can’t guarantee that not
a drop of anything will ever fall onto your floor, you can read up on
your carpet stain cleaning tips so that even if stains do happen, you’ll know
how to clean them up and have your carpet looking good as new in no time.
Below, you’ll find a list of common stains, and tips on how to remove them.
To remove stains of coffee, grape juice/wine and
other red juices, tea, and ink
Right away, blot up any excess stain or liquid with a white paper towel. Be sure to blot, not rub. Alternately, use a wet/dry vacuum to suck up as much of the liquid as possible.
Spray the stain with a clear, fizzy substance like 7-Up, club soda or tonic
water. Let the soda sit for a few seconds. Then, blot the whole thing up with
a white paper towel.
The first time you blot, you’ll notice a bit of the stain on the white paper
towel. Repeat this process a few times until no stain appears.
Rinse the stain with clean water and blot up again.
Mix 1/4 teaspoon of dishwashing soap with one quart of water. Dab a small
amount of this solution onto your fingers and press them into the stain. Blot
any excess liquid with a white paper towel. Repeat this process until no stain
appears on white paper towel.
Sprinkle 3% hydrogen peroxide onto the stain. Let the stain set for four
hours. Blot with white paper towels. Reapply hydrogen peroxide and let set 24 hours. Once the 24 hours are up, blot. The stain will hopefully be gone by now, but if not, repeat this final step until no more stain is visible.
To remove oily stains, crayon stains, and tar stains
Spread a non-oily, non-caustic dry cleaning solvent on a damp white cotton
or terrycloth towel. Blot as much of the stain as possible (be careful not
to rub). Repeat until the whole stain is removed.
Rinse the stain with clean water. Blot it up again with a white paper towel.
The first time you do this, stain might appear on the paper towel; repeat
this step until there is no longer a stain on the white towel.
Sprinkle the stain with clean water. Use folded white cotton or a terrycloth
towel to blot.
To remove stains from chocolate, glue, ice cream, and latex paints
Carefully scrape up any excess spillage.
Mix one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into one cup of water to make a cleaning solution.
Use a damp cotton or terrycloth towel to apply the cleaning solution to the stain. Blot as much of the stain as possible; be careful not to rub. The first few times you do this, some stain might appear on the paper towel. Repeat this step until the whole stain is removed.
Rinse the stain with clean water and blot again with a fresh white paper towel. Repeat until no stain appears on the paper towel.
Sprinkle the stain with clean water, and blot the stain with folded white cotton or a terrycloth towel.
To remove candle wax stains
Gently scrape up excess wax stain.
Cover the stain completely with a brown paper bag, or a similar type of
paper.
Heat up an iron until it’s warm, then iron the stain through the brown paper
bag.
Using a clean paper bag, repeat this step until all candle wax stain has
been removed.
To remove vomit, urine, human feces or pet feces stains
Immediately blot up any excess liquid with a white paper towel. Be careful not to rub. For non-liquid stains, gently blot up excess stain.
Mix one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into one cup of water.
Use a damp cotton or terrycloth towel to apply detergent mixture to the stain. Blot up as much of the stain as possible; do not rub. Repeat until the whole stain has been removed.
Use a different white cotton or terrycloth towel to apply undiluted household ammonia to the stain.
Then, use yet another white cotton or terrycloth towel to apply undiluted white vinegar.
Right away, blot up any excess stain or liquid with yet another different
white cotton or terrycloth towel. Be careful not to rub.
Use a damp sponge to apply water to the stain.
Blot up using a folded white, cotton or terrycloth towel.
Right away, blot up any excess stain or liquid with a white paper towel. Be sure to blot, not rub. Alternately, use a wet/dry vacuum to suck up as much of the liquid as possible.
Spray the stain with a clear, fizzy substance like 7-Up, club soda or tonic
water. Let the soda sit for a few seconds. Then, blot the whole thing up with
a white paper towel.
