Be it a drop of diet coke, a little present from your puppy, or some fine artwork from your kid, whatever you don’t like to get on your carpet always does. Even if you leave no stone unturned to stop it, these issues are inevitable. So, here are a few DIY tips on how to remove carpet stains – probably with the ingredients that you already have in your house.
But before you start!!
– Never scrub your carpet (it damages the fiber)
– While trying any stain remover, test it out in an inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn’t discolor your carpet
– Don’t let the spill soak through to the carpet pad
For water soluble stains:
- Juice
- Milk
- Ketchup
- Hard candy
- soda
- Beer
- Food dyes
- Gravy
- Berries
- Jelly
- Temporary ink
- Colas
Ingredients that you will need:
- Non bleach detergent or white vinegar
- Water
At first, blot the spot without rubbing or scrubbing it. If you scrub, it may damage the fiber and set the stain into the carpet. You can use a dry cloth or towel for this. Then press the stained surface gently with a clean cloth to remove moisture. After that, apply warm water to the stained surface until the stain stops transferring to the cloth. But no hot water here!
If the stain is still visible, make a solution made up of 32 ounces of water and ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar (or non-bleach detergent). Never use too much soap as it’s extremely tough to rinse out off the carpet. Now, apply the prepared solution and wait for about 5 minutes. Then rinse the surface using warm water. Keep doing it until the stain is gone. This process ends when you make carpet dry and vacuum it to restore the texture.
Special Water-Soluble Stains
- Tea
- Coffee
- chocolate
- Wine
- Blood
- Mustard
- Vomit
Ingredients that you will need:
– Ammonia
– Chlorine bleach
– water
Combine a cup of water with 1 tablespoon ammonia. Then apply the solution on the stained surface just after blotting it. If this method doesn’t help, you can make a mixture of 4/5 parts water and 1/5 part of chlorine bleach. But this cleaner is applicable only on solution-dyed carpets (such as polypropylene). For your information, bleach can damage other types of carpet. So, an ideal approach would be following the instruction from the manufactures guide.
Other Stains:
Wax, Fat and Oil
Place one of your old towels over the stained surface and iron it (on warm setting). The wax, oil or fat will certainly come up off the carpet and stick to the towel.
You can also remove the wax or gum by using an ice. All you need to do is freeze the stain (using ice) and then shatter the surface with a blunt spoon. Vacuum the area before the pieces soften and blot it with a dry towel.
Cigarette Burns
Rub the burnt part gently with the edge of a hard surface like a dull knife. The cigarette burns will be removed simply by this process.
Glue:
Moisten a soft cloth rubbing alcohol and press in on the stained surface. This will help in moistening the glue residue. Then wipe it off and continue the process until the carpet is spotless.
Nail Polish
Dip a rag in nail polish remover and blot the area. The stain will disappear easily.
Urine
Using a white towel, absorb the urine as much as possible and blot it with a damp cloth. Then, prepare a solution combining 1 part water and 1 part vinegar. Spray or blot the surface with the prepared solution. Again, make a solution of 32 ounces of water and ½ teaspoon of clear, non-bleach detergent. Then rinse and blot dry.
Carpet Maintenance Guidelines:
Even if you don’t face such carpet catastrophe quite often, you can’t tend to overlook the importance of carpet maintenance. Cleaning a carpet thoroughly (with a help of professionals) every 12 months is one ideal approach. Even if you fall under a Do-it-yourselfer category, there are a few guidelines that you need to follow.
- The equipment that you use while cleaning need to have enough vacuum power to dry the carpet within 12 hours. Leaving it unattended might further damage your carpet.
- You can use fans or dryers to accelerate drying time after cleaning. As a matter of fact, if your carpet is wet for more than a day, it might lead into bacteria and mildew growth.
- Make sure that you use a cleaning solution with a pH of 10 or less.
- Don’t forget to remove all detergent after cleaning.
- Always check your warranty and manufacture’s instruction. If your carpet is stain resistance, it must be cleaned with products specially formulated for this type of carpet.
- If a flooding occurs due to some leaks or washing machine overflow, you need to dry the carpet as soon as possible.
- Use scissors to clip sprouts or snags, instead of pulling them directly.
- If your carpet is burned, take out the dark, burnt part with a curved fingernail scissor. If the burn is too severe, you may require replacement or patching.
- Make a habit of opening your shoes before stepping on a carpeted floor. Shoes can bring all sorts of dirt and dusts – giving rise to several hazardous germs and bacteria. Also, don’t forget to place a mat at the door.
- Since UV rays from sunlight can harm your carpet, it’s better to have your drapes or blinds closed before you leave for the day.
With all these nifty guidelines, recipes and procedures, you can always protect your carpet from all kind of mishaps.