Sometimes, your carpets will get stained, and require cleaning
Carpets are fun, carpets are colorful, and carpets are incredibly fun to walk on. Carpets are also, as they are on the floor and INTENDED to be walked on, prone to, shall we say, accidents. Your kids spill their sodas on it, your husband tracks dirty footprints across it, your pets leave… well, lets just say that your pets leave their own surprises there too. Luckily, with a little elbow grease, small stains can be cleaned pretty quickly, if you get to work on them right away, and you use the right cleaning materials.
Before you getting started on your carpet stain cleaning
Well, you might be tempted to immediately press down with a damp cloth or towel on the stain, but you had better not. Pressing down on the stain just makes removing it harder, as you grind the staining material harder into the carpet fibers. When removing a stain it is best to scrape off any excess material, then gently blot the spot dry. Once it is dry, working in a spiral motion from the outside in, rub gently with a damp towel, rinsing thoroughly with water every few minutes, then going over the stain again. Remember, be gentle. Scrubbing the carpet means that you may ruin the carpet fiber, or cause the spill to soak right through to the carpet pad.
If you are using a specific cleaning solution, like the following examples, always try them out in a spot you won’t see, to make sure that the carpet cleaning solution doesn’t make the colors run.
What sort of carpet stain cleaning can you do?
We’ll start off with water-soluble stains. If your carpet has been stained with a water-soluble carpet stain, you can mix up a simple carpet cleaning solution by adding 1/4 teaspoon of nonbleach detergent (you can also use white vinegar) and 4 cups of water.
Water-Soluble Stains include:
- alcoholic beverages such as wine or beer
- sodas
- food dyes
- gravy
- ice cream
- Next up are the fat and oil stains. In these cases, you can place a paper towel over the carpet and use an iron (make sure it’s on the ‘warm’ setting). This should lift the stain off the carpet, as it sticks to the paper towel.
If you get cigarette burns on your carpet, try rubbing them with a dull knife, or any other hard flat surface you may have. Make sure to rub them gently!
If you get wax or gum on your carpet, just use ice. Ice will freeze the ear or gum, then you can simply break it up with a spoon, then vacuum the whole thing up.
Need help with any other stains? Let us know!
