Carpet Stain Removal

This story is about a young lady called Meisha who never had a care in the world, so when she decided to get married, she was in for the shock of her life! Every morning, this young lady would bathe, put on her clothes and rush to office and every evening she would come home with a takeaway for her husband and herself. She got her awakening call a week later, when she tried to open the door of her apartment only to find it latched from inside. Impulsively she called her husband and found him standing in front of her. Slowly she pushed open the door and there she saw her mother-in-law trying very hard to remove the nail polish, coffee and gravy stains from the carpet.

Stains certainly don’t belong on beautiful and expensive carpets! With this thought in mind, I have come up with this article on carpet stain removal which will help you remove carpet stains before they become an eyesore.

For all the carpet stains mentioned below, please remember to read the instructions and follow the care instructions and warnings provided by the carpet manufacturer. If you are in doubt, it is advisable to contact a cleaning professional for advice/service.

Chocolate and Soft Drink Stains

• First of all remove as much of the stain as possible by blotting with a white paper towel or scraping with a dull knife. Once that is done, neutralize the stain with an ammonia solution (made using 1 tablespoon of clear household ammonia and mixing it with ½ a cup of water). Remember to use a spray bottle to saturate the spot. Use white paper towels to blot any excess moisture.
• Now apply a small quantity of detergent solution (made by mixing ¼ teaspoon of hand dish washing detergent, which does not contain lanolin or bleach to 1 quart of water) to the spot. Work the detergent into the affected area using a blotting motion. Continue applying the detergent and blotting with a white paper towel, if the spot is being removed.
• Use a spray bottle that contains tap water to rinse the area. Remove the excess moisture from the carpet by blotting! After rinsing, spray the area again lightly with water and apply pad or paper towels and a brick and allow it to dry.
• If there is some stain remaining, moisten the tufts in the area with 3% of hydrogen peroxide and let it stand for an hour. Repeat this process until the carpet is free of stain. You do not need to rinse the stain since light causes hydrogen peroxide to change back to water. All you need to do is apply pad or paper towels and weigh them down with a brick.

Coffee and Beer Stains

• To begin with, blot the area with a white paper towel to remove as much of the stain as possible. Then neutralize and saturate the area with white vinegar solution (made using 1/3 cup of white vinegar and 2/3 cups of water), using a spray bottle. Remember to blot to remove excess moisture.
• Now apply a small quantity of detergent solution (made using ¼ teaspoon of hand wash detergent, which does not contain lanolin or bleach to 1 quart of water) to the spot. Use a blotting motion to work the detergent into the affected area and repeat the process until the stain is removed. Rinse the area using a spray bottle that contains tap water.
• Once that is done, spray the area again with water. This time do not blot to remove the excess moisture.
• If there is still some stain remaining, moisten the tufts in the area with 3% of hydrogen peroxide and let it stand for an hour. Repeat this process until the carpet is free of stain. In this case, you are not required to rinse the stain since light causes hydrogen peroxide to change back to water. All you need to do is apply pad or paper towels and weigh them down with a brick.

Gravy, Sauces and Ice Cream Stains

• First of all remove as much of the matter by blotting with a white paper towel or scraping with a dull knife. Now apply isopropyl rubbing alcohol to a clean white cloth, white paper towel or cotton ball. Once that is done, using blotting motion to remove the spot taking care that the alcohol does not penetrate into the backing. Rub in one direction and stop if you find the spot no longer exists.
• If the spot remains, apply a small quantity of detergent solution (made using ¼ teaspoon of hand wash detergent, which does not contain lanolin or bleach, with 1 quart of water). Work the detergent into the area using a blotting motion. Continue applying the detergent and blotting until the spot is removed. Use a spray bottle with tap water to rinse the area. Spray water to the area again but do not blot! Place pad or paper towels over the spot and cover with a brick and allow the area to dry!
• In case some part of the stain remains, moisten the tufts in the stained area with 3% of hydrogen peroxide and let it remain like that for an hour. Repeat the moistening and blotting process until the carpet if free of the stain. Do not worry about the hydrogen peroxide as light will cause it to change back to water.

Nail Polish Stains

• First of all remove as much of the nail polish as you can with the help of a dull knife or a spoon. Once you have done that, apply a non-oily nail polish remover to a clean white cloth and gently rub (in one direction) or blot the spot. Now continue doing this till the stain is removed. Take care to avoid reaching the latex backing.
• Once the nail polish is removed, it is now time to remove the nail polish remover. To do this, apply a small quantity of detergent solution (made using ¼ teaspoon of hand washing detergent, which does not contain lanolin or bleach, to 1 quart of water) to the spot. Work the detergent into the affected area using blotting motion. Continue with this until the spot is removed. Once it is removed, use a spray bottle which contains tap water to rinse the area. Blot the excess moisture and spray the area again and then apply pad or paper towels and a brick to allow the area to dry.
• In case some of the stain remains, moisten the tufts in the stained area with 3% of hydrogen peroxide and let it stand for an hour. Repeat the blotting and applying process till the carpet is free of the stain. Do not worry about the hydrogen peroxide as light will cause it to change back to water.