Tackling Carpet Stains with Home Insurance

Many of us spend thousands on a high quality carpet, only to let it take a beating every day with dirt steadily engraining itself deep into the pile with each footstep. While this could be tackled with some simple vacuuming and the occasional carpet shampoo, some things are tougher to prepare for.

How many of you have spilt red wine on a carpet? Maybe dropped some food and stepped on it, pushing it deep below the surface? Or how about spilling paint or leaking water on a carpeted area? These are common mishaps that are difficult to avoid – as the phrase goes, accidents do happen. However, while you may not be able to prevent the accident you can ensure that you can pick up the pieces afterwards with home insurance.

How can home insurance help with a carpet spill or stain?

Most home insurance policies offer a certain level of accidental damage cover. With basic policies this will protect electrical items such as TVs, DVD players and home computers. However, with some insurers you can get extended accidental damage cover which can even protect your carpet against a spill or two.

Some of the leading home insurers in the UK offer accidental damage cover for contents up to £50,000. This will generally feature ‘new for old’ replacement of items meaning if a carpet is damaged beyond repair you could get a brand new replacement.

It’s also worth looking for home insurance that offers home/domestic emergency cover. This provides cover for unexpected emergencies such as heating or electrical failure within the property or problems with the plumbing or drainage – in some cases it may even cover the removal of rats or mice from a property. Generally, by making one phone call – and most insurers offer 24hr hotlines with their home emergency cover – you will see an approved tradesman dispatched to deal with an issue as soon as possible.

This added protection could be vital to ensure that a problem doesn’t get out of hand. For example if a washing machine leaked on a carpet you’d need the problem to be dealt with promptly before the floor covering is damaged beyond repair.

How to avoid a home insurance claim for carpet spills

Though there is a lot to be said for having the right home insurance cover in place, you don’t want to rely too heavily on making a claim. After all, most home insurers insist you pay a voluntary excess towards a claim and you will generally lose any no-claims bonus you have built up as soon as you apply for a payout.

So with that in mind, it makes sense to keep your carpet in tip-top condition and know how to handle a problem should one occur. Here are some tips.

Firstly, keep your carpet in good condition by vacuuming regularly to pick up dirt and loose soils. Some carpet warranties insist that you have your carpet cleaned professionally every 18 months so it’s worth doing what’s necessary to keep that in effect – making a claim on a store’s own insurance if something occurred would at least stop your home insurance premiums from increasing. Also make sure you treat any spills and stains straight away to avoid a small issue becoming a big problem.

No matter what you spill, scrape up as much as possible with a spoon or item with a blunt edge to avoid the spill spreading. Blot up liquids with a clean cloth or towel and never use coloured cloths or tissues. Remember to use plain warm water to dampen the spill without rubbing.

Should you spill alcohol, tea or fruit juice on the carpet then pour half a pint of lukewarm water on to the spillage area and blot until no more can be absorbed. It may be worth mixing an egg cup of neutral liquid detergent with half a pint of lukewarm water and pouring on the area before blotting again. If you spill paint however, a smarter move is to apply paintbrush restorer to a cloth and work in from the edge of the stain, blotting with a cloth. Neutralising solution and neutral liquid detergents can also be used.

If your carpet appears to be damaged beyond repair, then take a photograph of the area and contact your home insurance provider as soon as possible. It may send out a loss adjustor to assess the claim so follow its instructions as closely as possible and never exaggerate a claim as that could lead to the payout being thrown out.