How to remove a carpet stain?

The carpets tend to stain. They are on the floor, and everything that falls ends up there: coffee, juices, and food scraps, dirt from shoes, ink … Dirt from our pets, or what our little ones cannot keep in their stomach. And you have to clean it soon so it doesn't leave a stain.

Do you know how to remove a stain without damaging the fabrics?

Remove residue from the stain

Imagine that one morning in a hurry we spilled some coffee and toast on the carpet. Coffee is difficult to remove because it is liquid, but the toast (and butter or jam) must be removed before we start washing the carpet, both by machine and hand washing.

Some people remove this type of residue with a scraper, with a knife, or even with a powerful vacuum cleaner. The important thing is not to use brushes or pressure, since the only thing we will achieve is to make the stain grow.

Blot the stain (if it's wet)

A trick that will save time later is to bring an absorbent (and dry) napkin first . It will make some of the fluids that are already in the tissue come out. Very useful with the coffee stain, although not so much with the jam.

After passing this instrument dry a couple of times, we can do a little pressure. Always using dry napkins in each pass, so as not to spread the dirt.

What type of stain do you have?

Depending on the type of stain that we find, we can use one product or another. There will be those that the supermarket stain remover comes from pearls, and those who require a bit more originality.

There are several options for removing red wine stains. After drying like the one mentioned above, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) like the one we have for wounds, along with some neutral salts (such as salt or sodium bicarbonate) is usually very useful . After that, an abundant rinse to remove the salts impregnated with wine. The second option is white vinegar, to be removed first with a damp sponge, and then with a rinse.

If the stain is dark ink, perhaps from a broken pen, we have several options:

If it is small and flexible, fill a bowl with milk and leave the stain inside for a few hours. After that, clean with a stain remover and follow its instructions.
If the carpet is of the rigid type, it will be easier for us to use a damp cloth with a little alcohol (pure) to gradually remove the ink. Then use a stain remover.
In case of not having any of this we can always use fine salt. Pouring a significant amount, but without weighing it down, on the carpet. And shaking the carpet at eight hours to remove the salt.

To clean an olive oil stain, it is often helpful to use a dry absorbent paper in the area. Rolling it over at first, and pressing later. Once most of the liquid has been removed, the stain should come out wiping with a damp cloth containing some pure alcohol. And finish the cleaning with detergent on the stain, and lots of water.

Although rare, rust stains can occur. In this case, the ideal will be a fabric stain remover applied for 5 or 10 minutes. And, if you do not remove the entire stain after several rinses with warm water, we can try lemon juice (strained, we are not going to leave lemon particles) plus salt. The lemon will help separate the stain from the carpet, and the salt will absorb it without loosening it.

If you drop any infusion (tea, coffee, mate …) , the ideal is to use starch once you have dried the liquid. Of course, not everyone uses starch in the kitchen. If you don't have, use dry scrub cloths, then detergent.

The mud stains or dirt, for example, are paradoxical. The less you do, the easier it will be to clean them. In fact, it is best to cordon off the area to avoid stepping on it, letting the stain dry for hours, and shaking the carpet carefully.

If paint has fallen on the carpet, we will have to see the type. Pencil tip or pencil -type paint , we can absorb them by vacuuming, being careful not to crush them. For wax paints it usually works to remove the excess, place a few layers of kitchen paper, and pass the iron at a low temperature over the stain. As the paint softens, it will stick to the paper. If it is liquid paint it is more complex, since sometimes they will be necessary

A gum stain is removed exactly the same way it is removed from hair: freezing it. You can run dry ice over the stain to remove it using tweezers.

In general, it is not a good idea to use hot water or air under pressure (dryer). The same thing happens when we wash and dry by machine : we can spoil the fabric even if we remove the stain.

Of course, before experimenting it would be convenient to know the type of carpet. Or ask the seller about the best option. Of course, this can take a while to make the stain permanent.

Are you sure we've removed the stain?

Once the stain is cleaned, we are going to make sure that we have gotten rid of it.

First of all, we have to let the carpet dry completely. Otherwise, the moisture stain will give us a false witness, and we will go back to Carpet Cleaning that may already be completely clean. To speed up the drying we can use salt, although only if there is a real urgency.

If after all this procedure there is still a shadow of the stain there are several options: either take it to the dye , or first apply a fabric stain remover . Most likely, with the stain remover, we will be able to leave the carpet in perfect condition, although there are really complex stains that require industrial products that are difficult to acquire.

Carpets are the clothes of the house, and it is understandable that we want to keep them in good condition. Something that does not always happen, especially if we have children or pets at home. Here we have seen a few homemade tricks to get rid of stubborn stains.