We all need some good news now and then. One bit of good news is that not everything that gets on your carpet is an utter disaster that ruins your carpet forever – and the same applies to upholstery. This isn’t just because it’s easy to call out a professional carpet cleaner who offers a good stain removal service but also because some stains are easier to get out of carpets than you might think. Even some very brightly coloured stains will come quite quickly out of carpet fibres.
Of course, there are still plenty of stains that require a bit of special treatment or even a lot of special treatment. Some need cautious handling to be removed and will need a bit of attention from a professional unless you REALLY know what you’re doing. For example, things like paint, nail polish and a permanent marker are tough to get rid of. However, as this article is all about the easy ones you can do yourself, we won’t think about those here apart from saying that they’re still not disasters, as a professional can usually get them out.
Golden Rules For All Stains
With all carpet stains of all types – and this applies to the difficult ones as well – the most important thing to do is to ACT QUICKLY. The longer a substance sits on the carpet or upholstery, the more it dries on and bonds to the fibres, making it permanent or difficult to remove. Most of the substances that stain carpets are wet or at least wettish, so if you can act while they’re still damp or keep them moist until the professional stain removal guru turns up, all may be well.
There are a few other things to bear in mind as well for all stains:
- If you don’t know what the stain is, use cold water just in case it includes one of those substances set by hot water.
- Don’t use too much water. Carpet backing, especially natural jute backings, are super absorbent, so if they get wet, they will stay damp for ages, and you’ll have problems with mould and musty odours. You may also be left with a watermark stain (don’t panic – this comes with deep carpet cleaning, such as steam cleaning).
- Try not to scrub. Your action should be more blotting than scrubbing. If you must scrub to get out a stubborn bit, do it gently and work from the outside to the inside of the stain. This way, the stain won’t spread beyond its original Ground Zero.
- Blotting is best done with something absorbent, such as an old towel or a paper towel, or even loo paper if you’ve got nothing else handy (especially if you’re one of those who ended up panic-buying heaps of the stuff with the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak – no shame; it’s a natural human reaction!).
- If you find that the process of removing the stain from the carpet or upholstery removes some dirt as well, leaving you with an embarrassingly clean spot that shows up just how grubby the rest of the carpet or couch is, then maybe it’s time you booked in a good carpet cleaning session!
- If you want to add something a bit more heavy-duty to remove a stain, stick to something reasonably gentle like dishwashing detergent (the sort for washing by hand, not the harsh stuff that goes in dishwashers) or shampoo. Bar soap tends to cling to carpet fibres and leave a mark.
- To dry your carpet fibres out after using water to remove the stain, try a combination of good ventilation, dehumidifiers or even pointing a hair dryer on a cooler setting at the spot until it’s touch-dry.
Scary-Looking Carpet Stains That Are Actually Wimps.
We now present our gallery of stains that may look like absolute tough guys when they hit the carpet in a careless moment but are relatively easy to remove…
Beetroot juice
This might have a deep, intense magenta colour, but it comes out fairly quickly. Think of how it comes out from clothing – just toss it into the wash, even a cold wash, and out it comes. Blot up as much as you can as soon as you can. After that, you can use a bit of cold water and maybe some dish detergent, if you must, to loosen the bright coloured juice and get it into your old towel.
Blood
Yes, I know you’ve seen plenty of cop shows, true crime shows and thrillers, and your mind has instantly gone to something gruesome. However, haven’t we all cut our fingers in a careless moment, had a nosebleed or discovered that a feisty tomcat had been in a fight after he jumped onto the couch to lick his wounds? There are many mundane, everyday ways to get blood on the carpet. Blot what you can, then use cold water – which must be cold, as hot water sets bloodstains – to loosen and remove the rest. If, however, there is an unfortunate lot of blood involved, after calling the cops or an ambulance (or both), then it might be better to leave the professionals to remove it… after the cops have done their thing in there if that’s what it involves (and I hope this never happens to you).
Coffee and tea
Blot like crazy, possibly with a spot of water. This may remove most of the spill, but there is likely to be a residue. If you have milk in your tea or coffee, you must ensure that all the milk is out as well, as it stinks like fury if it goes off. The best way to do this is to add more water to float the residue out – but not too much. You don’t want to make the carpet sopping wet. After blotting, try sprinkling a bit of salt onto the spill area, absorbing the water and residues. Sweep the damp salt up afterwards rather than vacuuming, and don’t let it sit on the carpet for long, or it may rust the tacks holding your carpet in place (rust is a beastly stain to remove).
Egg yolk
This is another protein stain, so cold water is what you need to avoid setting the stain in. A lot of the egg yolk can be scraped off with a spoon or similar (even your fingernails!), then use cold water and blot to remove the rest. If you have an earthy outlook on life and a dog, then call the dog to eat the stain. Then all you’ll have to remove is the dog slobber (blotting with a damp cloth, plus a teeny bit of disinfectant if you wish).
Jam
Start by scraping off the excess and calling the dog in. Even with the dog’s help, some sticky residue will be left. You will need to add a drop of detergent and a tiny bit of water as a damp cloth to sponge out the rest, blotting it away with a fresh cloth. You may need to repeat the process of detergent plus damp cloth followed by blotting a couple of times.
Toothpaste
I don’t know how you got toothpaste on the carpet or upholstery, but at least it comes out easily (scrape, dampen and blot as usual). The only trouble with getting toothpaste on the carpet or the upholstery is that the process of getting it out will usually remove dirt as well, leaving you with a clean spot – an un-stain – showing you how badly you need to get that carpet or couch professionally cleaned!