Whether you spilled a glass of wine or are still potty-training your new puppy, common carpet stains are an unfortunate fact of life. The Carpet & Rug Institute recommends having your carpet and rugs professionally cleaned every 12 to 18 months, but if you find yourself in a pickle between cleanings, here are our best DIY tips for eradicating those stubborn stains on your own!
A Few Tricks to Get You Started
Act fast! The quicker you clean a stain, the less likely it will leave a permanent trace.
Learn the art of the blot. When you rub at a stain, you inevitably grind it deeper into the carpet fibers, so focus on blotting the stain, not rubbing it.
Spot test your cleaning solution. If you are using a new cleaning solution, play it safe and perform a spot test on a small area before you attempt to clean the entire area. There’s always a chance that chemicals or solutions will have an adverse reaction and discolor your carpet, so taking the extra time to spot test now could prevent a big headache for you later.
Don’t spray chemicals directly on the carpet. When you spray a cleaning solution on the carpet itself, the fibers will be over-saturated and the stain may be even harder to remove. Instead, always apply your cleaner to a cloth, and then blot the carpet with the cloth.
How to Clean Common Carpet Stains
Without further ado, here are our DIY carpet cleaning solutions to help you remove common carpet stains.
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Mix ¼ teaspoon of dish soap, one tablespoon of white vinegar, and one cup of warm water. Pour this mixture into a spray bottle, spray onto a clean towel, and then blot the coffee remnants.
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Pour club soda onto a clean rag and gently dab the affected area. Repeat this process until the stain is gone.
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The biggest challenge with cleaning a pet stain is in eradicating the smell so your sensitive pet’s nose doesn’t lead them astray again. To this end, we recommend using an enzyme-based cleaning solution. But if you don’t have that handy, here’s an interim solution:
Mix one cup of water with one cup of white vinegar, and then soak a sponge or rag in the solution. Gently place the sponge or rag on the affected area and let it sit for two to five minutes. After time is up, replace the soaked rag with a dry towel and apply pressure.
Repeat this process until the stain and odor is gone, then sprinkle baking soda on top and vacuum it up!
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First things first: scrape up any excess paint and then use a clean rag to blot up as much wet paint as possible. Then, stop and find out if you are working with an oil-based or water-based (AKA latex) paint. The paint base will have a big impact on cleaning strategy, so do not skip this step!
To remove water-based paint, we recommend using a 1:1 ratio of dish soap to warm water. Apply that solution to a clean rag and blot up the remaining paint until it is gone. If the stain lingers, apply a small amount of nail polish remover to a clean rag and gently dab at the affected area.
To remove oil-based paint, wet a clean rag with paint thinner, as recommended for the paint you are using. Your paint packaging should list a recommended paint thinner, so refer to it for help narrowing down which paint thinner to use. Blot the area with paint thinner, and then use a 1:1 ratio of dish soap to warm water and blot until the stain is gone.
Get a FREE Bottle of stain remover when you book a service.
Spot Out is a water-based cleaning product that cuts through both oil and water stains and is great for treating coffee, wine, paint, and blood stains. just ask for a bottle of spot out when you book.
Stain still too stubborn?
It may be time to call in the professionals. Our qualified technicians with Sooner Cleaning + Restoration bring years of industry knowledge to the table, so call us at (405) 329-8999.