You’re enjoying dinner at home with friends or a quiet night in with the family when all of a sudden there’s a spill. Perhaps you spilt a glass of wine on the carpet, your child dropped their plate of food or your pet decided to go to the toilet in the middle of the area rug. The steps you take next will determine whether you remove the stain from your carpet or whether it’s stained for good. Here we look at the steps you should take when you get a stain or spill on your carpet.
1) Blot, Never Scrub – if the spill is still fresh, blot up the excess using a clean, white cloth. If there is solid matter, pick or scoop it up without spreading it around. When used with a blotting motion, the white cloth or towel will pick up the liquid component of the stain from the carpet and transfer it to the cloth. Once you’ve blotted one area of the stain, choose a fresh area of the cloth and blot the next area. Scrubbing stains on carpet damages the carpet fibers and potentially pushes the stain further into the carpet padding.
2) Choose The Right Cleaning Solution – Whether your stain is old or new, using a cleaning solution to remove all trace of the stain is the best next step. However, it’s important to choose the right cleaning solution at this step to ensure that you don’t end up simply doing more damage to your carpet. This is why it’s often best to choose a professional carpet cleaner to provide expert stain removal for your carpets. Check with your carpet manufacturer or leading carpet authorities as to which stain removal solutions are safe for your carpet.
3) Homemade Cleaning Solutions – Gentle stain removal solutions you can make at home include a dilution of clear Dawn liquid soap (not dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent or bleach as these can affect carpet color and dyes) or a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and water. Always avoid bleach, as this can leave your carpet with a bleach stain that’s even harder to remove.
4) Gently Remove Stains – If you plan trying to remove your own stains, test any carpet cleaning solution you plan to use on an inconspicuous area out of plain sight first. Use a clean cloth in a blotting motion once again to work from the edge of the stain to the center, to avoid the stain spreading. You may need to allow the spotting solution to sit for up to 10 minutes to work on the stain before blotting it up.
5) Repeat Stain Removal – It’s important to be patient at this stage to ensure you can completely remove all traces of the stain. The above steps may need to be repeated to achieve complete stain removal.
6) Allow to Dry – Carpet needs to dry fully before you can observe the effects of your stain removal efforts. Carpet that’s too wet can fail to dry properly, and this can lead to mold growth. Avoid using too much water in the stain removal process, and use fans to assist carpet drying if necessary.
7) Call A Professional Carpet Cleaner – If you’re dealing with a particularly large stain, a difficult stain, an older stain or a bleach stain you will most likely need to call your local professional carpet cleaner. With controlled and advanced techniques for expert stain removal, your professional carpet cleaner can help lift even the toughest stains from your carpet. It may be worthwhile to get professional assistance when you’re dealing with multiple stains as well. If you have more than 2-3 stains in a room, calling a carpet professional can produce a more complete stain removal result with greater effectiveness and in less time than doing it yourself. Professional carpet stain removal can produce results that are so good they even surprise you, returning your carpet to a newer and more flawless look than you believed possible.
When a stain next appears on your carpet, don’t delay! Act fast to remove the stain as best as you can, or call your local carpet cleaner for quick professional service.