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Stains on carpet

We’ve probably all had the oh-oh experience when someone knocks a glass of red wine and it spills on to a white carpet!

All is not lost - there are several ways of dealing with this and with other stains on carpets.

Start on any stain on the carpet with a dry paper towel or old cloth and blot up the worst of the stain, especially if it is liquid.

Try not to rub the stain too hard at any stage of the cleaning process as this my push the stain further into the carpet fibres.

It is always best to attack a stain when it is fresh as it is easier to remove when the stain hasn’t set.  Unfortunately this isn’t always possible.

Red wine
A well tried solution is to pour salt on to the red wine, leave for up to 30 minutes then blot up with an old cloth or paper towel.

Or you can pour cold water on the stain until it disappears, then mop up the water with old towels.  If you have a crowd in the house, this may work better than salt as you can leave the towels on the floor so guests don’t keep walking on the stained area and adding dirt to it.

Stop press.  See comments at the end of this post for another remedy for red wine spills.  ↓

Greasy marks
If the stain is fresh and damp, cover with baking soda, leave to dry for up to 30 minutes ( no longer or the baking soda will cake) and vacuum.

If the stain is dry, you may need to soften it with warm water, then apply baking soda and vacuum when dry.

Urine
First try the baking soda treatment as for greasy marks. If this isn’t effective, then try a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part liquid detergent and dab on the stain.  Leave for 15 minutes then rinse and blot dry with an old towel.

Tea and coffee (black)
For a fresh stain from black tea or coffee without milk, saturate the stain with cold water, then blot up the excess moisture with old cloths or towels.

If the stain needs more treatment, try:

1 litre warm water
a few drops of kitchen detergent
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Blot gently with a soft cloth and remove excess moisture with an old towel.
Leave to dry.

Tea and coffee (milky)
If there was milk in the drink, you have to deal with protein (in the milk). Protein sets with warmth so you must only use cold liquids to remove the stain.

Saturate the stain with cold water, then blot up the excess moisture with old cloths or towels.

If the stain needs more treatment, try:

1 litre cold water
a few drops of kitchen detergent
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Blot gently with a soft cloth and remove excess moisture with an old towel

Vomit
While this it not the most enticing topic, vomit stains are not uncommon where there are young children, dogs or cats.

Scrape off as much of the vomit  as possible.

Pour cold water onto the stain. Leave for 30 seconds.

Blot the vomit stain with a clean dry cloth, soaking up the stain. Replace the cloth as it becomes wet. Repeat until no more vomit stain will come up.  Leave to dry

If there is still a stain when the carpet is dry, try a mixture of 3 parts white vinegar to 1 part liquid detergent and dab on the stain.  Leave for 15 minutes then rinse and blot dry with an old towel.