Cleaning Carpet Tips

Use Club Soda to Remove Carpet Stains
The key to cleaning carpet stains is to act immediately. The longer you wait to remove carpet stains, the more time the stain has to set. Take a clean, dry cloth and blot until no more of the stain can be lifted. Next, pour club soda on the cloth and blot until the stain is completely removed. Always blot the stain. Vigorous rubbing can cause the stain to spread and that part of the carpet to become worn.

Wine Stain Removal from Carpet
Because wine contains tannins, it's sometimes difficult to remove. There are simple solutions to cleaning carpet stains made by both red and wine stains. For instance, if you spill red wine on the carpet, immediately pour a glass of white wine over the stain. The white wine will neutralize the red wine and the stain will disappear. To remove carpet stains caused by white wine, just dab with some vinegar. Both stain removal remedies take less than five minutes!

Chocolate Stain Removal from Carpet
Anyone who has ever had to remove carpet stains will appreciate this tip. If you have chocolate or coffee stains on carpet, dab with straight vinegar. That's all it takes. Blot until the stain is removed and blot again with a damp sponge or cloth to rinse. If the smell of vinegar isn't for you, try a mild else that dishwashing liquid for cleaning carpet stains. Pour some onto a clean cloth and blot until the stain is lifted.

Gum Removal from Carpet
Gum on the carpet can leave behind a sticky, gooey mess! Don't panic if you have to remove carpet stains made by gum, however. It's quite easy. Spray the area with WD-40, or smear with peanut butter and the gum will come right out. There may be a spot left behind from the dye in the gum. Cleaning carpet stains such as this is easy too. All you have to do is blot with a little club soda. No one will ever have to know!

Coffee Stain Removal from Carpet
Coffee stains on carpet aren't difficult to remove if you act quickly. Here's a good rule of thumb: to remove carpet stains effectively, it's important you get to the task immeidately upon spilling, if you don't you're more likely to incur permanant damage. Dab at the stain with vinegar or club soda until it's removed. If you waited too long and the stain has set in, you should still be able to remove the stain by using dry-cleaning solvent. Blot until the stain is lifted.

Adhesive Residue Removal from Carpet
If adhesive removal is hindering your carpet cleaning efforts, try this quick tip: WD-40 will effortlessly remove adhesive residue from almost any surface. Rubbing alcohol will also remove this sticky residue, but more elbow grease might be needed. Before removing carpet stains,you'll probably want to test both of these products on a hidden area of your carpet first, but either of these should do the trick. If the adhesive residue isn't cooperating, you might want to try an over the counter product such as Goo Be Gone or Goof Off.

Tomato or Spaghetti Sauce Stain Removal from Carpet
When cleaning carpet stains that are tomato based, such as spaghetti sauce or tomato soup, you can try using a liquid enzyme detergent, a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide, or an oxygenated cleaner such as Bio-OX Citrus Concentrate. When working to remove carpet stains, remember to always test a cleaning product on an inconspicuous spot first. After applying the cleaner, let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse with clean water. Always blot carpet stains; don't rub them, so as not to damage the carpet fibers. Work the stain from the outside in, so as not to spread the stain any further.

Wax Removal from Carpet
The last thing any of us need is wax dripped on the carpet. Once it hardens, it seems impossible to remove. All is not lost though. For cleaning carpet stains made by wax, first chip off as much of the surface wax as possible, using a dull knife or paint scraper. Once that is done, place a cloth or several layers of paper towels over the wax and apply a warm iron. Iron the towel for a few minutes and then lift. The wax should now be on the cloth instead of the carpet. Remove carpet stains left behind by blotting with a vinegar, or if it doesn't come up easily, nail polish remover.

Glue Removal from Carpet
Crafty people are usually meticulous with their work. Every now and then however, accidents happen. What do you do, for instance, if glue spills onto the carpet? Don't panic that's for sure. Cleaning carpet stains made from glue is simple and doesn't take long at all. Act quickly while the glue is still wet and blot with a warm sponge. When no more of the glue can be lifted in this manner, soak a rag in warm vinegar and lay it over the stain for thirty minutes. The glue should wipe clean after this time. If the glue has already dried, gently scrape away anything that's hardened using a butter or putty knife. When no more hardened glue can be removed, apply the vinegar soaked towel. If worse comes to worse and none of these methods for cleaning carpet stains work, use a dry cleaning solvent. Read the packaging to make sure it will work on your particular carpet and blot until the stain is lifted.

Crayon Mark Removal from Carpet
It used to be that to remove carpet stains caused by crayons, one would have to scrape off as much crayon as possible with a butter knife. After than a cloth or paper towel would be placed over the area, and it would be pressed with a warm (not hot) iron. When the towel was lifted, the crayon would be removed. There's a new method for cleaning carpet stains that are wax based, however. WD-40! Just spray on, leave for a minute or two and wipe off! What could be easier than that?

Tar Removal from Carpet
If tar has somehow found it's way onto your carpet, don't panic. There's a simple solution for cleaning carpet stains caused by tar, and it only takes minutes. Spray WD-40, the lubricant with thousands of uses, directly onto the tar. Leave it for about ten or fifteen minutes and wipe off with a clean cloth. You may have to repeat this a couple of times, but soon your carpet will look the same as it did before the tar was tracked in.

Road Salt Removal from Carpet
Rock or road salt works wonders for melting snow. The only problem is, we end up tracking it into our homes. This means we also end up having to remove carpet stains caused by this salt. It's only a minor inconvenience, however. If dealt with immediately, there's no need for road salt to cause permanant damage. For cleaning carpet stains caused by road salt, first vacuum completely. Next spray the stains with a solution of half vinegar and half water. Let this sit for fifteen or twenty minutes and blot with a damp sponge. Next time it snows, have everyone leave their shoes at the door.

Hairspray Removal from Carpet
When hairspray spills on the carpet, it's imperative one acts quickly before the stain hardens. If you're not fast enough, all is not lost, it's really not difficult to remove carpet stains such as this. Ask yourself, what happens when hair spray builds up in my hair? You shampoo it, right? The same method will work here. For cleaning carpet of hardened hairspray, just blot with a little clarifying shampoo and water. In just about every case, this will be enough to do the trick. Just keep blotting until all of the hairspray and its stickiness is removed.

Drying Area Rugs
Cleaning area rugs can be done much in the same manner as cleaning carpet. If spot cleaning and vacuuming isn't enough however, your rug can either be laundered in the washing machine or hosed down outside. Check your manufacturers care instructions to see if the rug can be put in the clothes dryer. If this is not recommended, hang it to dry outside. If it's too thick for clothes pins, try pants or skirt hangers to afix the rug to the clothesline.

Removing Stuck on Carpet Padding
It's tough enough having to remove carpet stains. It's even worse if one removes carpet padding only to find part of it is still glued to your floor. If you are removing old carpet in your home and find that the under padding is stuck to the floor underneath, you should be able to remove  the residue with hot water, and scrape it off. A paint removing product may also help.

Plaster Removal from Carpet
If you're cleaning carpet stains made up of plaster, in most cases all you'll need is a good vacuum. A shop vac is especially good for this task. Once all of the plaster and powder is removed, cover the stain in a thick cloth saturated with dishwashing liquid. Leave for an hour or so to loosen the remaining plaster and blot clean with a sponge.

Ending Carpet Static
In addition to cleaning carpet stains, you might want to remove static electricity as well. To do this, put a dryer sheet on the bottom of a swiffer duster or dry sponge mop and run over the carpet. Replace the sheet as needed. If you prefer liquid fabric softener, this too will remove static from the carpet. Pour some fabric softener into a spray and dilute with water, about one part fabric softener to five parts of water. Spritz your carpet with this solution and static,and the shock that comes will it, will be eliminated.

Oil Paint on Carpet
Before employing any chemicals for cleaning carpet stains caused by oil paint, first test in a hidden area such as inside a closet or under a piece of furniture. The last thing you want to do is incur further damage. To remove carpet stains such as these, first try a little paint thinner. Dab as gently as possible until all of the paint is removed. If this doesn't work or no paint thinner is available, try using some dry cleaning solvent. If the paint hasn't penetrated deep into the carpet fibers and it won't be noticebale, snip a little bit off the top of the carpet. If none of these will work, contact your carpet care professional.

 

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