Is your carpet looking a little dirty and stained?
Follow our easy guide to removing stains to give your carpet a new lease on life.
Getting Red Wine Out Of Carpet
Red wine is notorious for making its way onto clothing and carpets, and for being a pesky stain to lift. To remove the spillage from your carpet, try using the following method:
- Dab water into the carpet over the stain, press it dry.
- Add some detergent (use 1 teaspoon clear dishwashing liquid to 1 cup warm water), press dry.
- Add some more detergent, press dry.
- Dab water into the carpet, press it dry.
For more stubborn stains, try:
- Dabbing some detergent into the stain, pressing it dry.
- Putting some household ammonia (undiluted) onto the stain, pressing dry.
- Dabbing some detergent into the stain, pressing it dry.
- Finishing with some lukewarm water and pressing dry.
Getting Nail Polish Off Carpet
Nail polish may seem like it would be an incredibly tough stain to get out of your carpet, but the stain removal process is actually really simple. Just pour a touch of non-oily nail polish remover onto the stain and press down with a clean, plain white paper towel. Repeat the process if necessary.
Getting Candle Wax Off Carpet
Before you even try to remove candle wax off your carpet, grab an ice cube out the freezer and rub it over the wax to freeze it hard. Once the wax is frozen, break it into pieces and vacuum it up. For a thorough clean, dab some drycleaning solvent on the wax residue and press it dry with a paper towel. Repeat this step as required.
Getting Coffee Stains Out Of Carpet
The process of removing coffee stains from carpet requires nothing more than some detergent solution, some undiluted white vinegar, and a little bit of patience. Dab the stain with some detergent, followed by some vinegar, more detergent, and then some lukewarm water. Be sure to press the carpet dry with a white paper towel in between each step.
Getting Paint Off Carpet
Different paints require different stain removal methods. So, before you tackle paint stains on your carpet, it’s important to know what kind of paint it is you’re trying to remove. For paint that is latex-based, you will need some detergent solution, household ammonia, and undiluted white vinegar. Work on the stain by dabbing with detergent, ammonia, vinegar, and then more detergent, pressing dry in between each application. For oil-based paint stains, dab some dry cleaning solvent on and press dry. Follow that with some detergent solution, pressed dry, and finish up with some lukewarm water and another dry. If this process doesn’t remove the stain, enlist the help of a professional carpet cleaner.
The table below is a guide only to remove some common household stains. Remedies are recommendations only and the removal of these stains may not be complete. Seek professional assistance if stain removal is unsuccessful.
| A | Dry cleaning solvent – press dry – detergent* – press dry lukewarm water – press dry |
| B | Detergent* – press dry – vinegar* – press dry – detergent* – press dry – lukewarm water – press dry |
| C | Detergent* – press dry – ammonia* – press dry – detergent* – press dry – lukewarm water – press dry. For blood, use cold water |
| D | Detergent* – press dry – ammonia* – press dry – vinegar* – press dry – detergent* – press dry – lukewarm water – press dry |
| E | Detergent* – press dry – white vinegar* – press dry – ammonia* – press dry – lukewarm water – press dry |
| F | Freeze with ice cube – break into pieces – vacuum – dry cleaning solvent – press dry – repeat if necessary |
| G | Nail polish remover (non oily) – press dry with plain white paper towelling |
| H | Baking soda – scrape and vacuum – detergent* – press dry – ammonia* – press dry – detergent* – press dry – lukewarm water – press dry |
| I | Water – press dry – detergent* – press dry – detergent* – press dry – water – press dry |
| J | Seek assistance of a professional carpet cleaner |
* Detergent = 1 teaspoon clear dishwashing liquid to 1 cup warm water
* Vinegar = undiluted vinegar
* Ammonia = household ammonia, undiluted
| Asphalt | A | Lipstick | A & J |
| Beer | B | Make up (foundation) | A |
| Berries | B | Mascara | A |
| Blood | C | Mayonnaise | C |
| Butter | A | Mercurochrome | D |
| Candy | B | Milk | C |
| Cheese | C | Mixed drinks (alcoholic) | B |
| Chewing gum | F | Mustard | I & J |
| Chocolate | C | Nail polish | G |
| Cooking oil | A | Paint (latex) | D |
| Coffee | B | Paint (oil) | A & J |
| Cough syrup | D | Rust | B |
| Crayon | A | Sauce (tomato) | C |
| Dirt | C | Shoe polish | A & J |
| Dye | J | Soft drink | B & J |
| Egg | C & J | Starch | C |
| Excrement | C | Tar | A |
| Fruit Juice | B | Tea | B |
| Furniture polish | A | Toothpaste | C |
| Glue (hobby) | A | Typewriter ribbon | A |
| Glue (white) | C | Urine (fresh or dry) | D |
| Gravy | A | Varnish | A |
| Ice Cream | C | Vaseline | A |
| Ink (ballpoint, felt pen) | A | Vomit | H |
| Ink (permanent) | A | Wax (candle) | F |
| Ink (fountain pen) | E | Wine (red) | I &C |
| Lacquer | A | Wine (white) | B |
This table is a guide only to remove some common household stains. Remedies are recommendations only and the removal of these stains may not be complete. Seek professional assistance if stain removal is unsuccessful.