Save money + salvage your carpets with these stain removal hacks

Posted on 9:00am Friday 3rd Jan 2020

It’s a general fact of life that your perfect pristine carpets won’t stay that way. Cream carpets are a popular colour choice nowadays to make a room feel new and look bright and airy, but they’re not the best colour when it comes to having kids and pets or in high traffic areas. Even carpets that are a more forgiving colour than white or cream will soon look less than their best. Carpets are for living on, after all, so it’s not surprising that they get dirty quickly. But how can you prevent replacing your carpets every few years and spending a small fortune in the process? Carpets are expensive business with prices in the hundreds per room. With a few carpet cleaning hacks you will be able to keep your carpets looking as good as new instead of replacing.

Some kinds of dirt that get on your carpet are easy enough to deal with. Fluff and pet hairs are easy enough to vacuum up. So are crumbs and dust. These types of daily debris don’t cause any real problems as long as you keep up a regular vacuuming schedule and get your carpets properly steam cleaned yearly. However, other dropped and spilled things cause more problems. Blood, curry, coffee, wine and other intense liquid or semi-liquid substances can leave stains in your carpet.

Over time these stains can build up and leave carpets looking less than desirable. So what’s the solution to save the carpet and not need to replace so soon?

The golden rule for dealing with any stain in your carpet is to get onto it and deal with it straight away. If a stain is left on your carpet for too long, it can set into the fabric and be next to impossible to remove – even by a fully trained professional carpet cleaner or stain removal company like Precision Carpet Cleaning. However, you have to know how to remove the stain in question, as not all stains and not all carpets are equal.

To salvage your carpets and make sure they last for years to come you’ll need to know how to remove stains. Read on for lots of carpet stain removal hacks to keep your carpet looking its best.

Save money + salvage your carpets with these stain removal hacks

Removing stains from wool carpets

Wool is a natural fibre that is often found in carpets and rugs, but it needs a bit of care and attention if something is spilled on it. The following guide should help you deal with the most common stains in the home:

Rust

Some stains are beyond removing yourself and will need professional attention. Rust can only be removed with a special rust removal product. If you have rust on your carpet then it’s best to call in a proper carpet cleaner. Don’t use a rust remover that car mechanics use as this is too strong for any carpet.

Nail polish

Eek! You’re doing your nails and knock over the pot of nail varnish spilling a blob onto the carpet! Be quick and scrape off as much as possible while the nail polish is still liquid. Use a lanolin-free nail polish remover and apply it with a rag or cotton wool bud. Rub firmly until the stain is gone. Leave the residue of the nail polish remover to evaporate.

Chewing gum

Apply ice cubes to the spot to freeze the gum, then pick off as much as you can. Then use a small amount of wool-safe laundry detergent mixed with a little warm water and vinegar to wash the rest of the stain dry. Rinse with warm water and blot with a towel so that the wool can dry. Do not walk on the spot until the carpet has dried. As wool can rot if allowed to remain wet for too long, you may wish to use a dehumidifier or a hair dryer on low to speed up the drying process.

Vomit

Those with kids will know how sickness can come with no warning and out of nowhere your little one has come down with something and thrown up wherever they are. Scrape up as much as possible with a dustpan – do not use the vacuum cleaner. Apply disinfectant to the spot. Mix 1 teaspoon of wool-safe laundry detergent or soap gel in 1 litre of warm water and a splash of white vinegar. Gently scrub the rest of the stain away and blot up as much as possible. Rinse with warm water and blot thoroughly a second time. Again, make sure to dry the area quickly and thoroughly.

Pet pee or poo

If you’re a pet lover then sometimes you have to contend with the ugly and messy side of things! Cats and dogs have accidents too. Scrape up as much solid as possible. Apply cold water to loosen any urine from the carpet fibres. Apply a little disinfectant and leave it to work to kill the germs. Mix up wool-safe detergent, warm water and vinegar and apply this to the spot, working it up to a lather. Blot well, rinse with warm water and blot again. Be sure to dry the area thoroughly.

Coffee

Yikes! You’ve tipped coffee over and it’s run off the coffee table and dripped all over the carpet. Wash the area with a mixture of wool-safe detergent, warm water and vinegar. Blot dry then rinse with warm water. Blot again and dry very thoroughly.

Blood

Rinse the area with cold water. Blot, apply a mixture of wool-safe detergent, vinegar and cold water. Blot and rinse with cold water. Blot again and dry thoroughly.

Save money + salvage your carpets with these stain removal hacks (1)

Removing Stains from Synthetic Carpets

If you’ve got a synthetic carpet then much of the carpet stain removal advice is the same, but you don’t always need to ensure the detergent is wool safe. Here are some carpet stain removal tips for synthetic fibre carpets.

Soot: Vacuum up as much as possible. If there is a black residue left, call a professional stain remover.

Latex paint: Scrape up as much as you can while it is still liquid. Apply cold water and remove as much as possible. Blot then mix up detergent and warm water and scrub well. Rinse with warm water, then blot dry.

Coffee: Wash the area with a mixture of warm water and detergent, then blot up the residue or vacuum it up with a wet/dry vacuum cleaner. Rinse with warm water and blot again.

Blood: Apply cold water and blot up as much as possible. Rinse with more cold water then blot again.

Urine: Blot up as much as possible then apply a disinfectant to the spot. Mix detergent and warm water, then gently scrub the stain. Blot again, rinse with warm water then blot a third time.

Vomit: Scrape up as much as possible with a dustpan (never use the vacuum cleaner). Apply a liberal amount of disinfectant and leave it to work before using a mix of detergent and hot water to wash the stain. Blot well then rinse with more warm water.

Nail polish: Scrape up as much as possible. Patch-test nail polish remover in a hidden corner that doesn’t matter or on a scrap of carpet to make sure that it won’t hurt your synthetic carpet fibres – some nail polish removers do. If it’s OK to use, then apply with a rag or cotton bud then rinse with warm water. If the nail polish remover isn’t OK, then you may need to call a professional carpet cleaner to remove the stain.

If in doubt about a stain…

If you have any doubts about a stain on your carpet, then the wisest course of action is to call a trained expert in stain removal. A carpet cleaning company may have same day or next day emergency stain removal services. It’s far better to be safe than sorry and the cost of calling in a professional is a lot cheaper than replacing your whole carpet.

Hate cleaning carpets? Here are your options

If you can't stand cleaning carpets then you do have a few options:

Hire a professional carpet cleaning company. These guys will know exactly what they are doing and how best to clean your carpets and remove any stains. It's going to come at a cost though, so you might want to wait until your carpets need a really good clean before investing in a professional carpet cleaning company.
Use carpet tiles. Carpet tiles can be a great idea for high traffic areas, kids rooms, offices and more. If a carpet tile gets stained or ruined then you only need to replace that carpet tile instead of an entire new carpet which is much cheaper. You can even get recycled carpet tiles if you're aiming for an eco-friendly home. At www.carpettilewholesale.co.uk/ there are carpet tiles from just £1 each so it's a really affordable way to have a carpet that you can keep looking fresh.
Choose hard floors. This is my favourite option as they are so easy to keep clean and looking brand new for years, even decades! With so many options nowadays from the real deal to engineered wood flooring which looks just like the real thing, but cheaper, you can get a look you love. You can even save money on your energy bills with wood flooring!