How To Remove Common Stains From Your Carpets

Theres little more infuriating than an unsightly and stubborn stain that spoils the appearance of an otherwise fresh and clean carpet.

Whether it’s a clumsy guest that has spilt a cup of coffee, or you have children and pets that understandably don’t share your pride in your clean carpets and rugs, accidents will inevitably happen.

While it may be tempting to rush to your local shop and pick up the only stain removal brand on the shelf, we’d advise avoiding harsh shop bought stain removers and instead take a few minutes to read this guide on to removing carpet stains.

There are several ways that you can tackle common carpet stains, some more successful than others.

In this guide, you’ll learn what to do when an accident or spillage occurs, and how to treat a stain without causing further damage. These processes will help you treat all manner of stains if you’re not in a position to call a professional carpet cleaning company.

The essential stain treatment process

Before applying any chemical to your carpet, it is important to act fast in order to try and prevent a spillage actually turning into a stain.

Indeed, the faster you act, the more likely that you’ll be in successfully removing a carpet stain.

First, remove any debris with a spoon or spatula, avoiding pressing any mass or debris into the carpet fibres.

Next, carefully dab the actual spillage with a damp cloth or white paper towel. Repeat this process as often as necessary using clean cloths or towels until you have removed all the liquid and there is no more colour transferred onto the cloth.

Lastly, use a use a professional grade stain removal product and spray the stain lightly before continuing to dab the area carefully. Repeat a couple of times until the stain is removed before gently rinsing the area with cool water and dabbing dry.

If this process doesn’t remove the stain completely then we’d normally advise contacting a trusted, local professional carpet cleaning company.

But what if you don’t have a stain removal product to hand and you can’t find a company to carry out an emergency stain removal?

In this instance, you need to treat a stain quickly to prevent it becoming permanent. Here’s how to do it for three common household carpet stains, using some ingredients you’ll likely have in your kitchen cupboard.

Pet stain and odour removal

Pet stains are some of the most common (and tricky) stains that we tackle during the course of our working week.

If you’re dealing with faeces, it is sensible to wear some gloves while removing any ‘loose’ debris.

With a urine stain, go straight to work dabbing up excess liquid until removed. If possible, it helps enormously to avoid the stain drying out, so do act quickly. If it has started to dry, moisten it with a damp, clean cloth and then dab until you have absorbed the moisture.

To neutralise the stain and odour, you can use white vinegar. Mix 100 ml of vinegar to 1000 ml of clean water and spray on the area of affected carpet. Allow the solution to dwell for five minutes and then dab with a clean cloth.

Again, we recommend rinsing carefully with cool water and repeating the process again if necessary.

Blood stain removal

While blood stains can be very unsightly, they can usually be removed successfully by a professional carpet cleaner.

But how do you treat a blood stain yourself?

The first thing is never to treat a blood stain using hot water. This can cause the blood to coagulate.

Again, you should blot out any excess blood before applying a stain removal solution. In this case, we recommend a mix of baking soda and water to create a paste. Simply spread the paste onto the stain and leave for several minutes before removing the paste with a spoon and vacuuming up the remaining debris.

Once complete, dab away and then proceed to spray the area with a vinegar solution, dabbing once more. It may be a time consuming process, so repeat as often as necessary.

If after an apparent successful removal the blood stain reappears, seek the advice of a professional carpet cleaner.

Coffee stains

Coffee can be a very difficult stain to remove, and one that can ruin the appearance of a carpet.

It is vital to act quickly to blot and absorb the dark liquid to prevent permanent staining. You can once again dab away and then rinse before repeating to dab.

Then use the baking soda paste mix to try and draw out the remaining staining.

In many cases, particularly with wool carpets, you’ll need to contact a professional carpet cleaning company and book a stain removal appointment as soon as possible to provide the best chance of successfully removing a coffee stain – especially if it has dried.

Summary

The most important thing with stain removal is to avoid causing further damage.

First, don’t scrub away at a your carpet, causing damage to delicate carpet fibres.

Second, avoid strong shop bought chemicals. And if you insist on using one of the main stain removal brands, please do test it first on a small hidden area of carpet.

Third, if you are not successful in removing a stain, call a local professional carpet cleaning company for advice.