Carpet Cleaning Experts and Their Tips on Stain Removal

Carpets are one of the most stain-prone decors in any home. If you are fond of white carpets, and even the colored or patterned ones, then you have definitely experienced the horror of seeing your carpet get stains from food, wine, or a pet’s urine.

Although many types of stains can leave permanent damage to your carpet, experts have proven that there is hope. Of course, it will never be the same in your eyes, but your visitors might never even notice any stain residue once you follow these tips on how to remove stains, brought to you by experts from local carpet cleaning companies:

1. Act immediately.

 Time is always of the essence when you’re trying to remove stains from carpets. Once the stain is still wet or fresh, it will most likely come off easier compared to stains that have been left to dry and penetrate the fibers of the carpet.

So if you see wine or food stains, or your pet urinating on the carpet, make sure that you immediately proceed to step number 2.

2. Use white cloth or tissue paper.

 You have probably thought of making your home cleaner as a home resolution this year, but accidents at home always happen, usually resulting to stains everywhere, including carpets.

So when cleaning your stained carpet, always make sure to use white paper towels or tissue paper, or white cloth. Using colored or printed paper tissues or clothes may cause the dye to transfer from your cleaning material to the carpet. This would result to an even bigger problem. So no matter how panicked you are, make sure you grab a non-colored cleaning material.

3. Don’t rub it—blot it.

 If you are in a hurry to remove the stain left on your carpet and thought that perhaps using a brush and rubbing it would be a better idea, then you are wrong. Experts all agree that blotting the stained area continuously is a more effective approach. This is because rubbing the stain may cause it to penetrate the fibers of the carpet deeper. This is especially true for stains from beverages like coffee, wine and others.

Although blotting may seem futile and too long to do, you just have to be patient and trust the process.

4. Always pre-test if you are going to use chemicals.

 Some stains are going to be more difficult to remove than others, so you might need to use the help of chemicals. If you are going for this route, make sure that you pre-test the chemical cleaner first on the carpet.

Find a spot on the carpet that’s hidden under the furniture or some place inconspicuous. Drop a sample of the chemical you will use and observe if the color of the carpet changes. If it does, then you would need to find a different one.

Here are some additional expert tips when deciding what cleaning agent to use for more specific types of stains:

• Greasy stains and ink – Stains from greasy salad dressings, oil or butter can be removed using a solvent type, dry cleaning agent that is non-flammable. Make sure that you read and follow the instructions on how to use it.
• Light greasy stains – You can use baking soda, cornstarch or talcum powder to cover the stain. Let it sit to absorb the stain before vacuuming. You can also use shaving cream or carbonated water.
• Liquid stains like juice and cola – Mix one quart of water with one teaspoon of detergent and one teaspoon of white vinegar. Spot clean the area and dry with white cloth or paper towels.
• Combination stains like ice cream, lipstick, and coffee – Use both solvent dry cleaning and the mixture used for cleaning liquid stains.
• Wine – In order to flush out the color stains from wine, you can use club soda.

Before proceeding to spot-clean the area, make sure that you have removed solid materials like food remnants and others.

5. Go from the edges of the spill to the center.

 To prevent enlarging the stained area, make sure that you clean from the edges of the stain and move towards the center. Again, just blot and don’t rub it.

6. Remove as much stain as humanly possible.

There is no need to spend twenty-four hours on the stained area. When you feel that you have done as much as you could, then you can stop what you are doing and proceed to drying the area with either a hair dryer or a cloth weighted down by books or other heavy materials.

7. Dry using thick, white tissue paper or white towels.

 Sometimes, it is better to dry the stained area with white tissue paper or white cloth weighted down by heavy objects, especially if the stain hasn’t been fully removed yet. This is because the paper towels might still absorb the stain. However, if you have fully removed the stain, you can also use a hair dryer to dry the area faster.

Stains on carpets are such hassles and they can definitely ruin the aesthetics of the room. But if you follow the experts’ advice, then you will likely be successful in removing the stains on your precious carpet.