Banishing 5 Common Stains from Your Carpets
Do It Yourself Help for Dealing with Common Stains
We've all been there. It's the weekend and you just want to relax by drinking your coffee in your "comfy spot" sitting in the warm sunshine in the living room. Then you drift asleep or check the time on your watch with the coffee cup still in your hand and oops, the coffee is now spilled all over the floor. Quickly, you go to the kitchen to get a paper towel or a rag to try to wipe up the mess, but the brown stain won't quite come all the way out of your carpet. When this happens it's really nice to have your mom or someone like her around to give you the best advice for what might help clean up the stain from what you have at home. In case you don't have someone around to give some advice, this article aims to help fill in the gaps. We will be discussing 5 common stains, from coffee to blood, and what steps you can take to help remove the stain.
COFFEE
Above we just covered how a coffee stain might occur. However, apart from the coffee the creamer that many people add to the coffee can sometimes make it especially difficult to remove.
What you can do right away: Blot the stain with a rag and cold water. This will help draw a lot of the coffee out of the carpet and prolong the stain from setting.
Homemade Solution: White vinegar mixed with water. Apply the solution to the stain and blot with a damp rag.
RED WINE
Maybe you are throwing a dinner party, or just enjoying an evening with your significant other. No matter the case a spill could occur and the subsequent stain ensue. Especially if you have a light colored surface red wine can cause a persistent stain that will be a constant eye sore.
What you can do right away: Blot the stain with a rag or paper towel and sprinkle the area with salt or baking soda. These will alter the pH of the wine and cause it to become more blue.
Homemade Solution: For red wine stains there are two options that might help. The first is to make a baking soda paste and apply directly to the stained area. Allow the paste to dry and vacuum it up. Once you have removed the paste completely, you can follow up with some laundry pre-treat. The other option is to use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap applied to the area. Whichever you choose, avoid scrubbing the stain, rather blot or dab to prevent from spreading the stain or causing it to penetrate deeper into the carpet fibers.
GREASE AND OIL
Grease and oil stains occur primarily from the foot we are eating. Those potato chips can be especially tricky to get from the bag to our mouths... Also, just walking from the driveway into our home could bring with it some oil on our shoes.
What you can do right away: Blot the excess grease with a paper towel. Again don't scrub or rub!
Homemade Solution: Apply cornstarch or baking soda to the stain. Allow the cornstarch or baking soda to have time to absorb the oil or grease and then vacuum. There are typically several cleaners in a person's home that are degreasers as well. Be careful though what you use, and if you are unsure apply first to an inconspicuous area of your carpet (like in a closet). Dish soap is an excellent degreaser and can help to lift the stain.
INK
Ink can be a tricky one because it spreads quickly and is fast to dry or set into the carpet fibers.
What you can do right away: Blot the area gently with a dry cloth. Avoid at all costs scrubbing the area or trying to dilute the stain with water right away. This can cause your little ink stain into a large mess.
Homemade Solution: Rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer can help to break down the ink. Apply one of these to the stained area and again blot gently with a dry cloth.
BLOOD
Scraped knees to bloody noses our bodies can be leaky messes sometimes. Similar to ink blood stains can set quickly and taking quick measures can help alleviate the stain.
What you can do right away: Put on some latex or nitrile gloves first and rinse the area with cold water. Avoid using hot water as this can cause the proteins in the blood to clump up and be trickier to remove the stain.
Homemade Solution: Again two options can work to remove the stain. A baking soda paste applied to the stain, allowed to set until dry, and vacuumed up can help. Also, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap can be used.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THRU AND I HOPE THIS ARTICLE HELPS YOU OUT FOR CLEANING ANY OF THE ABOVE STAINS. I REALIZE THAT IT IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY TIPS OF YOUR OWN FOR STAIN REMOVAL PLEASE COMMENT BELOW. IN ADDITION, FUTURE ARTICLES WILL BE WRITTEN TO ADDRESS MORE OF THE COMMON STAINS THAT CAN PLAGUE OUR LIVES.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO PURSUE GETTING PROFESSIONAL HELP TO REMOVE STAINS YOU HAVE IN YOUR CARPET OR UPHOLSTERY, PLEASE CONTACT ME!
