Carpet stains don’t just look bad, they can gradually detract from the overall atmosphere and appearance of your home, and even damage your home value. It’s essential to maintain your home’s carpet with regular upkeep such as vacuuming, as well as biannual professional carpet cleaning conducted by a carpet cleaning company to remove deep set dirt and stains.
But what can you do to prevent stains setting and treat some of the most common stains in an emergency while they’re still ‘fresh’? Here we take a look at 5 of the most common carpet stains and what you can do to save your carpets and maintain their beauty.
Wine Stains
Drinks like juice, Kool aid, and soda are easily spilled in the home, but nothing stains quite like red wine. If you have a spill with wine or another staining liquid, the most important thing to do is blot up as much of the excess that you can as soon as possible. Be careful not to scrub. Use a clean, white cloth and a CRI (Carpet and Rug Institute) approved cleaner, or otherwise a 1:1 solution of water and white vinegar to gently blot and clean away the stain. Contact your local carpet cleaner as soon as possible for professional stain removal service if there is any stain remnant left.
Coffee Stains
Many of us enjoy a cup of coffee at least once a day, but coffee spills are another source of difficult-to-remove and unsightly carpet stains. Use the same method as above for treating liquid spills and removing fresh stains. Do not use bleach as this can cause permanent damage to carpet and require carpet patching or carpet dyeing to repair.
Blood Stains
Grazed knees and cuts can happen when playing outside or working around the house, but blood stains are the last thing you want on your carpet. Stop bleeding from the source as soon as you can, and treat the stains as quickly as possible too. Use one cup of cold water (not warm or hot water as this coagulates blood and sets it) mixed with ¼ tsp of a grease-fighting gentle detergent like Dawn to help gently remove the carpet stains.
Ink Stains
Ink stains can wreak havoc on carpet and upholstery, and great care needs to be taken when treating these stains to prevent them spreading and worsening. Ink stains can be very hard to remove, so the best idea would be to blot up excess ink very carefully using a clean dry cloth, then contact your local carpet cleaning company to help you remove the stain safely.
Pet Stains
We love our pets, but we may not always love what they do to our carpets. Pets can leave behind urine, vomit or worse on our carpets, not only staining them but leaving distinctive and unpleasant pet odors as well. For the best stain and pet odor removal, clean up messes as soon as possible, carefully removing debris, and blotting up excess fluid. Then work on removing the pet stains and pet odors by blotting with a vinegar solution and cloth for liquid stains, alternating with the detergent based solution for heavier stains.
Always patch test any cleaning solution you are using on your carpet in an inconspicuous area first, in order to protect your carpet and get the best results.
If you still have stubborn stains and odors, get a professional carpet cleaning company to come and take a look at your carpet and provide expert carpet stain removal, odor removal and upholstery treatment to protect the investment in your carpet and furnishings and keep your home looking spotless.
