There’s nothing worse than having a carpet stain in your clean, tidy room. The entire appearance and atmosphere of an otherwise clean room can be spoiled by the unwanted appearance of a stains on the carpet. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to prevent stains in most households, especially those with children and pets, but there are still a number of steps you can take to get complete carpet stain removal for old, ingrained stains or minimize damage from new stains when they happen. Here we look at a guide to effectively remove a whole range of stains from your carpet, for fresher, cleaner and more appealing carpets in your home.
Consult A Professional
If you are dealing with old stains, or you really want to make sure you remove any new stains for good, the gold standard is always going to be calling in a carpet stain removal specialist to provide professional stain removal results on your carpets. A professional carpet cleaner will focus part of their service on spot removal, along with pre-spray treatment to lift out more stains and get better results. When your carpet has more than 2-3 significant spots or stains per room and needs a complete overhaul, call in the professionals for the best results.
Identify the Stain
If you just want to remove a few stains at home by yourself, or you need instant damage control for a recent stain on your carpet, there are a few important initial questions you need to ask. You need to know what material your carpet is made of, what substance caused the stain, and how new or old the stain is. If your carpet came with care or cleaning information, consult this information before stain removal. This knowledge will allow you to treat each stain correctly in order to get the best results.
Water Based Stains
Water based stains include most food and drinks, including jelly, milk, food dye, soda, alcoholic drinks, berries, ice cream and gravy, mud, latex paint, ink, and wet or water based paint. The goal is to remove these stains as quickly as possible, blotting with a clean towel and then using a pre tested stain removal solution or vinegar solution to blot as much of the stain away as possible.
Coffee and Wine
These two water based stains can be tougher to remove than the others. Using a solution of mild dish washing detergent and gently blotting (never scrubbing!) these stains, can help to remove them.
Children and Pet Stains
Children and pets can often be responsible for some very interesting stains on your carpet, and they’re mostly protein based. Getting a hold of these ones quickly is key, removing excess matter and blotting the stain with a special pet stain removal solution. Blotting with a vinegar solution can also help to remove nasty smells.
Oil Based Stains
On the opposite spectrum to water based stains are the oil based stains including peanut butter, oil, lipstick, grease, crayons, makeup, car oil and margarine. Using water won’t work on these stains, because oil and water don’t mix. Your best bet is to try soaking up the oil with baking soda or cornstarch, then vacuuming up residue. If in doubt, leaving this type of stain to the professionals is strongly advised, because they have a higher level of resources, equipment and know-how to handle this type of stain.
No one wants to see stains on their carpets, but with these tips for complete carpet stain removal and a call to your local carpet cleaners, your carpets and entire home will look as good as new in no time.
