Photo by whydry

Photo by whydry

Carpet Cleaning Tips for Household Spills and Stains

At INTEK we understand removing carpet stains can be difficult. So we created a cleaning guide with tips for how to clean carpet stains caused by household items like ink, mud, grass, and nail polish.

To learn how to make stain removal solutions and solvents visit our previous blog post.

Please keep in mind these are only suggestions to help minimize a stain and always do a spot test in a discrete part of your carpet or fabric to make sure the treatment does not damage or stain carpet further.

In the event that the treatments below do not work keep the area damp until one of INTEKs’ trained technicians can arrive.  We will do our best to remove the stain as best we can, however, since every stain is different there is no guarantee.

CANDLE WAX:

  1. Scrape away as much wax as possible with spatula or dull knife.
  2. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  3. Apply POG, blot
  4. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot. *Refer to general recommendation for hot iron treatment of wax.

CRAYON:

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply POG, blot.
  3. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot.
  4. Apply detergent solution, blot.
  5. Rinse with water, blot until dry.

FURNITURE STAIN:

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply POG, blot.
  3. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot.
  4. Apply detergent solution, blot.
  5. Rinse with water, blot until dry. Unfortunately, a furniture stain is nearly impossible to remove completely.

GRASS:

  1. Apply amyl acetate if available to remove chlorophyll, blot.
  2. Apply enzyme detergent, blot.
  3. Rinse with water, blot.
  4. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  5. Apply vinegar solution, blot.
  6. Rinse with water, blot until dry. Bleaching or professional stripping may be necessary.

INK (Ballpoint):

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply POG, blot.
  3. If stain remains, apply rust remover or oxalic acid solution.

INK (India):

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply POG, blot.
  3. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot.
  4. Apply detergent solution, blot.
  5. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  6. Rinse with water, blot until dry.

LIPSTICK:

  1. Scrape off excess with spatula or dull knife.
  2. Apply POG, blot making sure not to reapply stain into fabric.
  3. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot.
  4. Apply detergent, blot.
  5. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  6. Apply vinegar solution, blot.
  7. Rinse with water, blot until dry. Try to avoid wet cleaning on wool. Use POG and dry- cleaning solvents as long as possible.

MILDEW:

  1. Apply enzyme detergent, blot.
  2. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  3. Rinse thoroughly with water, blot.
  4. Apply solution of oxidizing bleach (chlorine or perborate) Do not use chlorine bleach on wool or silk.
  5. Rinse thoroughly with water, blot until dry.

MUD:

  1. Brush or scrape away as much excess mud as possible.
  2. Apply detergent solution, blot.
  3. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  4. Rinse thoroughly with water, blot until dry.
  5. If stain remains, apply POG and dry-cleaning solvent alternately, blot until dry.

NAIL POLISH:

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply amyl acetate if available or nail polish remover – PRETEST INCONSPICUOUS AREA FIRST.
  3. If stain remains, apply detergent solution, blot until dry.
  4. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  5. Apply vinegar solution, blot.
  6. Rinse with water, blot until dry.

PAINT (Oil based):

  1. Apply detergent solution, blot.
  2. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  3. Rinse with water, blot until dry.
  4. Apply POG, blot.
  5. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot.

PAINT (Water based): Check label on paint or specific thinner or solvent OR

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply POG, blot.
  3. Apply dry-cleaning solvent, blot.
  4. Alternate steps 2 and 3 until stain is removed.
  5. If stain persists, weight down the stain with towels dampened with dry-cleaning for several hours to loosen, blot with solvent.
  6. Apply several drops of detergent solution and work into the stain, blot.
  7. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  8. Alternate steps 2 and 3 and 6 until stain is removed.
  9. Rinse thoroughly with warm water, blot until dry.

SHOE POLISH:

  1. Apply dry-cleaning solvent.
  2. Apply POG, blot.
  3. Apply dry-cleaning solution, blot.
  4. Apply detergent solution, blot.
  5. Apply ammonia solution, blot.
  6. Rinse thoroughly with water, blot until dry.
  7. If stain persists, bleaching or professional stripping may be necessary.

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