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How to clean a dirty carpet? Best tips to remove stains.

Don’t Panic! Here is how to clean food and drink stains out of a carpet or rugs

Everyday life is full of surprises. You're hosting a long-planned party, or have some relatives visiting you for a couple of days. Everyone is having a great time, things get a bit out of hand, and then... someone spills something on your carpet. Or maybe you're just going with your weekly cleaning routine and find an old stain. You may even have no recollection of how it appeared. It doesn't matter. Whenever you find a stain on your carpet, the best time to clean it was just when it appeared. The next best time is now. What are the best ways to clean a dirty carpet? Read our guide, and find out!

Removing red wine and coffee stains with baking soda paste

Contrary to popular belief wine stains can be completely removed.

Folks at the spruce recommend a 4-stage approach to wine stain removal. You should apply them in order until the stain is removed. At first (and as soon as possible) you should try to blot up the liquid with paper towels or clean cloths. After that, add a little water to the stained area to dilute the stain and continue blotting. The third stage is using a home-made baking soda paste. Simply mix a paste with 3:1 ratio of baking soda to water. Apply the paste directly to the carpet stain and wait for it to dry completely before vacuuming up the dried paste. If you do not have special allergic considerations, you may also consider using a carpet cleaner powder, such as Vanish Gold Powerpowder (sold in Germany as Vanish Gold Teppichpflege, and available on Amazon or in any popular drugstore, such as Rossmann or DM).

There are situations in which you are not able to clean the carpet immediately. For example, the party is still going on and you don't want to make a big fuss about the little stain. In such cases, just remove excess wine from the carpet and sprinkle some salt on the stain. It will help in absorbing the liquid. After your guests leave, you can simply vacuum the salt from the carpet and proceed with the carpet stain cleaning.

 

Removing oil stains when having no carpet cleaning products

Our first reaction after spilling some liquids on a carpet or on a sofa is to heavily rub it with a cloth soaked with water. This does not apply to oil stains, though. In fact, nothing could be worse. Do not rub the stain because it will push the oil deeper into the material. Sprinkle a bit of baking soda on the stain to absorb oil. Wait 15 minutes and vacuum the powder. Blot up the spill with a paper towel or a clean cloth until no more oil is transferred from them. Mix one tablespoon of dishwashing detergent in two cups of hot water. Remember! The biggest mistake is to use too much soap. More agent does not always bring better result. Blot up the stain with a sponge dipped in the cleaning solution and then with a dry paper towel until the stain is removed. Be sure to clean away any soapy residue that will eventually attract more dirt.

Removing old stains (wine, coffee, blood, urine) with hydrogen peroxide

old carpets with stains
Some old stains can be removed with hydrogen peroxide.

Sometimes we don't have time to quickly get rid of newly made dirt or we haven't noticed that somebody in our house spilled some liquids and they stay there for a long time, drying out and immersing more and more in the carpet. Or maybe you decided to refresh an old carpet, then you need to undertake some further measures. To remove old stains use 3% hydrogen peroxide (you can easily buy it in any drugstore). When you spray the stained area it won’t bleach the carpet. Afterwards, cover it with a damp, clean, white towel and grab a steam iron. Place iron on the towel over the stain. After every 10 to 15 seconds take a look at how the stain is being transferred from the carpet to the towel. When the stain is removed, spray a bit of hydrogen peroxide one more time. Put another dry, clean towel on the affected area and allow it to dry.

Madga Darmas


Acknowledgments:

  • "Featered photo": for source click here.
  • "Photo no.1": for source click here.
  • "Photo no.2": for source click here.

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