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Carpet Stain Busters
- Keep spotting solution on hand. Premix the solution and keep it in a spray bottle for quick use.
- Vacuum and clean your carpet frequently. Even if your carpet doesn't look dirty, clean it on a regular basis for longer-lasting
use.
- Carpet should be deep cleaned every 18 months. Clean high-traffic areas more often.
- Do not clean spots with colored cloths. You may actually transfer dye to the carpet. Use white cotton towels.
- Try the least-aggressive solution before moving on to stronger cleaning solutions.
- Pretest any type of spot-removal solution before using it. To do this, put a few drops of the solution onto an inconspicuous
part of the carpet and hold a clean white cloth on the area for 10 seconds. Next, check to see if the carpet dyes bled onto
the cloth or if the area where the solution was has changed at all. If there is any change in the carpet, try another cleaning
solution or call a professional.
- To prevent a spill or stain from spreading from the edges of the spill to the center, keep blotting and apply the cleaning
solution until the spill no longer transfers onto the cloth.
- When cleaning fruit, fruit juice, jam, jelly or soda stains from carpet, try mixing 1/4 teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent
in with one cup lukewarm water. Next, blot the stained area, rinse with warm water and repeat. If the stain is still there,
try rinsing with a mixture of two tablespoons ammonia in a cup of water, and continue by blotting the stain with a solution
of one cup white vinegar to one cups of water and rinse.
- If you happen to get lipstick or lip gloss on the carpet, try to clean it first with nail-polish remover. If that doesn't
work, try a commercial cleaner and rinse thoroughly. If neither of these steps works, try using an ammonia solution. Rinse,
then use the 1-to-2 ratio of white vinegar to water and rinse with warm water. If none of these steps works, call a professional.
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