Wine spills, food scraps or pets will sooner or later disfigure any carpet. And dirt is hard to get rid of. But with a few remedies and tips, you can get away with it.
Whether it's carpet or rugs, dirt gets embedded in the fibres. The real problem with stains is not their cause, but their removal. Before calling in a professional cleaning company or buying an expensive machine, try the following tips, paying attention to different textures.
Baking soda or natron against coffee stains
Sparkling mineral water
Lye powder
Salt against wine stains
The ice cream
Lemon juice
Shaving foam
Blotting paper
Window cleaner and gall soap
Do you know any other tips for removing stains from carpets? Or do you know of other everyday products that remove stains faster? Then head over to the comments section! To receive more cleaning tips and tricks, follow me by clicking on the "Follow the author" button!
Header image: After treating the stain on the carpet, vacuum it up to remove it!
When I'm not stuffing my face with sweets, you'll catch me running around in the gym hall. I’m a passionate floorball player and coach. On rainy days, I tinker with my homebuilt PCs, robots or other gadgets. Music is always my trusted companion. I also enjoy tackling hilly terrain on my road bike and criss-crossing the country on my cross-country skis.
Spills and stains? Find out how to expertly clean your carpet
by Raphael Knecht
Coffee stains on light-coloured carpets are a torment, as they're almost impossible to remove and ultra-visible. To get rid of them, use leavening powder lever or natron. Spread the powder evenly over the stain, dabbing carefully. Then wet the area with warm water, leave to dry and vacuum it up with a aspirator. By the way, this tip also works on many other stains. Always try it on an inconspicuous part of the carpet.
Baking soda (or natron) is particularly effective against coffee stains.
This tip deserves to be known. Pour a little carbonated mineral water on the stain, leave on for around a quarter of an hour, dab with an absorbent cloth. The more carbon dioxide in the water, the better. This trick can also be used to get rid of stubborn wax stains or any food residue. Important: the stains must be fresh.
The more carbonated the mineral water, the more effective it is against stains.
If your carpet is dark or coloured, use colour clothing detergent. For white or light colours, then use a white clothing detergent. The important thing in both cases is to opt for powder. Sprinkle over the soiled area and then brush the fibres. Leave it for 15 to 20 minutes and then vacuum it up. The powder should have absorbed the dirt and removed the stain. Another plus point? It looks like it came out of the machine.
Lye powder removes stains, and not just from clothes.
There's nothing worse than a wine stain on a carpet. Even worse? The red wine. How do you get rid of these stains? Simply with sel. Sprinkle generously over the stain. Then moisten the area with sparkling mineral water and dab the stain from the outside inwards with an absorbent cloth. Leave the carpet to dry before vacuuming up the remains. If the stain hasn't completely disappeared, repeat the process.
Dust the wine stain generously with salt!
Has a piece of your chocolate ice cream fallen on the carpet started to melt and encrust the fibres? Have you just stepped in it in your socks and spread it all over the flat? To get rid of it, apply an ice cube! On contact with it, the chocolate freezes and can be extracted or vacuumed up. Don't wait too long, though, or the stain will grow in size. This tip also works with chewing gum. Another tip? Put your little rugs straight in the freezer so that the stain freezes.
Ice freezes stains.
For dark stains - such as coffee and wine - on a light-coloured carpet, lemon juice has a bleaching effect. For wine splashes, for example, add a little lemon juice to the salt. As the acid in lemon juice is relatively aggressive, this method won't work with dark, delicate substances. In this case, try using a gentle vinegar cleaner or a liquid soap.
Lemon juice can even remove dark stains from light-coloured carpets.
The carpet foam is particularly suitable for large carpets or carpeted rooms. If you don't have one, shaving foam will do very well, especially on food stains. To remove them, cover with foam. Using a cloth or soft brush, dab the foam onto the stain. Leave it to work for at least an hour. Remove with an absorbent cloth or rag and leave to dry.
Blotting paper gets rid of wax stains.
Wax, like wine, coffee and chewing gum, is one of the worst things that can happen to your carpet. A wax stain, immediately visible, is very difficult to remove. If wax drops are embedded in the carpet, use blotting paper that will absorb it. To do this, wait for the wax stain to dry. Then place some blotting paper over the area to be treated and run a hair dryer or an iron. Check whether the blotting paper absorbs the wax. Depending on the size of the stain, you may need several sheets.
Window cleaner isn't just for cleaning windows.
If you don't always have access to the products you want, there are two other tricks: the glass cleaner and the bile soap. Spray glass cleaner directly onto the stain, leave for a few minutes, then dab with an absorbent cloth. Carefully rub the gall soap into the stain with your fingers or a soft brush, then dab and dry. Depending on how persistent the stain is, repeat the process, but allow the carpet to dry between each application.
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