It’s a perfect holiday gathering and everyone is having a blast until Aunt Marge drops her glass of red wine on your brand new carpeting. What’s a gracious hostess to do? Hint: Screaming isn’t recommended.
It never seems to fail, whether you are hosting a holiday event or simply enjoying family time, it is almost inevitable that someone — Aunt Marge — will spill something on your carpet. And if it’s brand new, it’s even more devastating.
Before you decide to hire a pricey professional carpet cleaner, there are some easy tricks of the trade that could save you time as well as money. How?
To remove coffee, red juices (including grape), wine, ink and tea stains:
• Immediately blot (do not rub) up excess stain or liquid with a clean, white paper towel to remove as much of the liquid stain as possible.
• Sprinkle the stain with 7-Up, Club Soda or tonic water. Let it sit for a few seconds, then blot the rest of the stain up by using the white paper towel. Repeat this process until no stain appears on the paper towel.
• Rinse with fresh, clean water and blot up again until no stain appears.
For oily stains, crayons and tar:
• Apply a non-oily, non-caustic dry cleaning solvent to a damp clean, soft white towel, then blot as much of the stain as possible. Repeat until stain is removed.
For chocolate, glue, ice cream and latex paints:
• Gently scrape up the excess stain.
• Mix one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with one cup of water.
• Using a damp cotton or terrycloth towel, apply the detergent mixture to the stain and blot (do not rub) as much of the stain as possible. Repeat until the stain is removed.
Now that you’ve got some quick carpet stain removal tips, enjoy the rest of the festivities and who cares if something spills!