A stained carpet can easily turn a good day into a boring interview about how the stain got there. Stains can be simple to remove or can put up quite the fight. It is thus by important to have some few tricks up your sleeve when it comes to carpet stain removal. Stain removal should be done immediately after it happens since stains easily set into the carpet making it very hard to clean. Big solid stains should be scooped out before the stain is removed using the blunt side of a knife or a spoon. Stains should also be worked from the outside to the inside as with laundry. The simplest method of removing stains is simply using water to bolt them out. If this method fails, it is important to find out the type of stain. It is also important to note that the method of removal is blotting and not rubbing.
Stains could come from a variety of sources and this will dictate the method used to clean them. Dry stains can be easily removed by vacuuming using an upright vacuum connected to a brush. The brush easily agitates the dust which is them sucked from the carpet. Water soluble stains; these can come from alcoholic beverages, food dyes, mud, milk or washable ink. These types of stains are pretty easy to remove since they will be washed out by water. If they present difficulty, one can add non bleach detergent water and a sponge to bolt them out working from the inside out. Working this way prevents the stain from spreading to other parts. Inks on the other hand can be removed by using alcohol is they are not water based.
Protein based stains are not easy to remove even though they may be water soluble. Some of these stains include blood, chocolate, mustard and some milk stains. These types of stains are cleaned with cold salty water. If this does not work, a mixture of ammonia (1 tablespoon) and a cup of water will do the trick. Other stains that are not protein based but cleaned the same way include; tea, coffee and wine. Fat, oil or wax stains are easy to remove using hot water and detergent. Another trick that will remove them easily is using a paper towel and ironing it using a warm iron. Urine stains are removed by using solutions of vinegar and water in the ratios of 1:1. Warm water with detergent can then be used to freshen the smell of the carpet.
Wax and gum can be used using the traditional method of using ice which hardens the gum or wax making them easy to scrape off. Use of solvents to clean carpet stains should be done with consideration of the type of carpet and solvent being used. Bleach should not be used for stain removal as it damages the carpet. Stain removal is important for a great visual appeal of any carpet. Learning to clean different stains is easy and uses home available ingredients.
