Carpet Stain Cleaning Tips

Everyday Carpet Stain Cleaning Tips

Carpets are designed to add aesthetic points to a room or area while keeping floors protected from wear and tear. That of course unfortunately means that it is the carpet that inadvertently bears the brunt of wear and tear. To help keep your carpet clean and well maintained, below are some carpet stain cleaning tips guaranteed to extend the life and beauty of your carpet.

Protein based stains Protein based stains like blood, once it sets into the carpet can be almost impossible to remove. As with all stains, the sooner you do something about, the better chances you have at success. For protein based stains like blood, be sure to keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide handy. Incidentally, this tip is not only great for carpets but for upholstery too.

While the blood is still wet, put a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to the affected area. If the blood is still wet, the chemical reaction of hydrogen peroxide and the protein based stein will form foam bubbles that will lift the blood from the carpet fibers on to the surface. Dab at the foam bubbles with a white cloth and repeat the process until all the liquid stain is lifted off the carpet.

If done properly, the area should only be slightly damp after the process. At any rate, spray a little water on to the area and dab with a white cloth to get rid off any excess hydrogen peroxide. Take a portable hair dryer and dry the area thoroughly.

Bubble gum stains Bubble gum is a nightmare when it gets into one's hair or onto the carpet. This sticky substance is very tricky to remove and more often than not, a few traces of the gum remains even after the most thorough cleaning. To get rid of gum stains from the carpet, you can decide to use either a hot or cold application. Choosing the type of application should depend on the type of carpet fiber you are working with.

Choose a cold gum removal treatment if your carpet fiber is pretty tough and can withstand a little elbow grease. For this, put ice cubes inside a fairly insulated bag. Apply the pack to the affected area. The idea here is to freeze the gum and get it to become stiff and less elastic. When this happens, get an old but fairly firm toothbrush and scrub the gum away. Continue to apply the cold compress to area until it becomes very stiff and all of the trace particles come off with a good scrub.

You can also decide to use a hot technique to get the gum out. If you have a portable hair dryer that can be set to very high temperatures, use this to soften the gum in your carpet for easier removal. Remember however that with certain types of fibers, doing this may cause the gum to be even more deeply embedded into the carpet. This may cause more damage and should only be done only if you have an extra pair of hands. This way you can apply the heat and start working on removing the gum at the same time.

Ink and rust stains Especially for ink stains, it is important to work on the area before the stain gets the chance to dry and set in. For this, mix half and half of water and vinegar and spray lightly on the affected area. Use a clean white cloth to dab at the stain. Repeat this process until the stain is lifted off and no more color is transferred to the clean white cloth when you dab with it.

Be sure to totally dry the area afterwards to prevent molds and mildew with each of these carpet stain cleaning tips.