There are times it will seem impossible to handle a carpet stain in your home. Some of the toughest stains you encounter only get worse when you rub them into the carpet fibers, while treating stains with chemical products may end up creating more problems. Here are five tough stains and what you can do to manage them without resorting to toxic products.
1. Coffee
A coffee stain will stick to your carpet fabric as soon as it cools. The dark liquid creates a challenge for any light-colored rug, but the best way to handle coffee or black tea is to respond quickly with a towel dipped in hot water. If you didn't notice the spill or it happened when you were out of the house and has already set in, you probably have a problem on your hands that will have to wait for your next carpet cleaning.
2. Oil and Grease
Oils and greases are tricky to remove once they hit your carpet because these substances deflect water. You will need a type of detergent designed to treat grease and fats in order to have success with oil stains. Dishwashing soap is a household product built for this purpose. Try blotting the grease spot with a cloth dabbed in dishwashing liquid to get the stain out.
3. Fruit Juices
The natural juices from berries and bottled juices kids love contain high amounts of acid. This factor, combined with intense coloring that acts as a dye, make fruit juices among the toughest stains to hit a carpet. A little club soda or baking soda may work if the stain is fresh on your carpet, but once it sets in, fruit juice produces enduring stains that will require a professional cleaning.
4. Wine
Red wine contains a great deal of acidity and bright coloring like fruit juice, which makes it another carpet stain that is virtually impossible to remove without professional help once it hits a rug that's light in color. Unfortunately, rubbing a stain with water may only force the dyes deeper into the carpet fabric. Trying club soda on a cloth napkin may help, but the dark coloring of red wine may force you to wait until a professional can address the stains.
5. Gum
If someone has dropped gum on your carpet, it will be a challenge. Finding the gum tracked into your home on shoes makes it more complicated because of the added soils involved. Gum's stickiness is the main challenge, but you can counteract this effect by freezing it (try an ice pack). Once the gum hardens, it loses its sticky quality and can be gently scraped off with a butter knife. Residues may remain once you deal with the solid matter, but these can be removed during a professional cleaning.
The best way to ensure proper long term removal of stains is by calling a professional carpet cleaner as soon as possible. Some of these do-it-yourself methods may help in the short term, but soaps left behind in your carpets may cause the spot to reappear shortly. For the most stubborn substances, contact ZEROREZ® of Atlanta for complete stain removal and carpet cleaning without the use of chemicals.
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