Whether you are having a party at home or just eating in the living room, spills of food and liquids on the carpet happen suddenly, in most cases, inadvertently. Indeed, children often spill all sorts of substances on carpets, rugs, and bedding at home. The good news is that with our tips for effective carpet cleaning, you can deal with the problem, and you won’t have to move the sofa over the stain to cover it.
“Yesterday, my little son pushed the cup of coffee, and everything spilt on the carpet. I panicked because I did not know what to do. And we bought the carpet only a month ago. I soaked up the liquid immediately with a paper towel. The only thing I remembered I had at home was a pack of degreasers. I had heard I could clean the stain with dishwashing detergent, but I did not dare. I was worried it would get worse. Then I sprayed some of the degreasers, and later the stain was gone. However, I need to determine if this method works for all carpets. Maybe I was lucky with mine.”
We often find such posts in forums where people share similar stories and look for solutions.
Food and drinks on the carpet are some of the most difficult to clean that homeowners have to deal with. Although such cases are common, many people need to learn how to fix them correctly. There is more than one way. But it is crucial to learn how to clean these spills properly. Otherwise, you risk damaging your carpet for a long time and the unpleasant feeling of constantly looking at the stain. And so:
- Mop up spilt food or liquid immediately. Pick with a suitable object as much as possible to avoid soaking. If the spill is more liquid, soak it with a clean sponge. If it is a harder food, carefully pick up the fallen particles with your hands.
- Soak the area with a clean towel or paper towel. That will remove excess moisture. It will also reduce the likelihood of carpet staining. For better results, pour warm water on the spilt stain before soaking it up.
- Cleaning solutions can do a great job. When you spill something on the carpet, dissolve a teaspoon of detergent (without bleach) in a glass of warm water. In most cases, you can handle this tool quite quickly. Apply it on the stain and blot it with a clean towel. After a few soaks, the carpet will be clean.
But if the stains stick to the carpet, it is not good to rub it hard. Often when a contaminant gets on the carpet, we start rubbing the area, hoping to remove the stain. However, the actual result is a little different. Not only does rubbing not help, but it spreads them, and they become more prominent and more easily visible. Instead, the better tactic is to soak up. This technique is much more efficient and guarantees minimal damage and contamination to the carpet.
There is something else that can be useful. Always clean stains from the outside inwards towards their centre. This way, you will stop the stain from spreading to the side.
Do not despair of wine stains
If you inadvertently spill red wine on the carpet, you may have already come to terms with the fact that it is permanently marked. However, this is only partially true. There are ways you can clean the carpet even from such “aggressive” stains like this. For this purpose, as we said, you should not rub the carpet but absorb the stain to the centre. You need a towel, preferably made of soft cotton fabric. You should dip it well in baking soda.
Apply the baking soda over the entire stain with a gentle absorbent motion, and then let it soak for about 15 minutes. Then rinse the area with water and see how far the damage extends. Then pour half a glass of white vinegar, and fill the other half with tap water. Also, take a clean sponge. Dip the fungus into the mixture and rub the wine stain on the carpet.
You can then use baking soda again to rub the area once more and leave it to stand for a while, which must likewise be followed by rinsing and cleaning several times with water and white vinegar. Here we deliberately emphasize white vinegar, as its colour is the most neutral, and there will be no risk of other unpleasant traces and stains on the carpet.
The miracle of shaving cream
Surely you have not heard this because this practice is highly unpopular, but did you know that with the help of shaving cream, you can successfully clean different types of stains from your carpet? If you want to ask what stains, this is almost any type of stain, as long as the stain is not very old and has not coloured the flooring permanently.
The most effective are shaving creams as a spray, but others also work for this purpose. Spray the stain on the carpet with cream, then leave it like that. The required time for you to not touch the place is approximately 30 minutes, after which you can clean it with a dry cloth. If the spot is still not in good condition, you can easily apply the above procedure with vinegar and water.
You can achieve good results by cleaning up spilt food and drinks at home and with everything that every household has. If you still believe you will fail, you can safely order professional cleaning services. All stains are removed mainly with desire and knowledge of the composition of the tissue and the preparations used.