Carpets can be difficult to take care of with the risk of staining being a constant worry. Ideally, you would avoid dropping anything on your carpet but unfortunately this is rarely the case. Stains can come in a wide range, from the relatively easy to remove, to the more stubborn and challenging.
Some stains could require a qualified professional carpet cleaner that has both the right tools and the expertise to know what to do. These are 8 of the hardest carpet stains to remove from your carpet.
Red Wine
Red wine is a classic stain that many fear, as it’s a dark liquid that is notoriously difficult to remove from carpet.
It is essential, with all liquid spills to immediately, or as soon as possible, remove all excess liquid. Liquid has a low viscosity and will therefore easily penetrate carpet fibers.
You could use a clean white cloth, or for best results use the O’Shea’s Mr Absorbent sponge. This first step is vital, as the longer liquid remains on carpet the further it will soak in; it will soak through the carpet, then the backing and then the underlay or sub floor making it incredibly difficult to remove.
This is one of the most important steps in ensuring you get the best results.
Once excess liquid has been removed you will need to spray the stain with O’Shea’s Spot Remover, use a generous amount and make sure the whole stain, is covered (you do not however, need to soak the stain). Then start blotting using a clean white rag, or again for best results use the O’Shea’s Mr Absorbent sponge. Do not rub, as you will tease the fibers in your carpet, blotting and / or dabbing will be much more gentle on your carpet. Be sure to have a bucket of clean water next to you, so that you can rinse your cloth or Mr Absorbent sponge in between blotting. Keep blotting and rinsing and repeating this until the stain is removed. You may need to apply a small amount of additional Spot Remover as you work through the process.
Pet Urine
The most common culprit for this problem is most likely your untrained cat or dog. Again, urine is a liquid, and if not cleaned immediately will soak into your carpet pile, your carpet backing, underlay and / or sub floor. This make not only the stain, but in this instance the odour, extremely difficult to remove.
Remove excess liquid (urine) before commencing stain treatment. Please consider wearing gloves, urine is a bodily fluid and is considered bio waste, please consider your own health. If there is an excessive amount, you may like to start soaking the liquid with paper towel or clean white rags that can then be disposed of. Remove as much of the urine as possible. If you do have an O’Shea’s Mr Absorbent sponge you should use this to blot off as much of the urine as possible. Make sure you thoroughly rinse the Mr Absorbent sponge and spray with O’Shea’s 3in1, if you have access to it.
Then cover the stain in O’Shea’s Spot Remover, wet your clean, white cloth or Mr Absorbent sponge and start blotting at the stain. Make sure you have a bucket of fresh water next to you and rinse between blotting. Repeat until you are happy the stain has been removed.
Once you removed the stain, thoroughly cover the affected area in O’Shea’s 3in1. Not only will it help manage any odour it will sanitise and kill bacteria from the bio waste.
You can wash and sanitise your Mr Absorbent sponge following this, but better still, throw it in the bin and grab a fresh one! Whilst they are the type of product that could last forever, they are an affordable household item and like any sponge, exchanging your used sponge for a fresh one once in while is a great idea!
If urine has penetrated your underlay or sub floor, further treatment by a professional will be required.
Vomit
Vomit and other bodily fluids can be tricky stains to remove from your carpet if you don’t have the right tools. Again, it’s important to remember to use gloves.
In the first instance, you need to remove and dispose of any solid waste, by scraping it off the carpet, wrapping it and disposing of it. A spatula or some such item should assist you to scrape the solid soil off, do not rub any solid soil into the carpet fibers.
Once you have removed the solid soil, you will follow the same process as the pet urine above.
Be sure to follow this up with a professional clean of your whole carpet to remove all lingering substances.
Blood
Blood stains could occur due to an accident or mishap, so be sure to deal with the person who’s bleeding first. Once you have the situation under control you can then turn your attention to your carpet.
Remembering to wear gloves, blot up any excess blood using paper kitchen towels or soft light coloured cloths and then wrap and dispose of. Then follow the same process as above. Once again finishing with O’Shea’s 3in1 to thoroughly sanitise the area.
Work from the outside of the stain towards the centre. Be sure to always use cold water for blood stains, never use hot water for blood stains as this will cause it to set.
Other Coloured Drinks
Orange soft drinks such as Fanta, other soft drinks and alcoholic beverages such as Cruisers and other coloured beverages have food colour in them. These food colours will potentially dye and stain your carpet. These are stains notorious among professional carpet cleaners for presenting a challenge, particularly spills in pubs, lobbies etc that have not been cleaned immediately and have been allowed to penetrate the carpet, carpet backing, and underlay etc.
The most important factor to consider when there is a spill of this nature is how quickly you clean it. The longer the spills remains uncleaned, the longer the dyes have to penetrate the fibers and set in. It is absolutely imperative the spill is cleaned immediately, or as soon as possible. Be sure to firstly treat the stain as if it were red wine.
You will want to follow this up with the help of an who expert can test and apply a specialist dye remover.
Coffee
Coffee is another stubborn stain that you’ll want to treat immediately before it becomes permanent. Like other beverage spills, be sure to remove as much excess liquid as possible, cover the stain with O’Shea’s Spot Remover and start blotting.
Remember to work from the outside of the stain to the centre, and to rinse your sponge frequently to avoid spreading the stain.
Again, you may like to consider finishing with a good dose of O’Shea’s 3in1 to eliminate any coffee odours.
Ink
Ballpoint pens, ink cartridges and ink spillages are not very common stains but can still happen. Once they’re trodden on and walked around your home or workplace, they can be very difficult to remove.
Try and scrape or remove any soil that is sitting on top or has not soaked in. Try not to rub the stain in or spread it.
Cover in a generous amount of O’Shea’s Spot Remover and start dabbing or blotting with a clean white cloth or ideally, an O’Shea’s Sponge. Make sure you rinse the Mr Absorbent in fresh water or grab a new white cloth every now and then. Don’t over wet as this will spread the stain.
Cooking Oil
If you do manage to spill cooking oil onto your carpet, it can be a difficult stain to remove. Oil has a much higher viscosity than other liquid spills so will have more of a tendency not to soak in quite as much as other liquid spills- hopefully! You need to try to scrape off as much as possible and then get to work using O’Shea’s Spot Remover and Mr Absorbent Sponge.
A hot water extraction from a professional may also be required.
If you’re looking for expert carpet cleaning in Adelaide, our friendly and committed team at O’Shea’s are dedicated to providing the highest level of professional services to customers. With more than 29 years of experience, contact us today to find out more about how we can help.
