Which Stains Are The Hardest to Clean On Carpet
It is costly to replace your carpet, thus, it is necessary to take good care of it to ensure its longevity. You undoubtedly already know that certain carpet stains are more challenging to eliminate than others. The ever-reliable mixture of soap and water may remove common stains such as grime and mud when used as part of a regular cleaning regimen. However, with the stains we will discuss, it will need a lot of elbow grease and special treatment.
In this article, we will be going over the hardest carpet stains to remove and as well as giving you helpful insight on how to deal with them.
Toughest stains on a carpet and how to remove them
Accidents are bound to happen whether we like it or not, and when one happens it is always a good idea to be prepared for anything and everything. Typically, the stains that are most difficult to remove from your carpet are those generated by natural compounds. Unfortunately, these stains also produce the foulest odours and are more evident than others.
Here we have listed down the most common tough stains and how to clean them:
1. Coffee stains
Coffee may be the beverage you’ve always turned to for solace, but it may be your harshest and most ruthless enemy as a stain. Coffee contains some of the most difficult stains in the world. Due to its high concentration, coffee is a significant source of dark stains. In addition, the beverage is challenging to eliminate since it contains a potent combination of proteins, fat, and sugar. Removing it will be much more difficult if you enjoy adding milk to your brew.
How to clean:
- Utilising a dry cloth, dry the stain. If there is a substantial spill, you must replace the soiled cloth. Be very careful, a coffee-saturated fabric can spread the stain even further.
- In a spray bottle, combine 1 and 1/4 cups water and 1/4 cup bleach. This mixture is acceptable for use on Polypropylene-based carpets. Spray the area to moisten it thoroughly. Remove the discolouration using a towel and wash with warm water. Repeat until the stain is completely eliminated.
- Other commercially available products can remove this type of stain, but you must test them first. Avoid harsh chemicals, use gloves, use the product cautiously, and follow the instructions.
2. Juice and other coloured beverages stains
Food colouring is present in juice, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and many other beverages. These food colourings may discolour and stain your carpet. These stains are known among professional carpet cleaners for posing a problematic cleaning task if not removed immediately and allowed to permeate the carpet, carpet backing, and underlay. When a spill of this type occurs, the most critical consideration is how soon it is cleaned up. The longer stains are left uncleaned, the longer the dyes have to permeate the fibres and set. The spill must be cleaned up immediately and as quickly as possible.
How to clean:
- Use a dry towel to remove the stain first. Dab the stain, avoid rubbing it. It could result in the surface saturation of the carpet pad.
- Combine 1 tablespoon of dish soap and 1/4 cup of white vinegar. Put the mixture in a spray bottle for spraying. Spray the damaged area generously, soak for 5 to 10 minutes, and then begin blotting with a dry, clean cloth to remove the stain.
- Always test a small section of the carpet to check that the mixture is safe for use.
3. Blood stains
Getting injured is an everyday possibility for which we must always be prepared. If you have cuts and scrapes that haven’t fully healed or unceremonious bouts of nosebleeds, you may anticipate your clothing and carpet to be dotted with dark red stains. Blood’s proteins and pigments all contribute to a problematic stain removal procedure.
How to clean:
- You must address the stained carpet as soon as possible. The key to totally eradicating the blood stain is a prompt response.
- Instead of warm water, treat fresh blood stains with cold water. Blood solidifies when the temperature is warm. Blood cannot absorb into the carpet because of the cold water.
- Pour 2 teaspoons of grease-fighting dishwashing liquid into a bottle of cold water and spray the solution over the blood stain until the carpet is completely saturated. It must be dried with a towel or paper towel and thoroughly rinsed in cold water.
- Oxi-clean is also the most effective solution for blood stains. Nevertheless, it must be diluted with warm water. After diluting, you can also add cold water and stir thoroughly. Apply this with a spray bottle or by pouring it directly onto the blood stain.
4. Pet stains
Your untrained cat or dog is almost certainly to blame for this issue. Again, urine is a liquid that will absorb into the carpet pile, backing, underlay, and subfloor if not cleaned as soon as possible. Extending the washing procedure for a faeces stain will just exacerbate the smell and make cleaning and scouring more difficult. This makes it difficult to remove the stain, and in this situation, the odour.
How to clean:
- Use gloves to collect the solids and the blot technique for the liquids. This aids in saturating the area without the need for washing or spreading. Repeat this process until the carpet is clean and free of stains.
- Occasionally, pet stains have already dried on the carpet fibres. In this instance, saturate the soiled area with water and apply a specific carpet cleaning product immediately. Turning off the lights in the room and employing a black light can allow you to examine old urine stains. This reveals old traces of pee. Utilise chalk to define the damaged regions.
- It would help if you employed a new strategy to combat the odour and stain. Avoid cleaning dog urine with an ammonia-based product. Your pet may be enticed to urinate in the same spot due to ammonia, a substance also found in dog urine.
- The area can be sprayed with a warm vinegar solution consisting of 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of lukewarm water. Soak it to remove the foul odour and lighten the discolouration. After soaking the damaged region, use the blot technique to eradicate the mark. Sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda on the stain, let it sit for approximately 24 hours, and then vacuum thoroughly.
5. Wine stains
As a dark liquid that is famously difficult to remove from carpeting, red wine is feared by many as a traditional stain. There is no need to be alarmed if you discover wine on your clothing or carpet. With the aid of some natural cleaning chemicals and the knowledge of how to wash it properly, you can erase wine stains as quickly as you can take your prefered painkiller for a hangover.
How to clean:
- It would help if you tried removing the discolouration with a handful of salt. The salt will then absorb the colour of the wine stain, turning it pink.
- As with blood, begin by blotting the liquid’s surface. Then, work from the stain’s perimeter towards its centre using a mixture of water and white wine vinegar.
- It is preferable to be patient and apply little amounts of cleaning solution periodically to the carpet rather than soaking it entirely at once. The latter could spread the stain and damage the backing of the carpet.
Completely cleaning a stain depends on the type of carpet and the substance that was spilt on it. Not every carpet can be cleaned of every stain. Nonetheless, with immediate, appropriate intervention, it is always possible to lessen the damage significantly, and in many cases, permanent discolouration can be avoided.
Bottom line
Most of these methods and strategies for removing carpet stains include household items and detergents. There are numerous cleaning agents made specifically for each type of stain. Carpets give beauty to our home, but they may be fragile and costly; therefore, we must carefully maintain our carpets. Consequently, if any of the above solutions do not meet your expectations, you must investigate more possibilities at a local chain store selling stain-removal products. Better yet, hire professionals to assist you in cleaning these stains for good.
If you are in search of professional carpet cleaning specialists in Perth, BOAS is the team you need! We have the capability to care for and preserve your buildings and workplaces to worldwide standards, including your carpets, upholstery, and other forms of flooring. Our technicians are highly skilled and knowledgeable in stone works, vinyl floors and hard floors maintenance, light resurfacing natural stones, clean and seal, strip and seal, acid wash, deep machine scrub, high pressure clean, tile and grout restoration, builders cleaning, window cleaning, carpet & upholstery cleaning, leather cleaning, sofa cleaning, carpet protection, and odour neutralisation.
If requested, we will supply Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all chemicals used by Boas Cleaning Services. We will take full responsibility for our cleaning standards and ensure the highest quality outcomes!