Best Tips to Remove Spots & Stains from Carpets & Furniture

Are you tired of looking at those spots and stains on your carpets, furniture, and floors which are a constant reminder of how clumsy you were? I know you are, and these fail-proof methods can help you deal with them.

Gum

Sometimes kids put gum on furniture. Sometimes adults accidentally lose control of their mouth and gum falls out. Sometimes gum can fall out of a trash can and get pressed into furniture or flooring. Next time gum shows up somewhere it doesn’t belong, try these methods:

• Ensure the gum is dried and hardened by using a can of compressed air or ice or an ice pack (be sure to keep moisture from ice away from the gum). Take a dull scraper to scrape up and lift off the gum. This can work on carpets as well, just be extra careful to avoid damage to the carpet fibers. Vacuum the area and wash with warm soapy water.
• Apply extra strength duct tape to the gum and quickly lift the tape, repeat until the gum is removed.
• Using a microfiber cloth, apply a product like Goo-Gone. Use circular motions and pressure to loosen the gum.

Lipstick

Lipstick from a napkin, a glass tipping onto the carpet, or simply falling asleep on your sofa before removing your makeup can leave embarrassing red marks. Follow these tips to restore your carpet or furniture to its pre-kissed glory.

• If the lipstick has not dried, apply toothpaste to the area to help remove the stain.
• If the lipstick has dried, use a plastic knife or a scraper to remove as much as possible.
• Soak a cloth in ammonia and gently blot at the stain. Remove ammonia from the surface with a clean cloth which has been soaked in water.
• Spray hairspray onto the stain, let sit for roughly 5 minutes and wipe down the area with a dry, clean cloth.

Unfortunately, lipstick is a very stubborn thing to remove, but Accents in Cleaning can help you remove any and all stains.

Shoe Polish

Shoe polish can make work boots and dress shoes look amazing. Whether you have a housemate who is in the military or someone who just likes polished shoes, somewhere in your house is bound to end up with a little-spilled shoe polish.

• Scrape away as much as possible (without damaging the carpet or upholstery) with a scraper or knife.
• Apply dry-cleaning fluid in a blotting fashion to the stain. Followed by a mixture of ammonia and dish soap applied with a clean paper towel (keeping the clean side on the stain at all times to reduce spreading). Rinse with cool water and blot with a clean, dry towel until dry.
• Use acetone nail polish remover. That stuff will remove just about anything!
• Mix a non-bleach laundry detergent with cold water and apply directly to the carpet and scrum.
• Combine water and ammonia, and scrub the carpet with a clean rag. Rinse with warm water and blot or vacuum dry.

 

Nail Polish

• As soon as the spill occurs, grab a cloth or paper towel and blot the stain, do not rub. Rubbing is likely to just push the nail polish into the fibers of the carpet or upholstery.
• Work from the outside in to prevent spreading the stain. Remove as much as you can without cleaning products before continuing.
• Be aware of how specific cleaning products will affect your carpet. Some cleaners can cause discoloration or texture change. Test products on areas unseen before testing it on the nail polish stain.
• Try non-acetone nail polish remover. Avoid acetone-based removers since the chemical can damage the carpet or upholstery. With dark carpets and fibers, try rubbing alcohol or hairspray. Apply to a rag and blot. Carpet cleaners and Windex are safe options as well if other methods do not work.
• If there is a strong smell of nail polish, remover, or cleaner, using a mix of dishwashing detergent and warm water can prove effective. Rinse with clean water and dab dry.

If none of these work, contact us at Accents in Cleaning.

Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream when ice cream spills in our home. The faster the spill can be cleaned, the better. Melting is the enemy.

• Remove the frozen portions without pressing the ice cream into the fibers.
• Use a clean towel and roll it in a reverse motion, moving forward into the spill to pull the substance out of the carpet.
• Combine dish soap and water and spray/apply to the spill, dab at it with a clean towel. Repeat as needed. Rinse with water.

 

Paint

These are one of the worst substances to accidentally spill onto any surface. They are made to stick to surfaces and stay there for a long time. Knowing what to do before a spill occurs is very smart.

• Remove as much paint as possible using a white absorbent cloth, as quickly as possible.
• Blot the area. If possible, use a wet/dry vacuum as this should extract a lot of the paint without rubbing it into the carpet.
• Nail polish remover can remove nearly anything. Avoid acetone-based removers for colored carpets.
• Rinse well and use a towel or wet/dry vac.
• If stains persist, repeat the above methods or call a professional cleaning company.

 

With any spill, time is key. The sooner something can be removed, the less likely it is to stain and ruin furniture or carpets. Keeping a wet/dry vacuum can be helpful, but so is knowledge of a good carpet cleaning company. We are more than happy to give you these tips so you can save your money for your full home or room cleaning instead of renting carpet cleaning machines from the grocery store at insane prices. Nail polish remover, hair spray, dish detergent, and wet-dry vacs are amazingly useful to keep around and we highly recommend it.

Don’t wait for these stains to overwhelm the appearance of your carpet, furniture, and floors, do something about them. The earlier the better. If you want to engage the services of professionals, call us. We’re always ready.

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