Coffee drinkers, toddlers with sticky fingers, muddy pets and guests with a glass of red wine in hand. They’re in almost all of our homes and all can lead to pesky carpet stains.
If you’ve got a carpet stain, don’t panic. There are plenty of ways to remove stains from your carpet, regardless of what's been spilled.
The key is knowing when to use certain solutions, and when to avoid them - unless you chose to install carpet tiles that you can easily replace!
Follow our simple tips to rid your home carpet or rug of the most common stains, including red wine, coffee, pet stains, ink and more.
If you're looking for help with general cleaning, follow our guide on how to clean your carpet deeply.
Jennie Holmes is the Branch Manager of Service Master Clean, having worked in the company for over 20 years helping residential and commercial property owners across large swathes of the UK clean and maintain their carpets, upholstery and flooring.
Based in Leicester and an expert in stain repair, cleaning technology and strategies, there is rarely a situation that Jennie hasn’t handled in her tenure, allowing her to provide valuable insight to customers, business owners and the head office staff of ServiceMaster Ltd.
Service Master Clean is part of the family of brands, which includes Merry Maids, that offers professional cleaning services.
Jennie's advice and our cleaning tips might just help you avoid the cost of hiring a carpet cleaner or renting specialist equipment.
Red wine and coffee are some of the deepest stains and can leave dark, unsightly marks on your carpet. To remove them follow these simple steps:
Before you start cleaning, gently blot out as much of the wine as you can with a paper towel or a clean cloth – don’t rub it in.
Mix a tablespoon each of washing-up liquid and white vinegar with two cups of warm water.
Sponge the mixture on the stain using a clean cloth. Do this gently, a little at a time, alternating with a dry cloth until the stain disappears.
Finally, sponge with cold water and blot dry.
If all else fails (especially on a cream carpet), mix one part washing-up liquid with two parts bleach. Sponge it on and then pat dry, as above.
Rinse well with cold water. It’s best to carry out a patch test in a hidden corner somewhere first to make sure this mixture isn’t too strong for your carpet. Don’t try this on a wool carpet.
Jennie always considers the carpet type before tackling a carpet stain.
She says "The method and treatment used to deal with carpet stains will depend on the type of stain and the type of carpet that needs to be treated.
"With a wool carpet, for example, you have to be very careful with the type of substances you apply to treat the stain. You wouldn’t want to use any harsh chemicals as this can cause further damage to your carpet."
Unsurprisingly, the key to removing marks like these is picking the right carpet stain removal techniques.
Ink stains can fall into two categories, regular ballpoint pen marks or leaky permanent markers.
Ballpoint ink or washable felt tip ink
Ink often comes out quickly with soap and water. But if not:
Spray the stain with hairspray (yes, hairspray. Really. The alcohol in it will dissolve the ink) and gently blot dry with a paper towel. Don’t rub it in.
Repeat until the stain is gone.
Vacuum the carpet to remove the hairspray residue.
To clean felt tips or permanent marker ink stains
Make sure you treat a marker pen stain as soon as possible, as some permanent inks really will be permanent when left too long. To reduce the ink stains as much as possible, follow the below steps:
Lightly dab methylated spirits to the stained carpet area.
Blot dry with a paper towel and repeat until the ink colour seems to be lifting.
Leave for a couple of minutes and blot dry again with paper towels.
Once the stain is gone, remove the remaining alcohol by pressing a wet towel against the area
For really stubborn ink stains, many textile experts recommend Amodex Ink and Stain Remover. Apply this gently with a small household brush or toothbrush and then rinse thoroughly. Dry with a hairdryer to remove watermarks.
Muddy shoe prints, or paw prints, can be a common occurrence in the hallway, especially in winter. To get rid of mud stains on your carpet follow these steps:
First, let the mud dry out.
Remove as much mud from the carpet as possible by brushing or vacuuming.
Mix one tablespoon of washing up liquid with two cups of warm water and sponge onto the stain.
Blot with lightly dampened paper towels. Repeat as necessary until the stain has been removed. Rinse with clear water and blot dry.
Spilled wax or dripping birthday candles can make for unsightly marks on your carpet. Fortunately they are also fairly straightforward to remove. To remove wax from your carpet:
Place a sheet of kitchen roll over the wax drip and iron in a circle on a low heat. Don’t let the iron stray on your carpet, or it can melt some fibres.
Keep moving the paper around the affected area until all the wax has been soaked up.
If it was a coloured candle, remove any resulting colour stain with a few drops of methylated spirits. Lightly dab on with a paper towel and blot until dry.
Jennie also recommends temporarily removing any furniture around the stain and opening the windows to allow the carpet to dry faster.
Explaining, she says "Once you have cleaned your carpet it should take a few hours to dry. If possible, keep off the carpet whilst it is drying to ensure the best result. Once it is dry, you can move your furniture back into the room.
"I would advise placing squares of tin foil under the legs of furniture to ensure that there is no dye transfer from the furniture onto the carpet, until it is dry.
"If the stain proves problematic or you don't feel confident treating the stain yourself, you’re safer calling in the professionals who know how to deal with specific carpet and stain types so as not to risk further or permanent damage."
Having trouble with upholstery stains? Read our guide on the best ways to clean upholstery.
If somebody in your home has had an accident, you could find yourself dealing with a poop or urine stain.
There are several ways to clean these stains, since your approach partly depends on whether you're dealing with a solid or liquid.
The chances are that you'll need an enzymatic cleaner, since these can clear out bacteria most effectively. White vinegar and bicarbonate of soda should come in handy, too.
For a closer look at what you'll need to do, read our guide on how to clean poop off a carpet.
Dealing with urine instead? For that, check out our guide on how to clean dog pee from a carpet.
If you're struggling to cleanse your carpet, take the time to learn more about hiring a professional carpet cleaner.
Once you're informed, book a carpet stain removal with a professional carpet cleaner near you or post a free enquiry to hear from local services directly.