How to Get Paint out of Carpet

Are you struggling with a paint stain that refuses to budge? Have you found yourself hopelessly rearranging furniture to cover a paint stain that always draws the eye? You’re not the first to struggle with this issue. 

Whether you have children, recently painted your home, or need to clean carpets or rugs in your art studio, getting paint out can feel impossible. Even if you manage to get the majority of the paint off, you are likely to be left with a pigment stain that refuses to go away. 

But our guide on how to get paint out of carpet will walk you through the entire process and leave you with carpets that look as good as new. We’ll help you remove even the most difficult paint, whether that be stubborn oil-based paints or old paint stains that are decades old.   

What this article covers:

• How to Get Latex Paint out of a Carpet
• How to Get Enamel Paint out of a Carpet
• How to Get Old Paint out of a Carpet
• How to Get Matt Paint out of a Carpet
• How to Get Satin Paint out of a Carpet
• How to Get Paint out of Carpets (FAQS)

How To Get Latex Paint Out Of A Carpet

Latex paint is water-based paint and can be removed relatively easily. The biggest challenge you will face when cleaning latex paint is whether the paint is wet or dry. 

We’ll cover what to do in both cases and how to get your carpets clean and as good as new as quickly as possible.

How To Clean Dry Latex Paint From A Carpet

Step 1: Scrape The Dried Paint Off

With your hand, pull as much of the dried paint off the carpet. You want to remove as much of the clumpy paint as possible to allow the cleaning solution to penetrate easily into the paint. 

When you have pulled as much off as you possibly can, use a paint scraper or another sharp tool to carefully scrape the dry paint off the carpet. The goal is to get enough paint off so that the fibers, even clumped together from paint, are visible again. 

Once you have gotten as much of the paint off as you possibly can, vacuum the surrounding area to remove all the excess bits of pain. You don’t want these clumps of paint dissolving later and further staining your carpet or the carpet pad. 

Step 2: Blot At The Paint With Acetone 

Test this step on a corner of your carpet before putting it on the paint as it can seriously damage certain carpet fibers. If the acetone has a bad reaction to your carpet, you can move on to the next step of the tutorial. 

If there was no bad reaction, you can blot the paint stain with acetone for a bit. This is to loosen up the paint a little and prep it for the next step. Once you are done, wipe it clean so no more acetone is left, and dry the fibers.

Step 3: Apply Red Action

Apply Red Action liquid to the paint spot on your carpet and very gently blot at the stain with a clean white cloth. This is to ensure no color transfers between the dye on the cloth and the carpet.

When blotting, always work from the edge of the stain inward to avoid rubbing the paint stain onto other parts of the carpet. Don’t rub at the stain as this can cause the paint to sink deeper into the carpet and stain the pad below. 

While Red Action was formulated to get red out of carpets, it also works on other pigments and can remove acrylic paint from carpets. It is an amazing ammonia cleaner that will leave your carpet clean and fresh with no sticky residue. 

Step 4: Rinse Red Action

Rinse the Red Action solution from the carpet with water. The best way to do this is by blotting at the paint stain with a clean, damp cloth until all the solution has been absorbed or using a water extraction vacuum for a deep clean. 

Step 5: Re-apply Red Action

Re-apply Red Action to the paint stain and repeat step 3. Slightly agitate the stain from the border inward and blot it with a clean cloth.

If you don’t have an abundance of clean cloths lying around and want to reuse the previous one, just make sure to clean it. Rinse the cloth and get as much of the color that was lifted previously from the fibers before using it on your carpet again.

Step 6: Add Heat To The Paint

To get the most benefits from Red Action, add heat to the solution after you have reapplied it. You can do so by using a hair dryer, a heat gun, or just a heater. Do this for a few minutes. 

Just be careful when working with high heat near your carpet. Don’t hold the heat source right up to the carpet and risk burning it. 

Both synthetic and natural carpet fibers can be severely damaged by direct heat and catch flame. So keep an eye on your carpet and how it is reacting to the heat. If there is a burning smell or you see any fibers shrinking, move the heat source further away. 

Step 7: Rinse Red Action

After a few minutes, rinse the carpet by blotting at the solution with a damp cloth. Repeat until all the solution is gone.

You should now be paint and stain free. If you want to get your entire carpet looking as fresh as your newly cleaned spot, use carpet pre-spray and CRB carpet cleaning machine for a professional clean at home. 

How To Get Wet Latex Paint Out Of A Carpet

Step 1: Remove As Much Paint As Possible

You have luckily found your paint stain while it is wet, which will make removing it a lot easier.

Start by picking up as much of the paint as possible. Do this by blotting at the paint with slightly damp paper towels. Carefully press down and soak up the paint. Use a clean one for every new blot to prevent any transfer or paint stamping. 

When soaking up the paint, work from the outside in to avoid any messes or spreading of the paint. 

Do not rub or move the paint around. This will cause the paint to seep even further into the carpet and smudge it into a wider circle that stains more of the carpet. 

Step 2: Clean The Paint Stain

Because the paint is still wet and step 1 removed much of the excess paint, we can now clean the carpet and it will remove most of the paint with ease. 

Use a carpet cleaning solution like dish soap and water or, for more efficacy, use any of our carpet cleaning chemicals. We’ll be using Red Action for this tutorial as it is the most effective water-based paint remover and carpet cleaner. 

Add Red Action to the paint stain and blot with a clean cloth or paper towel. Work from the outside in to avoid any paint spreading and use a clean cloth to avoid any dye or dirt transfer. 

Step 3: Rinse The Carpet And Repeat If Necessary. 

The next step is to rinse the paint stain. Do this with another clean cloth or paper towel. Dampen it and slowly blot at the paint stain until the carpet no longer has any cleaning solution on it. 

If the paint stain was not removed completely, you can repeat the above steps. But this time add some heat to the cleaning solution when it is on your carpet. Don’t keep the heat too close to the carpet. You don’t want to burn or scorch the carpet fibers. When this is done, you will have a clean carpet. You can also use our guide on how to clean carpet stains to get rid of other common stains. 

How To Get Enamel Paint Out Of A Carpet

Enamel is oil-based paint and is most frequently used to paint walls. Because it’s an oil-based paint, cleaning it up effectively can be a lot more difficult than Latex paint. 

How To Get Dried Paint Out Of A Carpet

Step 1: Remove Dried Paint Clumps. 

Remove as much of the dried clumps of paint as you can. You can pull them off with your hands. You can also use a blade to scrape off any other excess paint from your carpet. 

Try and avoid pulling out the carpet fibers because this will damage your carpet. 

Step 2: Blot The Stain With Paint Thinner

After you have removed as many of the paint clumps as possible, apply some paint thinner to the paint. If you are nervous about putting paint thinner on your carpet, you can dilute it with a bit of water. 

With a clean cloth or a paper towel, gently dab the thinner onto the paint stain. Make sure not to press too deep and push the thinner or paint into the carpet pad. 

This should pick up some of the paint pigment and loosen up the paint for the next step of the process. 

Step 3: Remove Paint Thinner

With a damp paper towel or clean cloth, dab on the paint stain until the paint thinner has been effectively removed. Get it as clean as possible to avoid any chemical reactions with the solution used in the next step. 

Step 4: Apply Pig Out

When all the paint thinner has been removed and the carpet is dry, apply Pig Out to the paint. Sprinkle some of the powder onto the paint and add some water to the mixture until it is damp. 

Pig Out is an advanced blend of solvents that can effectively remove oil-based paints, grease, ink, and might even be effective at removing wax from carpets. 

Step 4: Agitate The Mixture

With a cloth or sponge, gently agitate the Pig Out and water mixture with small, controlled, side-to-side or up and down motions. Try not to spread the stain onto the clean carpet.

Work from the edges of the stain to the middle to avoid spreading the mixture of paint to the surrounding carpet fibers. You will also want to avoid pushing the mixture deeper into the carpet. 

Because Pig Out is such an effective paint remover, it needs to be handled with caution. Make sure no children or pets get near the solution while it dissolves the paint on your carpet. Be careful not to get any of it in your eyes or mouth. 

Step 5: Rinse The Carpet

With a damp cloth or paper towel, rinse the spot of the paint remover mixture. For an even deeper clean, use the Rotovac 360i. With this rotary carpet cleaner, you can deep clean your entire carpet in next to no time. 

When you have finished the rinse, put a towel where the paint stain was and weigh it down with something heavy. This will help absorb any of the diluted pigment that may have run down from the water. 

Leave this on for 30 minutes and remove it. Let it dry and behold your new paint-free carpet. 

How To Get Wet Paint Out Of A Carpet

Step 1: Soak Up The Wet Paint

With a paper towel, soak up as much of the wet paint as possible. Work from the edges in and avoid pressing the paint deeper into the carpet. 

If you see the paint is drying, you can do the dabbing with a wet paper towel or manually wet the paint to prevent it from drying. If it dries, it will make the cleaning process a lot harder and require the use of paint thinner. 

Step 2: Apply Pig Out To The Paint

Apply Pig Out, our advanced solvent, to the paint spot. Sprinkle some of the powder onto the paint and add a little bit of water to the powder. 

Pig-Out can be dangerous when ingested so keep it out of the reach of children and pets and away from your eyes and mouth. 

Step 3: Agitate The Paint Stain

With a sponge or cloth, gently blot and agitate the paint-removing solution. 

Work from the edges of the stain inward to prevent any paint or stain transfer. Don’t rub hard as this will push the paint deeper into the carpet and will make paint removal a lot harder. It could leave a stain that only professional carpet cleaners can remove. 

After you have agitated the paint, leave the mixture to rest for a few minutes. Just keep an eye on the carpet. Because of the variety of synthetic and natural carpet fibers, chemical reactions can have a variety of outcomes. 

If you see the carpet fibers curling or crimping, rather move straight on to the next step. 

Step 4: Rinse Carpet

Using a damp cloth or paper towel, dab the carpet and remove all the mixture. Repeat the dabbing and rinse until you are certain there is no more of the solution left on the carpet. 

Step 5: Let It Dry 

Put a towel over the spot and put something heavy on it so that it can absorb any excess moisture and watery pigment. After about 30 minutes, remove this and let the carpet dry. 

You should now have a paint-free carpet.

How To Get Old Paint Out Of A Carpet

Step 1: Clean Off Dry Clumps

First, remove hard clumps of paint by pulling them off. Try and remove as much as possible without damaging or pulling out the carpet fibers. 

After you have pulled off as many clumps as possible, use a paint scraper or a razor and do some more detailed scraping. If it is too hard, wet the paint with warm water and a paper towel before continuing the scraping. 

Step 2: Vacuum The Paint Particles

To prevent the rehydration of paint splinters, vacuum over the paint spot on your carpet to remove all paint particles.

Step 3: Apply Spotting Chemical

To effectively remove old paint, you will want to rehydrate it. To do this, apply spotting chemicals to the paint spot and let it lift the paint. 

If you don’t know what type of paint made the stain, use Red Action. It works great on pigments and uses its ammonia solution to effectively remove paint stains. It’s a milder solution but still works like a champion. 

If there is no reaction, it is safe to assume it is an oil-based paint. If that is the case, use Pig Out on the paint. It is a stronger paint remover so work cautiously but it will remove even the oldest and toughest paint stains from your carpets. 

Step 4: Hydrate And Rinse

Add some moisture to the mixture and gently dab on the stain with a clean cloth or paper towel. 

You can let the mixture sit for a few minutes, all the while keeping an eye on it to make sure no children or pets ingest any of it. 

Afterward, use a new clean cloth and wet it. Squeeze out excess moisture and get to work blotting the paint stain and rinsing the mixture off. 

It’s important to get all the mixture off. If you don’t, it may continue to react to the fibers and damage your carpet. 

Step 5: Let The Carpet Dry

Dab up any excess moisture with a paper towel and let the now-clean carpet dry. If all else fails, you can use carpet tools to remove and replace the old stained carpet. 

How To Get Matt Paint Out Of A Carpet

Step 1: Remove Excess Paint

If the matt paint has already dried, remove as much as possible with a paint scraper. Vacuum the paint spot to pick up any paint splinters and clumps. You don’t want to rehydrate them and accidentally cause a bigger stain. 

If the matt paint is still wet, remove as much as possible by dabbing clean paper towels on the paint. The goal is to soak up the paint without pushing it further into the carpet or making the stain bigger. Work from the outside in and take your time to gently and effectively remove as much wet paint as possible. 

Step 2: Apply Carpet Cleaner

Because matt paint is water-based paint, professional carpet cleaning products will be able to lift the pigment relatively easily. 

Follow the instructions but keep in mind to never rub at the paint and risk spreading the pigment even further. 

You can combine this with Red Action which works wonders on paint and ink stains. 

Step 3: Rinse Carpet Cleaner And Spot Cleaner

With a clean, damp cloth, dab at the paint spot and remove the carpet cleaner and spot cleaner. Work slowly and try not to push the water too deep into the carpet. 

When you have removed all the product, you can let the carpet dry and enjoy your clean carpet. 

How To Get Satin Paint Out Of A Carpet

Step 1: Remove Excess Paint

As with the other paints, manually remove any dry paint clumps. Use a paint scraper and vacuum when you are done to get rid of any paint clumps that can cause the stain to spread. 

If the paint is wet, use clean paper towels to soak up as much of the paint. Work inward from the edges of the paint stain and make sure not to spread or push it further into the carpet. 

Step 2: Apply Super Gel

Apply Super Gel to the paint stain.

Satin paints come in both water and oil-based formulas. To effectively remove the paint stain, use Super Gel which can remove anything from tar to the most stubborn paints. It is also frequently used to get rid of carpet smells. 

Step 3: Agitate And Let Rest

With a clean cloth or sponge, gently agitate the paint stain. Work from the outside to avoid spreading the pigment. 

Then let the Super Gel mixture rest on the paint. If the paint stain is more severe, you can leave it for longer. 

Step 4: Rinse And Let Dry

With a clean, damp cloth, rinse the Super Gel solution from the carpet. Go slow and make sure every bit of the solution has been removed before letting the carpet finally dry. 

Conclusion

Now that you know how to get paint out of your carpet, you can get right to removing those bothersome paint stains and get your carpets clean. Acrylic, enamel, satin, matt - these paint stains are no match for our products. 

With these methods, you are guaranteed to get most of the paint stains from your carpets. Our specially formulated carpet cleaning chemicals will lift even the most stubborn stains and leave you with carpets that look and feel as good as new. 

How To Get Paint Out Of Carpets (FAQs)

Can carpet cleaners remove paint?

Yes, carpet cleaners will be able to remove paint. They have access to professional carpet cleaning tools like the Hydro Force SX. They also have the expertise to determine exactly what carpet cleaning detergent will remove the paint effectively. 

Luckily, with Truck Mount Forums, you can access these professional carpet cleaning tools too. With these tools, you will be able to remove any stain and restore your carpets to their original luster without calling in professionals. 

What is the best product to remove paint from a carpet?

We can confidently say Pig Out is the best product to remove paint from a carpet. It's an advanced blend of solvents, surfactants, and copolymer and is specifically designed to handle the toughest of stains. 

It can remove things like grease, makeup, magic markers, nail polish, ink, and paint. It’s one of the most highly recommended products in our range and is used by mothers, pet owners, painters, and commercial cleaners alike.

Did you find our blog helpful? Then consider checking other guides:

• How to Get Blood Out of Carpet
• How to Get Human Urine Smell Out of Carpet
• How to Get Old Pee Stains Out of Carpet
• How to Get Kid Pee Smell Out of Carpet
• How to Get Poop Out of Carpet
• How to Get Vomit Smell Out of Carpet
• How to Clean Vomit from Carpet
• How to Get Dried Dog Pee Out of Carpet
• How to Get Dog Pee Out of Carpet
• Get Rid of Dog Dander and Odors For Good From Carpets!
• Latest Carpet Wand and Stair Tool, Plus Giveaway!