Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning · Carpet Cleaning 101 ·Aug 26, 2022

How to Get Stains out of Carpet

Whether you have kids that frequently mess on your carpet or you spilled some wine or paint, carpet stains are common and extremely stubborn. It can feel impossible to remove them and might even require you to call in the professionals for a deep clean.

But if you want to save money and learn how to DIY your carpet cleaning for future stains, use these steps and these products to get that professionally cleaned carpet look at home.

Say goodbye to stubborn stains with our guide on how to get stains out of your carpet and get them feeling, looking, and smelling fresh.

What this article covers:

Best Ways To Remove Stains From Carpets

What To Use To Clean Stains Out Of Carpets

We’ve all had a stubborn carpet stain that refuses to let go. And when you ask people how to remove the stain, the most common answer will be to use some warm water and a little bit of bleach.

If your goal is to strip your carpet of color or cause the fibers to become brittle or even burn, go ahead.

While some DIY home cleaning supplies, like baking soda or dish soap, might work, none of them will ever match the cleaning power of professional carpet cleaning chemicals.

The essentials for professional at-home carpet cleaning are:

Carpet Cleaning Pre-Spray: Our pre-sprays are perfect for any carpet or couch and can be bought in different scents and different pH levels. This ensures your carpets are always safe from the chemicals used.

With some water and these pre-sprays, you are guaranteed to remove even the most stubborn carpet stains. The best part? The scent. We offer pre-sprays with scents that are bound to bring some new life into your home.

Rug Smack Cleaner: This carpet cleaner works on both natural and synthetic fibers and is guaranteed to get your carpet looking clean and bright. And no matter how much you dilute it, Rug Smack Cleaner will still be the most powerful rug/carpet cleaner out there.

Spotting Chemicals: For hard-to-clean spots like grease, paint, and ink, add our spotting chemicals and watch their lifting power remove stubborn stains. Combine spotting chemicals with the above-mentioned cleaning chemicals for carpets that look better than new.

USOR Unchained: Pet and urine odors can make carpet cleaning feel impossible. But with USOR Unchained, which breaks odor molecules, you will be able to remove odors from carpets without having to replace all your carpets.

Ultimate All Fiber Rinse: This amazing carpet rinse is safe on all carpets and prevents browning and yellowing, stabilizes the carpet colors, and leaves your carpet with a wonderful citrusy scent.

With the above carpet cleaning products, you will be able to handle any stains just as well as professional carpet cleaners. These products are specifically formulated by our cleaning chemists to remove stains without damaging the carpets or stripping away any color.

It will leave your carpets feeling clean, won’t leave any sticky residues or unpleasant smells, and will rejuvenate your carpets to look like they did when they were new.

Easy Way To Clean Carpet Stains

The most common method of carpet cleaning is using dish soap and some water. This works on most carpet fibers and will remove water-soluble stains like milk, mud stains, and washable ink.

While this method is the easiest and quickest, it won’t have the power to remove wax from a carpet and other tough stains resin, wine, and grease.

For your stain, start with this method if it is a relatively new stain and wasn’t made by a very sticky, color staining, or harsh substance. This is also your safest bet if you aren’t sure where the stain is from.

If the stain is more intense, move on to the other carpet cleaning methods that use more potent cleaning chemicals.

Step 1: Mix Water And Dish Soap

To start your carpet cleaning, fill a cup with room temperature water. Add a few drops of dish soap to the water and mix them.

Any old dish soap will work. If you don’t have any, you can buy a cheap one from your nearest store. Don’t be too hung up on the amount of dish soap you use. It is a mild detergent and isn’t likely to be harsh on any carpet fibers.

If you tried cleaning the stain with bleach or a detergent that has any bleach in it, make sure to rinse and remove the bleach thoroughly before applying the dish soap. Bleach and dish soap mixed together can release toxic chemicals that can be dangerous for humans and animals.

Step 2: Dab On The Stain With The Mixture

Use a white microfiber cloth or towel and soak up a little bit of the water and dish soap mixture. Always use a white cloth when cleaning stains to prevent any dye transfer from harsh cleaning supplies.

Dab on the stain with your dish soap and water until the whole stain has been covered with the mixture.

Always dab as rubbing on the stain will dig the stain deeper into the fibers and will stain the pad on the carpet, which is extremely hard to clean. It might even require professional cleaners to clean properly.

Don’t soak too much of the mixture onto the carpet stain. Use just enough to soak the carpet fibers and avoid soaking the pad of the carpet.

Step 3: Let The Mixture Sit On The Stain

After you have dabbed on your mixture, let it sit on the stain for 5 to 10 minutes. This will let the soap do its work and lift the stain.

If your stain is a bit more severe, feel free to leave the mixture on for a little longer. As long as you didn’t add any other chemicals to the mixture, the dish soap should be perfectly safe on the carpet. Just make sure no children or pets get the dish soap in their mouths or eyes.

Step 4: Remove The Mixture From The Stain

When the time is up and you feel the soap has soaked enough, use a new, clean cloth with clean water and dab at the stain.

Like before, the goal is to remove the soap without rubbing it deeper into the carpet. Continue the dabbing until all the soap has been removed from the carpet.

Step 5: Let The Cleaned Carpet Dry

To get an accurate measure of how well the stain lifted, let the carpet dry. You can let it air dry or use a hair dryer if you are a bit more impatient.

If the stain has been lifted and removed by the dish soap and water mixture, then great! But if the stain is still present, you will need to use more advanced carpet cleaning methods.

Move on to the next tutorials for a more specialized cleaning approach.

How To Get Stains Out Of A White Carpet

White carpets are notoriously difficult to clean and keep clean. Stains tend to stick and getting white carpets to their original bright luster can feel almost impossible.

To get the best possible clean for your white carpet and remove stains, most remedies would recommend using vinegar. And while vinegar does work for stain removal, we believe an ammonia solution will do the job better and faster.

If you have vinegar available and would like to use it instead of ammonia, you can just substitute it with the ammonia in the below steps.

Step 1: Use An Ammonia Solution

You can buy ammonia online or at a hardware store near you. Or you can opt for Red Action Qts. It was specially formulated with ammonia and other carpet cleaning chemicals to ensure the best stain removal without causing any damage to your carpets.

While it works wonders in getting rid of red from carpets, it isn’t limited to just red. It also works brilliantly on a variety of other stains and will bring your white carpet back to life.

Step 2: Mix The Ammonia Solution

When you have found an ammonia solution you like, mix one tablespoon of the ammonia solution with one cup of water. Mix the two together and pour the mixture into a spray bottle.

If you opted for Red Action Qts, you don’t have to mix anything. You can just move straight to the next step.

Step 3: Apply The Ammonia Solution To The Stain

With the spray bottle, apply the diluted ammonia solution onto the stain. With a sponge or white cloth, dab and lightly agitate the stain to work the solution into the fibers. Do this to get the stain lifted for the best results.

You can also add some heat to the solution for maximum potency. Do this with a hair dryer or heater for a few minutes and move on to the next step. Make sure not to burn your carpet fibers with heat, especially if it is synthetic fibers like Nylon.

Step 4: Remove Solution And Dry

Rinse the solution from the carpet with clean water and a clean cloth. Dab it dry with a paper towel and dry it to check the stain. Your white carpet should now be stain free.

If there is still a bit of stain, repeat the above steps up to two more times.

If the stain is gone but your white carpet looks dull, use Rug Smack Cleaner to wash your carpet. It will thoroughly clean your carpet and leave the white fibers bright and looking new.

How To Get Out Tough Carpet Stains

With tough or old stains, you first need to rehydrate the stain before you can successfully remove it. The best way to do this is by using spotting chemicals, which were specifically formulated to do a deep clean and remove very specific stains.

There are many different kinds of amazing spotting chemicals.

There is Pig Out which will help remove paint from a rug as well as ink and grease.

X-Brown Premium for coffee stains and other brown stains.

And Super Gel which works for all types of residential and commercial stains. It can even remove acrylic paint from carpets.

Spotting chemicals are very versatile. There are even spotting chemicals to clean concrete and brick, like Concrete Master.

Step 1: Rehydrate The Stain

For your specific carpet cleaning needs, choose the appropriate spotting chemical and apply it to the stain.

If the spotting chemical is a liquid, apply it straight to stain or dilute it according to instructions.

If the spotting chemical is a powder, sprinkle the powder on the stain and dampen it before moving on to the next step.

Step 2: Agitate The Stain

Once you have applied the spotting chemical, you can go ahead and agitate the stain with a sponge or cloth.

As before, remember to use a white cloth to prevent any dye transfer when the chemicals mix and react.

Step 3: Let The Spotting Chemicals Sit On The Stain

Let the spotting chemicals sit on the stain. How long you keep it on will depend on the instructions of your chosen chemicals and on how tough the stain was.

Just keep an eye on the carpet and make sure there is no bleaching or chemical burning. While unlikely, it is always better to be on the cautious side.

Also make sure no animals or children get the carpet cleaning supplies on their skin, or in their mouth or eyes. These chemicals can be very dangerous when ingested.

Step 4: Rinse And Dry The Carpet

When you feel the chemicals have soaked for long enough, give your carpet a good rinse. Make sure to get every bit of the solution from the carpet to ensure no further chemical reactions.

For maximum cleaning, use Ultimate All Fiber Rinse. This will ensure that the whole carpet is clean and not just one spot and will drop the pH levels.

Once the carpet is fully rinsed and clean, let it dry. Your tough stain should now be fully gone with your carpet looking as good as new.

If there is still some bit of the stain visible, repeat the above steps on the carpet again. Some stains are too ingrained to be removed with one clean.

How To Get A Black Stain Out Of A Carpet

If you have a black stain, you know how hard it can be to completely remove it. This is especially true if you have a white carpet, which might never fully recover from its brush with black pigment.

For this method, we suggest doing a test on a smaller patch on your carpet to ensure no damage. If everything is fine, carry on with the next step.

Step 1: Mix Baking Soda, Dish Soap, And Vinegar Together.

Sprinkle some baking soda on the black stain. Baking soda is a common household item and can also be bought for cheap at most stores near you.

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