Carpets / Rugs

1.  Sprinkle Barking soda onto your carpet.

2.  Leave over night.

3.  Hoover in the morning.

Sprinkle some water over the detergent stained area.

Take an old rug and rub it over the detergent stain until all of the soapy substance is frothed out

Press hard on the area with a clean muslin or dish cloth until the area is dry. Repeat this process if necessary

Wipe clean with some water, this time without frothing the area

If your carpet is dark, try using a dark sketch to hide the stain if the above process doesn’t work. Please check with the manufacturer before you use any chemicals on your carpet

Option 1

Remove as much of the dried-on paint as possible using water, an old toothbrush, and maybe even some needle nose pliers

Wet the area, and try to see if any of the colour will blot up. It’s not likely, but it’s always worth a go!

Then, use your toothbrush to really scrub the carpet and remove as much of the paint as possible

If you have a large area of dry paint, needle nose pliers are great to squeeze at the paint and get it to flex and/or break enough for you to pull it off the carpet. Let the area dry and then vacuum to see what remains.

If you can’t get all the paint stains off, then please speak to a flooring specialist at your local DIY Store for the best cleaning solvent for your carpet.

Option 2

When all else fails, it’s time to become a carpet stylist. You’ll need a small pair of sharp scissors, a steady hand, and patience!

Get down on the floor and really examine the affected carpet fibres. Often, you’ll find that just the tips of the fibres are paint-coated and not the whole fibre

Select the fibre with the most paint collected on its stem, and clip it out. Clip it as close to the top as possible white still removing the paint-covered portion

After you clip the fibre, step back and look at the carpet to see how much of the stain is still visible

Repeat cautiously, removing as few fibres as possible while making the stain appear to have never happened. If you get much beyond 5 fibres, stop and come back later. Unlike a bad haircut, carpet doesn’t grow back and you don’t want to leave a bald spot that you’ll regret!

Reddish pollen stains can often be moved by pouring some 99% Isopropanol (Isoproply Alcohol).

Pour the Isopropanol over the area and blot the resulting yellow liquid with paper towels.

Regular rubbing alcohol (70% Isopropyl alcohol) will probably not work because of its high water content.

Option 1:

It’s better to let the spill dry before you try to remove it. If you try to remove it when wet, you may spread it around.

Pour a little Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover to the centre of the stain and allow it to penetrate through the area for a short while.

Blot the stained area gently with the kitchen paper. Do not rub the stain. The nail polish should begin to transfer onto the kitchen paper.

Allow the stained area to dry thoroughly

Option 2:

Spray bug spray on the area, gently comb the area in several different directions (ie diagonal, horizontal, vertical). Combing in a single direction constantly is not good for the carpet, refrain from scratching frantically back and forth, as you will cause the tops of the loops to fray. If you do not have a handy little carpet tool, use a spoon or fork.

The object is to loosen the nail polish, and blot. The nail polish will transfer to the paper towel and leave the carpet.

Repeat as necessary. This may take you an hour to fully remove a spot; it’s extremely easy to execute but time consuming!