While wood floors have been in the top spot for favorability in recent years, carpets are making a significant comeback.
Having carpets in your home comes with tons of benefits, such as making the space cozier and adding more texture to the room. However, they are also notoriously difficult to keep clean.
That is, only if you’ve never read our guide. We have compiled a list of carpet stain removal errors, so you can avoid making them in the first place.
Keep reading below to get started.
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Table of Contents
Allowing Spills to Dry
When spills on carpets occur, you must clean them up as quickly as possible.
If you don’t, the spills can seep into the carpet’s padding. This will make it much harder to remove the stain in its entirety, as well as any odors that come along with it.
It’s important to make this a priority, even in harder-to-reach places or during gatherings. You’ll have to work twice as hard to get the stain removed once it’s dried, and it may not even be possible at that point.
Once the spill occurs, remove any solids found in it, and immediately begin seeping up the liquid with a paper towel or microfiber cloth.
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Rubbing Stains Into the Carpet
Rubbing spills into the carpet will make your job much more difficult, as it can actually push the stain deeper into the layers of the carpet.
Using either a brush or cloth, rubbing can also damage the carpet’s soft fibers. This can cause texture changes on the spots of the carpet you rub, as well as areas of discoloration.
Instead of rubbing, it’s best to dab the stain. Start from the outside and work your way towards the center.
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Using a Colored Towel
Cleaning with a colored towel may not seem like a big deal, but it’s unwise to use it on your carpet.
Because you’re trying to saturate the towel with the spill, the color of the towel can easily bleed onto the carpet, creating a brand-new stain. This is true when using any colored towel, not just those with darker colors.
Removing the cloth’s dye from the carpet will be much more difficult than cleaning up the original stain. When you think of the various types of cloths for removing stains, always think of white ones.
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Not Rinsing the Stain
You may think that dabbing the stain up is all you have to do, but rinsing afterward is essential. This will remove any residue leftover from the stain and anything leftover from cleaners or solvents used.
If you do not rinse your stain, it will draw in more dirt, allowing it to reappear quickly.
However, you must rinse the stain correctly. Do not ever pour water on your carpet, though it may be tempting. This can saturate the carpet too much, damaging the padding.
Instead, use a spray bottle filled with clean, cool water. Spray the area a few times, and blot it with a towel. Repeat this process until you are satisfied with the condition of the rinsing.
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Applying Cleaner Directly to the Stain
Like applying water directly to your carpet, applying the cleaner directly can cause more damage than you started with.
Once you put too much cleaner on you’ll never be able to remove it all, unless you saturate it with water, damaging the carpet.
This will inevitably leave behind residue, which can attract dirt and change the texture of your carpet. You may also damage the layers of your carpet, including the bottom pad.
If this happens, it may be time to call a local carpet cleaning company.
Instead of damaging your carpet, apply some cleaning solution to your cleaning cloth and carefully apply it to the stain. While you may think more is better when cleaning, this is not true when conducting a carpet cleaning routine.
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Forgetting to Add a Towel
When you consider stain removal techniques, you’ll find that it’s all very similar. Dab the spot, apply the cleaner, rinse, and you’re done, right?
You’ve forgotten one of the most important steps. Placing a paper towel or cloth on top of the stain once you are done cleaning should not be forgotten. This will help to remove the stain that still lingers in the bottom layers of the carpet.
Once your carpet dries, the rest of the stain will be pushed up toward the top of the carpet, essentially requiring you to clean it again. To avoid this step, place your paper towel or cloth on the spot, and add something heavy on top, like a book or a vase.
Then, when the stain rises, it will go to the top of the carpet and then into the paper towel or cloth. Leave this overnight, and the next day, you can remove the cloth and have a brand-new carpet.
Avoid Making These Carpet Stain Removal Errors
Spills and messes occurring on carpets is an inevitability, no matter how old you are. This requires you to know a little something about removing these stains, and now you have some tricks up your sleeve to do just that.
When you know these carpet stain removal errors, you’ll avoid making them. This will end up saving you time and money, and who doesn’t want that?
Keep your carpets fresh and new looking by cleaning your stains the right way.
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