Remove tough stains from carpet

By Courtney Parker

Every carpet has a souvenir or two from a party or family activity. Whether it’s a red wine stain or a teenage girl’s nail polish, removing stains from the carpet remains one of the toughest household challenges. (For more essential tips on getting your home ready for a party, click here.)

Even if you don’t have a closet full of cleaning supplies, there’s no need to worry about a spill. Don Aslett, author of Stainbuster’s Bible and other helpful home improvement books, has some realistic advice: “Act quickly.”

If a stain is left alone for even a short amount of time, it has set. “Even pros can’t always get a set stain out,” Aslett says. But for those that just hit the floor, he lays out a simple step-by-step plan for immediate action:

Immediately removing carpet stains

• Wet the area down.
• Spray with any carpet cleaning solution you have around the house.
• With a white cloth (always use white!), blot the affected area.

Blot, don’t scrub

Most people’s first instinct is to brush the area vigorously, but this will create tufts that stand out just as much as a stain and are permanent. Never, ever scrub your carpet.

When the water dries, there could be a shadow of the stain left that you thought you’d seen the last of the night before. “With cleaning stains, there is not a quick visual payoff,” Aslett says. Placing a plain, dry towel over the stain with a couple of books on top for a few hours should do the trick. “Just don’t use my books,” Aslett jokes.

As you continue to make a house-full of memories, your carpet doesn’t have to suffer. (Company coming? Learn how to clean your house in 15 minutes.) Try these steps on other stubborn stains as soon as they try to claim your domain, and you’ll be panic-free.