Are you worried about an ugly-looking stain on your carpet? Has it been there for a while and just won’t go away?
Old carpet stains can be some of the toughest to deal with. If you miss the chance to get them early, they usually get pretty firmly set.
But, also, if it’s an old stain then the chances are you’ve already tried and failed to get it out. This probably means it’s a hard substance to remove at the best of times.
Well, not to worry! Removing old stains isn’t the hardest task to complete around your home. So, let’s see if we can get you clean carpets without having to buy new ones!
Types of Carpet Stains
If you are wondering how to remove old stains from your carpet, you need to first identify what the substance is that you are dealing with. This is because the process of cleaning can be dependent on the chemical structure of the substance.
The main types of stains that we find in the home are:
- Oil-based stains (cooking grease, boot polish, butter)
- Enzyme or protein stains (biological chemicals such as blood, grass, chocolate)
- Water-soluble stains (coffee, wine, tea)
Each of these different types of stains has different chemical properties, so you need to treat them differently. Let’s see how.
Solutions for Old Carpet Stains
If you have old stains in carpet areas in your home, as a general rule you should begin with softer chemicals before proceeding to harder ones. There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, hard chemicals can be bad for your health. Secondly, they can damage your carpet. Thirdly, they can harm the environment.
So, follow these steps until you find a method that works for your carpet stain.
- Soap and Water
This is an entry-level stain removal method. It will work particularly well for water-soluble stains like coffee and wine.
The idea is to make the soap react with the staining chemical so that it mixes with the water. This the basic principle of solubility.
- Baking Soda and Vinegar
Baking soda and vinegar is a common chemical pairing. Mixing the two causes a significant fizzing reaction. This should cause particles to dislodge from your carpet and be taken up by the water.
- Bleaching Agents
If nothing is working so far, you may want to step up to a bleaching agent. Bleach has the effect of destroying the chemical structure that gives a stain its color.
For this reason, it can also turn your carpets white.
- Enzyme Agents
If nothing else has worked, you might want to look at enzyme agents. These are more advanced and can be used in cleaning pet stains, grass stains, and bloodstains.
Go Slow!
When cleaning old carpet stains, make sure you go slow! Start with softer chemicals before moving towards harder ones.
Your stain might look bad, but you could end up destroying your carpet completely if you use chemicals that are stronger than necessary. Lastly, always test the chemical you are using on a small, out-of-the-way patch of carpet to make sure you won’t be causing damage.
If you’ve found this information useful, why not check out some of our other great articles on home and cleaning topics?