Quick Easy Ways to Get Tough Stains Out of Carpets and Sofas

What’s worse than a terrible heartbreak? Staining your pristinely clean carpet or sofa with a well deserved glass of wine or the accompanying chocolate. We all love walking into a house with nice, fluffy carpets, running our feet through them. It’s certainly a soothing experience, one not to be tainted by tough stains!

Irrespective of how that tough stain got on your carpet or sofa, whether it’s the kids, guests spilling wine, coffee stains, whatever it is, we have compiled a list of practical and easy solutions to get rid of most stubborn stains for a clean and welcoming home.

It is important to always get rid of stains immediately after they happen because that’s the best way to get all the stain out. Before you start any stain cleaning intervention, you should do a patch test on a non-conspicuous part of your carpet or sofa to see how it reacts to the cleaning solution. With the following tools and tricks, you can get that tough stain out of both your carpet and sofas. Let’s start of with a few common stains and how to get them off your carpet.

Nail Polish Stain

What you need:

• Acetone – Klean Strip Acetone or similar
• Paper towel
• Clean white rags

Steps:

Wine or Coffee Stain

What you need:

• Hydrogen peroxide
• Dish soap
• Wet/dry vacuum cleaner
• Clean white rags
• Paper towel

Steps:

Blot the spot with a paper towel; do not rub or scrub; just blot so you don’t spread the stain

For a dry stain, mix one cup of hydrogen peroxide 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap in a small bowl using a white rag, dab the solution on the spot and let it sit for 5-10 minutes

Then use a white cleaning towel to blot the surface dry and use the wet setting on a vacuum cleaner on the stain (don’t forget to remove your vacuum filter). Repeat the process as many times as needed.

Ink Stain

What you need:

• An old toothbrush
• Denatured alcohol (Klean Strip denatured alcohol or similar)
• Some white rags
• Wet/dry vacuum cleaner

Steps:

For a fresh stain, dab softly on the stain with a white rag, ensure you dab, so the stain doesn’t spread. Don’t press too hard, so the stain doesn’t go deeper into the carpet.

Soak the stain in alcohol for 5 mins – do not use too much alcohol, just enough to cover the affected area.

Now, take a clean white rag and blot the stain.

If there are some fibers of the carpet the alcohol isn’t reaching, put alcohol on the affected area, then take an old toothbrush and scrub the affected area gently, then use your wet/dry vacuum on the spot; it will help speed up the stain removal process. Also, make sure your filter isn’t in the vacuum for this part of process because liquids can damage your filter. Repeat this entire process till the stain is completely gone.

Grease Stain

What you need:

• Denatured alcohol (Klean Strip denatured alcohol or similar)
• Wet/dry vacuum cleaner
• Baking soda
• Old toothbrush
• Stainless steel spoon
• Some old white towel
• Dish soap
• Spray bottle
• Water

Steps:

Sprinkle a good amount of baking soda on the affected area; now use the spoon to press the baking soda into the affected area. The baking soda will absorb the grease. Let it stay on for 5 minutes.

Use the dry setting on your vacuum and take off the baking soda from the spot. Make a cleaning solution of 1 cup denatured alcohol and a 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap.

Spray the affected area with your cleaning solution and let it sit for 2-3 mins, and use the old toothbrush to scrub the affected area and vacuum till the stain is completely gone. You can try it a few more times, depending on how big the stain is.

Blood Stain

What you need:

• Toothbrush
• Dish soap
• Cold water
• Clean white rags
• Ammonia

Steps:

For dry stain, brush the affected spot with a toothbrush, then mix one teaspoon of dish soap with two cups of cold water. Take a clean white cloth and soak it in the solution, blot directly on the stain repeatedly, dab the spot, and don’t scrub to avoid spreading the stain.

Try ammonia if the dish soap doesn’t get the stain out. Mix 1 cup of lukewarm water with one tablespoon of ammonia using a clean white rag or sponge; apply the ammonia solution directly to the bloodstain, blot until the liquid is fully absorbed. Apply a sponge soaked in cold water to the affected area and blot dry.

Tire Stain or Any Other Tough/Pet Stains

What you need:

• Clean white rag
• Toothbrush
• OxiClean with Odor Blasters
• Dish soap
• 70% isopropyl alcohol
• Glass cleaner with ammonia in it
• Empty plastic bottle

Steps:

Put one full scoop OxiClean odor blaster in a bottle and then add 3-4 tablespoons of regular dish soap (we recommend Ajax soap because it’s an effective dish soap). Add three tablespoons of 70% isopropyl alcohol and 6 tablespoons of the ammonia-based Window cleaner.

Fill up the bottle with hot water. Make a hole on the top of the cap, spray the solution on the affected area, and scrub with a toothbrush.

After scrubbing, let it sit for 30-45 min, then blot out the stain and solution with clean water and a clean white rag. Repeat the process as many times as possible to get all the stain out.

Pomegranate Stain

What you need:

• Spoon
• Cold water
• Dish soap
• Clean white rag
• White vinegar
• Ammonia

Steps:

Scrape away as much of the pomegranate as possible

Mix 2 cups of cold water and one tablespoon of dish soap; use the solution with a clean white rag, blot the affected area until the liquid is absorbed.

Rinse with white vinegar and blot with a clean white cloth; repeat the steps until the stain is removed. When the stain is gone, get another white cloth soaked in cold water, dab the area and blot dry. If the solution doesn’t work, mix a solution of one tablespoon of ammonia with 2 cups of warm water – that should get it all out.

Grass Stain

What you need:

• Paper towel
• Dish soap
• Lukewarm water
• Clean white rag
• Rubbing alcohol / White vinegar

Steps:

To remove grass stains from the carpet or sofa, vacuum the grass stain using the suction tool of your wet/dry vacuum, don’t use a regular vacuum over the stain; it will scrub the stain more into the carpet.

Dampen paper towels and gently blot the stain without scrubbing or rubbing to avoid spreading the stain. Continue blotting until you are not picking up any more stain.

Mix 2 teaspoons of dish soap with lukewarm water, soak a clean towel in the solution, and blot the stain until you cannot lift any more stain.

If the stain is still there, you can use rubbing alcohol or white vinegar.

Chewing Gum

What you need:

• Ice pack
• Dish soap
• Clean white rag
• Hydrogen peroxide

Steps:

Put an ice pack on the gum for 30 mins to 1 hour and let it freeze

Let the gum get frozen (not just cold but frozen). Once it’s frozen, you can get it out with your fingers or a sharp edge.

You can clean up the residual stain with a clean white rag dipped in dish soap and hydrogen peroxide solution.

Dirty Microfiber Sofas:

What you need:

• OxiClean Maxforce
• Hard bristle brush
• Clean sponge
• Microfiber towel
• Wet/dry vacuum cleaner
• Spray bottle
• Dish soap
• White vinegar
• Clean water

Steps:

If some parts of your sofa have removable covers you can easily take them off and wash in the washer.

Apply OxiClean to the stain area. Let it sit for 5 mins, then scrub with the brush. Repeat this process as many times as necessary till the stain is out.

Mix a tiny bit of white vinegar with a drop of dish soap and clean water in a spray bottle and spray the cleaning area, then vacuum the cleaned part of your couch with the suction tool of your wet/dry vacuum. Remember to clean your couch in sections and keep it evenly wet.

Use the microfiber towel and rub on the cleaned area till it looks even. You might need to let it dry for a few hours up to 24hrs (depending on how large the cleaned area is) before sitting on it and most importantly leave the fan on so it speeds the drying process.

Stains be gone!

With these tips and tricks even the most stubborn stains stand absolutely no chance. Snap on your cleaning gloves people ‘because it’s cleaning time. Lets get those monsters out for a clean and cosy home!