With the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, it’s a good idea to have a few carpet clean up tips at the ready.
Be prepared to tackle a variety of Thanksgiving spills by keeping some basic carpet cleaning supplies in your cornucopia. Here’s a simple list that should cover most spills. Remember, avoid over-the-counter carpet cleaning products, like Resolve. This type of cleaning product leaves a soapy residue in your carpet that will certainly attract dust and dander. Eventually, you’ll end up with a dark spot and a bunch of soap in your carpet.
Clean, White Cotton Towels
Cornstarch
Dawn Dish Soap
White Vinegar
White Wine
Spray Bottle
Here are a few carpet clean up tips to keep in mind as this messy holiday draws near:
REMOVE CRANBERRY SAUCE FROM CARPET Any type of cranberry spill (cranberry juice or cranberry sauce) is one that you’ll want to address immediately. First, mix one tablespoon of Dawn liquid dish soap with two cups of cool water. Then, using a clean white cotton cloth, sponge the stain with the solution. Blot until the liquid is absorbed. Continue sponging and blotting until the stain disappears or is no longer absorbed into the cloth.
REMOVE GRAVY FROM CARPET Remove as much of the gravy as possible from your carpet, using a spoon or other tool. Next, sprinkle cornstarch onto the spilled gravy, and let it soak up the gravy for approximately 15 minutes. Next, vacuum or sweep up the cornstarch, which should have absorbed some of the gravy and grease. Depending on the size of the spill, you may need to repeat the cornstarch application and removal process a time or two. Next, use a 50/50 mixture of white vinegar and water to cleaning the remaining spot. Fill your spray bottle with 1/2 a cup of white vinegar and 1/2 a cup of cool water. Evenly mist the spot, and use a clean cotton towel to absorb the mixture and the spot. HINT: Stand on the towel to absorb more of the spill and cleaning solution. Repeat 2-3 times.
REMOVE RED WINE FROM CARPET Believe it or not, the best way to clean RED WINE out of carpet is with a splash of white wine! First, absorb as much of the red wine from your carpet by placing a clean, white cotton towel over the spill and standing on it. The full weight of your body will apply more pressure to the stain and absorb more of the wine. Next, put some white wine in the spray bottle and lightly mist the white wine over the red wine stain. Again, use the white cotton towel and stand on the spill. Repeat several times. Eventually, the red wine spill should lift from your carpet.
Hopefully, you won’t need to utilize any of these carpet clean-up tips, but if you do it’s best to clean up any spills on your carpet or rugs as quickly as possible. The longer the spill remains on your carpet fiber, the higher the risk that it won’t be completely removed. Here’s to a spill-free and stain-free holiday season!