Stains that arrive out of nowhere on your carpet
There are stains, and then there are “mega-stains.” Most homeowners routinely have their carpets cleaned. According to Angie’s List, the well-known service provider site, carpet cleaning is a must-do activity once every 12 to 18 months with most homeowners.
However, when “something odd” has gotten into the carpets and common home remedies such as using baking soda and vinegar, or that leftover can of WD 40 in your garage fail to work, most people call a pro.
And while carpet cleaners are magicians at getting out any stains in your carpet, for some stains, you might just as well call an exorcist while you’re at it, because these are the stains from “hell.”
The Worst of the Worse Carpet Stains
In no particular order except number 1, which may indeed be a carpet’s worst enemies, here are some notoriously hard carpet stains, for which you will need a professional’s help to remove from your carpet:
# 10. Vomit
Is there anything more repulsive than both animal or sick family members faux pas on your plush comfort. The smell alone is enough to make you book a hotel to regain your sanity anywhere.
If you wake in the morning to find an unpleasant surprise, scoop and solid particles up using a knife and a spoon, being careful not to press any into the fibers of your carpet, then cover the area with plenty of stain remover solution. Let it sit for five or 10 minutes, then gently blot away. Finally, pick up the phone and call a carpet cleaning company, because dollars to donuts, some of the stain will remain the next day.
#9. Kool Aid
While the sugar-free kind is better than cola drinks, if you have kids, chances are there is a tractor-beam effect between that orange glass of kool-aid and your carpet. And the best thing. Your kids may be so focused on the TV, and they don’t even notice. Some say a mixture of water and white vinegar will take care of it. Apply, then blot out. From experience, though, mom’s may have their carpet cleaning company on speed dial.
#8. Blood
There doesn’t have to be a Law and Order detectives at your front door to check blood on your carpets. Perhaps your eight and 10-year-olds are imitating the latest Star Wars movie with homemade lightsabers made out of flashlights and wooden sticks. It’s not hard to imagine how the blood will flow. Some people use a combination of water and dishwashing detergent as a makeshift cleaning agent, but not only is blood thicker than water, it is often, extremely resilient on carpets.
#7. Cooking oil
Those of us in the carpet cleaning business never ask what the cooking oil stain was doing in the living room in the first place. Perhaps your older child has opened up an amateur massage shop while you are at work or Santa has brought a bottle of heart-healthy sesame oil for you under the tree, and someone opened up the bottle to have a whiff. Regardless of the source, after it’s been there for a month collecting dirt, and resisting home remedies, call a carpet cleaner that has a good enzyme solution.
#6. Coffee or tea
If there is a cup of coffee or tea drops on your carpet, it can be incredibly hard to get out without special bleach made to remove coffee or tea stains. Carpet cleaners have it. Your local hardware store likely will not.
#5. Pet Stains
Unfortunately, dogs and cats do have accidents, and if you don’t know how to handle it, your carpet can soon become one big, odor filled mess. If you own a dog or cat (or you’re like Sigfried and Roy and keep pet tigers in the house), be sure and keep a supply of pet urine remover handy. Some people have mild success with a half and half mixture of water and vinegar, but regardless, address the problem as quickly as you can. Pet urine can stain a carpet. Your carpet cleaner may or may not be successful at cleaning the stain. It depends on how severe and how old it is.
#4. Nail polish
Your 7-year-old decided to have a nail polish party with her friends and wanted to use the real thing, not those “for kids” washable kind. And now you have gold, blue, red, green and pink polish all over your carpet? Already we are getting into the exorcist territory. You can try blotting with a mixture of dish soap and vinegar, but most carpet cleaners give you a 50/50 chance at getting it out. Probably best to buy lottery tickets and see if you win enough for a replacement carpet. And oh, by the way, check the dog too. Little girls are very fond of doing their dog or cat’s nails as well, tracking polish throughout the house.
#3. Green Tea
Healthy for you but not your carpets, this popular drink contains a dye that easily stains carpets. Blot, then call your cleaner.
#2. Red Wine
You knew this one was coming. Blot as much as possible with numerous clean cloth strips. Say 10 Hail Mary’s and call your carpet cleaner in the morning. It’s possible without a carpet cleaner, but difficulty level, as they say in gymnastics, is high.
#1. The true stain from hell
According to cleaners, the worst of all possible stains is mustard. Unless you’ve cleaned and blotted it out immediately, the chance a cleaner will be able to get it out is around 2%. Save your money and go to the carpet store.
Who do you call to clean your carpets?
If you live in New Jersey, the choice is easy. Mark IV Carpet Cleaning has one of the best reputations in the state for carpet cleaning.
Using custom, “dry cleaning machines,” which are not only better environmentally but dry much faster, Markiv Carpet Cleaning provides professional commercial carpet cleaning. It uses the best professional carpet cleaning methods, to eliminate most stains, and make your carpet look almost good as new.