Cleaning Carpet Stains

Before we begin talking about cleaning stains in your carpet, remember, in the end you may have to hire a professional. But there are some things you can do before that. I would try these things in the following order:

Before you Begin

• Identify what kind of stain you have. There are basically two types of stains: (A) water-soluble and (B) not water-soluble. I know, that's not very helpful. In category (B) you find things like fat, grease, oil and gum. Pretty much everything else falls into category (A). For now, we are going to concentrate on the water-soluble problems. Those are things like drinks, urine, vomit, and blood. 
• Carpet fibers are twisted, so your cleaning method needs to work with the twists in the carpet. This means don't rub back and forth on the carpet. Blot, and work your way from the outside towards the middle. 

The Solutions

1. If the stain is still wet: blot the stain with a white towel or wash cloth. Blot and move to a clean area of the towel then blot again working your way from the outside toward the middle. Get up as much as you can before it dries.
2. If the stain is dry: You might be able to remove some water-soluble stains with water. It's best to poor the water on your cloth and then blot the spot with the wet cloth. But sometimes I poor a little water on the stain and let it sit for a minute then blot it up with a white towel or, if you have a shop-vac then vacuum it up. 
3. Water-soluble stains can often be removed with some hydrogen peroxide, or non-chlorine bleach (I prefer the ones with hydrogen peroxide), or distilled white vinegar. 
1. With any of these products I would start with a mix 1 tablespoon product with 1 quart of water. You really should test the solution in an inconspicuous area first because they might discolor your carpet. It's not very likely, but you should be careful. 
2. If the weaker solution isn't working you can increase the mix up to 1:1 - one part peroxide or vinegar to one part water. 
3. I would try the diluted solutions first, but on particularly bad stains that aren't coming up I might try using 3% hydrogen peroxide at full strength. But be extra careful, apply the peroxide to your white cloth then dab at the spot. Remember, hydrogen peroxide is a bleaching agent, that's why it works so well on stains and why it can also damage your carpet.
4. For smelly stains like urine or vomit I would dust the area with baking soda first then use distilled white vinegar. Both baking soda and vinegar are good at removing odors. Since vomit is acidic you could use a stronger alkali than baking soda. I like to use Oxy Clean or OXO Brite. They are pretty cheap and eco-friendly. Since these products have a high pH they can act to neutralize the acid in the vomit. 
5. But dog urine stains might really call for a commercial product. If the urine comes from a dog then you should use a product that has enzymes that will remove all the urine. Dogs have a much better sense of smell than we do and you might not get all the smell out. If there is any residual odor that the dog can smell then he will probably return to the spot and do it again. A commercial product like KIDS 'N'PETS Stain & Odor Remover or URINE OFF might be best. 

Other Resources

• This Old House also has a nice article on removing carpet stains.
• There's also a whole web site devoted the subject: http://www.howtoremovecarpetstains.com/
• Care2 has an article on using baking soda to remove carpet stains.
• EarthEasy has a nice article on non-toxic home cleaning.

Some commercial carpet stain removers include:

Folex Carpet Cleaner, 32 oz

OUT! Stain and Odor Remover, 32 Ounce

Joe Campanelli's Stain Remover Professional Formula

Simple Solution Oxy Solution Carpet Stain Remover, 32 Ounce Spray

Removing a Frosting Stain

My daughter got a nice white dress for her birthday, tried it on, and then had some birthday cake and immediately spilled blue frosting on the dress. Since frosting is a fat I figured that the best way to remove the stain was to use an alkaline agent. So I mixed a tablespoon of Oxo Brite in some cold water. Oxo Brite is mostly made of sodium percorbonate and sodium carbonate.
When you mix sodium percarbonate into water it breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate. And since Oxo Brite already has sodium carbonate in it, the pH is about 11 which makes it pretty alkaline. Hydrogen peroxide by itself is slightly acidic, so while it's a good cleaner it wouldn't work as well on the blue frosting. The high alkalinity together with the hydrogen peroxide combines to make a nice bleaching agent.

So I soaked the stained part of the dress in my mix and five minutes later you couldn't even tell that anything happened. I rinsed the dress and then later washed it. So a birthday disaster was averted. Of course, since this has a bleaching effect you would need to check for color fastness before you tried this with anything but a white garment. It will also work for stains on carpet or furniture, but again, check for color fastness.

See also:
Organic Chemistry Portal
Ecos.com