There was an episode of the sitcom ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ where lead character Larry David learned that you could get tough stains (e.g. coffee, red wine) out of the carpet by using just soda water and salt. As long as the stain was still wet, all you needed to do was liberally apply salt to the stain, pour soda water over it, wait a few minutes, vacuum up the salt, and watch the stain disappear – presumably absorbed into the salt. A professional carpet cleaning trick that was easy for anyone to use, it left many people wondering if it actually works in real life – and according to many sources, it does, although you may need to leave the treated stain for a few hours before vacuuming up the salt.

There are many tough stains that you might be able to remove from carpets without needing to call a carpet cleaning service. Here are some handy tips to save you a lot of stress with what many consider to be the four hardest stains to remove.

Red Wine (or Grape Juice, Cranberry Juice, etc)

Basically anything red, dark and fruity can be incredibly tough to clean if it’s spilt onto a carpet. The best plan of attack is to get to the stain while it is still wet. Treat the stain with hydrogen peroxide and leave it for a few minutes. Following that, spray a solution of water and cleaner on the stain. This should significantly reduce the amount of damage caused to the carpet.

 

Blood stains in carpet can also be treated using this method. Just be sure to wear gloves while you’re treating the stain, but more importantly, see that the person who is bleeding receives immediate treatment.

Coffee

Whether you take your coffee black or white, the moment it spills onto a carpet, it’s going to leave a stain. Plain clear vinegar and dishwashing detergent used together are typically effective in reducing the severity of coffee stains, so make sure to use them if you have them on hand.

Ink

Pen ink is one of the hardest stains to remove from carpets, as permanency is one of its biggest characteristics. Any carpet cleaning service will tell you that ink stains need to be treated quickly and thoroughly to prevent them from causing damage to the carpet. Pre-condition the affected area of carpet with ammonia and then extract the stain from the carpet using truck-mounted steam cleaning.

Pet Stains

As much as you might want to leave these ones for the professional carpet cleaning specialists, you’re more likely to want to be rid of the smell sooner rather than later, so it’s best to try and get through it yourself. To reduce the moisture and the intensity of the smell, apply baking soda to the stain. Next, give the carpet a deep clean using shampoo or some other form of cleaning solution – this should help to eradicate any evidence of the accident.

Of course, if you find that stains are being persistent, or there’s a particular reason that the carpets need to be cleaned (for example if you’re coming to the end of lease or looking to sell your property), then a professional carpet cleaning service will be able to lift most stubborn stains from your carpets and have them looking good as new. Discover how Carpet Steam Cleaning Frankston can help you – get in touch today to learn more.