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Summer break means the kids are spending more time both inside and outside your home, tracking in a variety of new stains and problems. Grass stains, mud, spilled drinks and condiments from summer food can all cause unsightly, damaging stains in the summer from your playful children. It’s best to have your carpets professionally cleaned to remove all stains, protect the fibers and prolong their lifetime, but sometimes spotcleaning is a must between professional carpet cleaning from Embassy Cleaners. Preparing yourself now with some tips for cleaning common kid carpet stains keeps you ready for whatever “fun” summer break brings to your carpets.
Homemade cleaning solutions for spot treatments
Before you start tackling common kid carpet stains, it helps to know how to make homemade cleaning solutions that can work effectively to remove spots. What’s safe for synthetic carpets isn’t necessarily safe for naturalfiber carpets, so he’s a breakdown of the solutions:
Synthetic fiber carpet spot treatments:
- Detergent solution – 1⁄4 teaspoon clear liquid dishwashing detergent in 1 cup lukewarm water
- Vinegar solution – 1 cup white vinegar with 2 cups water
Natural fiber carpet spot treatments:
- Detergent solution – 1 teaspoon clear liquid dishwashing detergent in 1 cup lukewarm water
- Vinegar solution – 1⁄4 cup white vinegar with 1⁄4 cup water
- Ammonia solution – 1 tablespoon clear household ammonia with 1⁄2 cup
lukewarm water
Now you’re ready to tackle those kidcaused carpet stains!
Grass stains
Grass stains appear on more than clothing in the summer and removing them from your carpets is essential to avoid the look of a sports field in your home. To remove grass stains, apply a detergent solution, blot, rinse and repeat. Use an ammonia solution and vinegar solution if necessary, making sure to blot and rinse to remove residue that can damage carpet fibers.
Crayon marks
It’s important for children to explore their creativity, but sometimes that creativity becomes ground into your carpet in the form of broken and smeared crayons. To remove crayon, first scrape off what you can and then use an iron on a low heat setting over a damp cloth to remelt and absorb the rest of the wax. Apply a drycleaning solvent, blot, then apply a detergent solution, rinse and blot dry.
Blood
Accidents happen and kids get scrapes in the summer than can leave blood spots on your carpet. Clean carpets by applying a cool detergent solution, blotting, applying a cool ammonia solution, blotting, rinsing and blotting dry. If the bloodstain remains, try bleach with hydrogen peroxide (only on light carpets) or rust remover. Be aware that using overlay harsh chemicals to clean carpets can cause permanent stains and damage so test an inconspicuous area first.
Mud
For tracked in mud, let it dry and then brush of for vacuum up as much of it as possible. Apply a detergent or ammonia solution with a blotting motion, rinse and then blot dry.
Candy
Any sugars that remain in carpet fibers can lead to resoiling of the area so it’s important to clean carpets quickly when candy gets on them. Scrape off as much of the candy as you can with a dull implement such as a butter or putty knife, sponge the area with a detergent solution, blot, rinse and repeat until all the sugar is gone.
Gum
Harden the gum with an ice cube, break it into pieces and scrape them up with a dull knife. Remove any remaining residue with a drycleaning solvent.
Ice cream
Treat ice cream stains immediately to prevent damage by blotting the ice cream up with a dry cloth. Apply a protein digesting solution, rinse and let dry. For ice cream spills that cover a large area, shampoo the area after spot treating.
Ketchup or mustard
When those summer picnic foods find their way into your house and cause ketchup and mustard stains, apply a solution of vinegar, blot, apply detergent solution and blot, let dry. If this doesn’t remove stain, use a hydrogen peroxide solution and blot.
Chocolate
Studies suggest that certain types of chocolate have health benefits for humans, but they’re never good for your carpet. For chocolate stains, scrape off excess chocolate, then apply a dry cleaning solvent with a sponge, blot, apply detergent solution with sponge, blot and rinse. For any remaining stain, apply hydrogen peroxide.
Soft drinks
When kids spill soft drinks on your carpet, blot up as much liquid as you can then apply a detergent solution, rinse and let air dry.
A good way to avoid stains on indoor carpets is to encourage your children to play outside as much as possible in the summer, but for the days when that just isn’t possible, you’re now better prepared to clean your carpets. If you have any doubts or worries about cleaning your carpets, have Embassy Cleaners come and give your carpets and area rugs the professional, safe cleaning they need.
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