Steamatic’s Top-4 Carpet Stains (and How to Clean Them Up!)

Some stains are easily taken care of with basic home cleaning methods, while others require either gallons of elbow grease, or a professional touch from the Steamatic professionals. If you find stumble across a particularly stubborn stain, your best bet is to get in touch with our professional carpet cleaning services. The alternative can be expensive when you consider the cost of proper cleaning tools and chemicals, and is very labour-intensive. Worst of all, amateur attempts to tackle tough stains can actually damage your carpet and drive the stain deeper into the fibers.  

If you want to avoid tearing out your carpet and your hair, you should consult Steamatic’s list of 4 common and catastrophic carpet stains. Depending on your unique circumstances, you can decide if you want to try our DIY cleaning suggestions, or call in the pros.  

Red Wine

Red wine is often celebrated for its heart-healthy qualities, but you may have a heart attack if you spot this deep-red liquid pouring onto your home’s pristine plush. Unfortunately, red wine spills are quite common. This is a beverage usually enjoyed when it is time to unwind, or time to party. In either case, you are trying to relax, and your inhibitions drop down, making you much more likely to fumble a glass accidentally.

When you are forced to treat a red wine stain, the first thing you should do is blot the fresh spill. Next, wet a clean cloth with either plain water, or a mixture of one tablespoon distilled white vinegar and hand dishwashing liquid in two cups of warm water. Some people recommend hydrogen peroxide for red wine attacks, but these pieces of advice are responsible for bleach-scarred carpets across Canada. If you feel the stain is bad enough that you are considering bleach, call 1-88-767-7616

Pet Stains

Is there anything worse for the tidy homeowner than seeing their fluffy source of unconditional love squat down and drop a stinky stain onto their prized carpet?

Fortunately, fresh pet stains are usually fairly easy to get rid of. Remove the dropping, soak the area, wash it thoroughly, and consider spraying down an enzymatic cleaner. These are available at most pet stores. Pet leaks can be taken care of with the classic newspaper soak treatment, before a thorough wash is done. Try to use a cleanser that will neutralize any traces of your pet odour, or your living room could turn into a territorial war zone between pets looking to mark their spots.  

Blood

Obviously, the first thing you need to attend to is your wound. If it is bad enough to bleed, you need to clean and wrap your cut properly. Once that urgent matter is finished, the next is to tackle your carpet. This cleaning attempt is going to be time-sensitive, so sometimes it is worthwhile to call in your roommate or significant other to start the cleaning process before things get worse. Wet blood is fairly easy to clean, whereas dried blood is a nightmare that requires professional help.

To remove wet blood, dab at the stain with a solution made with one tablespoon hand dishwashing liquid and two cups o cold water. Once you are done, dab at the liquid with a clean and dry cloth. Repeat this process until the blood is gone. This is another common stain that people recommend bleaching treatments to clean, but avoid this whenever possible.

Bleach

Remember all of our warnings against using bleach? This is why. Bleach is perhaps one of the worst stains your carpet can receive.

Bleach stains are extremely time-sensitive. The faster you can tackle this stain, the better your chances of coming away with a clean carpet. Make sure you protect yourself with some safety gloves, then soak up the bleach stain with a sacrifical (but clean) cloth. Use the dishwashing liquid and water solution recommended earlier to dab at the affected area from the outside-in.

Good luck with this one – it won’t be easy, and you may need to consider some strategic furniture placement options to hide the inevitable fading damage.

To avoid bleach mishaps, leave the stubborn stains to us – call 1-888-767-7616 today to learn more about how we can save your carpet from certain doom!