Healthy HomeDo you need to get a set-in stain out of carpet? Here are the supplies and instructions you need to get tough popsicle, wine, or pet stains out of carpet!
So, you already know I’m humbled, right? Well, let me just tell you how humbled of a homemaker I am.
This week, my daughter got a popsicle stain on the carpet.
She had just had her tonsils out. She was supposed to be eating it in the kitchen.
But the phone rang.
And I looked away.
When I hung up, there it was…big and orange…the stain glared at me from the carpet. It wasn’t just a drip. She had decided she didn’t want the popsicle. And the whole thing melted right there in front of the coffee table.
You know how everyone is supposed to be either a fighter or a “flighter”? (At least that’s what I learned in psychology 101.) Well, I’m the “flighter.” When conflict comes, I’d rather “fly” away from it than stay around and fight.
So I sprayed the big orange puddle with some stain remover, agitated it a tad and….worked until it was all gone forgot about it.
Yes, I forgot about it. (I think it was a defense mechanism, right?)
My husband found it the next day. I was embarrassed. But even more embarrassing? No matter what I put on it or how hard I scrubbed, I just couldn’t get that stain out!
So…what else is a humbled homemaker to do? I Googled. I Googled and I Googled and I Googled (motivated by the idea of how expensive either a professional cleaner or new carpet would be).
And then I found it…a solution!
Better yet–I already had all I needed to beat this stain!
So here’s what worked for me. I do not suggest trying this at home. Why not? Because I don’t suggest leaving a popsicle stain overnight! 😉
Better yet, I do not suggest ever, ever letting your kid in the living room with a popsicle. Or–ever, ever talking on the phone while your child is awake (at least if you are as easily distracted as I am!).
But if you DO find yourself in a situation with a big set-in stain, these instructions might come in handy:
Supplies for removing a carpet stain:
- some type of stain remover (see below for suggestions)
- an old (or cheap) iron
- an old towel
- spray bottle of water
Instructions for stain removal:
- Pour a generous amount of stain remover over the stain.
- Fold a towel in half and cover the stain.
- Fill the iron with water, plug it in, set it on low-medium (not too hot–you don’t want to burn the carpet!) and place it on top of the towel.
- Allow iron to steam the stain away! Check on it OFTEN, but don’t press as if it were ironing clothes. Just let it sit there.
- Rinse the clean area with warm water.
Now this is where I would usually say “Easy Peasy!” but, really, it takes TIME. In fact, I had to do it two nights in a row.
But my stain is gone. And it was totally worth it. I would much rather work to get the stain out than have to replace my carpet!
A few other tips:
- I used oxygen bleach for my stain remover. I mixed 1 tsp. with two cups of water. Yes–all it took was 1 teaspoon! Pure oxygen is like Oxiclean but without the fillers. I normally use pure oxygen to soak my diapers.
- Alternative stain removers include: 1/4 cup oxiclean with 2 cups of water, 3 parts hydrogen peroxide with 1 part Dawn dish soap, 1 tsp. of any pure oxygen cleaner in 2 cups of water…or (not recommended because of the toxins) any conventional stain remover. (Whatever you use, test a small area of the carpet first!)
- I strongly suggest using an old or cheap iron because it is very likely fibers from the towel will stick to the plate of your iron.
- I strongly suggest using an old towel (and make sure you fold it!). Your towel will get iron burns on it. Make sure the towel is thick enough not to burn the carpet! Carpet burn is an even worse problem than carpet stain!
You can use this method to get other tough stains and spills out of carpet, such as wine or other food and drink spills. Just be sure to test a small area first! And as I learned, the best remedy is to take care of the stain right away!
Do you have a remedy for getting a tough stain out of carpet? Please share it in the comments!
If you liked this post, you may also like my post on homemade disinfectant wipes as well as my curated list of 10+ homemade stain removers!
Jacinda @ Growing Home
You’ve got a fantastic blog here! Thanks for linking up or I might not have known you existed! And of all the homemaking headers I’ve seen, you’re takes the cake…lol! It’s awesome. Do you have a follower option, or am I just missing it?
I haven’t had any major stains on my carpet yet (Charity eats her popsicles in the bathtub 🙂 but I’ll edfinitely bookmark this because it’s bound to happen one of these days!
The Humbled Homemaker
Thanks for the kind comment, Jacinda! Thanks a ton for doing the link up! I found your blog through the Raising Homemakers link up! They were my first two link ups to enter! 🙂
You can subscribe via google reader, here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/thehumbledhomemaker/Wcqp. Thank you for asking! I need to make that more prominent! Please let me know if you have any other suggestions, as I’m a new blogger! It’s great to find other like-minded mamas!
Good idea to make her eat in the bathtub! haha 🙂
Thanks for the compliment on the header…my hubby designed it!
Hannah Tonce
A good way to get those fibers off the iron is to make a baking soda/dawn paste to scrub it off a bit. 🙂
Lea H @ Nourishing Treasures
Great idea!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasure’s Whole Health Weekend Link-Up.
Check back tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
Elizabeth
AWESOME grease and stain remover
1 part Vinegar and/or Ammonia
1 part Dish Soap
1 part Water
Erin
Thanks for the tip!!
Makes Pennies Scream When Pinched!
Just wanted to let you know, had mysterious orange stain in my bedroom (could have been kids, cat, or husband, but not me!) that looked and acted like it had been there for a while… my solution. I Windex-ed and scrubbed with a scrub brush (making sure I moved in clock- and counter-clock-wise circles), and then vigorously rubbed with a towel to pull up moisture. That was two months ago. Stain hasn’t returned. *Warning: Windex can bleach material so it was scrub for thirty seconds, rub for thirty.
Laura A
We recently moved and discovered a few pink and orange soda stains under our couch (the culprit somehow cleaned what they could see but not the whole spill). Ihad no idea how old the stains even were! My husband poured hydrogen peroxide (you how the $0.88 per bottle stuff) and used a rag to soak it up and rub it out. It came out almost immediately. There are two cautions: (1) you need to wipe up the peroxide quickly, if you leave it too long it may damage your carpet – no getting distracted by the kiddos 🙂 (2) please please please TEST a small area of your carpet first! This worked great on ours but don’t ruin your lovely favorite carpet because of me 🙂
Justine
Put viniger and water into your carpet cleaner after u go over the stain twice then pour baking soda on the stain wait and let it dry scrub the baking soda to break it up and vacuum. Poof its gone. I had stubborn pet stains and you
could see the baking soda change color as it dried pulling up the stain. Amazing!
Ashly
Could this method possibly work with say nail polish? Nail polish remover as a base catalyst?
Erin
I really wish I knew! I’m not sure. I would try it in the very least!
Sarah Huston
sJust make sure you use non acetone polish remover. I been able to remove many a spilled polish off my carpets over the years. ( wish I could blame the kiddos, but most were my fault ). Usually just the remover/… small amounts at a time, blotting with cotton balls then rinsing very well in between
Ashly
Thank you so much btw, I am going to use this method!
Erin
I hope it works for you! It was a life-saver for me!
Linda
What about an old coffee stain?
KathyJB
Also Hydrogen Peroxide and the wet towel and iron. I’m finding this is working good on a 9×12 rug I bought at an auction.
Sharry hermes
Don you pour the peroxide on the carpet and a soaking wet towel or just a damp towel?
joanna
so did you keep the iron on for 48 hours? or just keep it on while you sleep, turn it off when u wake up and go throughout the day, and then put it back on for another night while you sleep? oh and wud this work for like really old stains. like a year old stains?
Judith
I have popsicle stains in the carpet right now!! Homemade popsicles are one of my key ways of getting veggies into my daughter so she has them often. And drips on the carpet often. So there are multiple stains from multiple popsicles, from many days ago…
So I’m definitely trying this! 🙂
Chris Ashby
Well done. I’m glad that your stain removal project was a success. The careful execution of steps is quite critical to keep the uniformity of carpet color. Thanks for sharing.
Frian Foster
Thanks for sharing your great tips! It is very useful and I really like your idea. Everyone should know about this especially for those who are suffering from carpet stains. I want to share my tips too about carpet stain removal, just click my profile to see my tips!
Ethan Mills
Stains can be the worst to get rid of. I found that getting a carpet cleaning service to add carpet protectant can help a ton in the end.
consumerbestchoice
Actionable tips, thanks for sharing these tips.