5 Top Tips to Remove Stains from Carpets and Rugs (Guest Post)

5 Top Tips to Remove Stains from Carpets and Rugs

Ok it might not be the coolest subject area to talk about BUT one topic that every homeowner has an interest in (even if they are too cool to read about it) is how to remove stains from carpets and rugs. I recently experienced this on two separate occasions. One as a result of a house party and the other an accidental slip of the hand on a quiet night at home – Either way stains on a carpet or rug can be very stressful to remove and hard to get them back to their original glory.


To help everyone else I thought I would put together a quick top 5 tip list that will hopefully act as a small guide to remove all types of stains from your home, ranging from spaghetti bolognese to the dreaded red wine.

1.       Don’t just sit there when it happens and put your hand to your mouth – it is very important to act immediately and soak up as much of the liquid or food stain as possible. For this process ensure you use a soft absorbent material like a towel or napkin, preferably white as this will show how much of the stain is being soaked up. Unfortunately, the longer the stain remains in the carpet, the more permanently it sets into it.

2.       If you notice the stain after the sin was committed, your first instinct is to try to rub the stain off – DON’T.  Make sure you NEVER scrub or brush the stain; scrubbing will harm the fibres and can lead to an adverse reaction of making the stain set in to the carpet or rug.

3.       This is more common sense than a tip but not a lot of people follow this stage of the process. Try to pre-test any removal agent you are using on an inconspicuous area of the rug or carpet. Always follow the instructions carefully. If the stain resides on a rug with various colours ensure you apply a few drops to each colour in the rug. Press and hold a clean, white towel or napkin lightly over it for approximately 30 seconds. Check both the towel (and napkin) and the rug for colour transfer, colour change or any other damage.

4.       If you can ALWAYS try to work from the edges of the stain towards the centre of the spot to prevent it from spreading. This is one of the most common problems people encounter when trying to remove a stain. Continue this process as long as the stain is producing residue onto the towel.

5.       You have made it this far so just one more step to give you the best chance of removing your stain. Lastly, after the spill has been removed completely, run some warm water and rinse the affected area. Continue to press dry the affected area to remove the cleaning solution completely as any remaining residue that is left will soak up dirt and cause damage to the carpet. When you are blotting up the water ensure you use clean dry towels and weight them down by flat, heavy objects like a book. Do not over wet the affected area as this may cause damage to the rug.

This article was written in association with The Rug House. The Rug House sell a large range of high quality rugs including large rugs and washable rugs across the UK and Ireland.