Updated: Jan 13
Life happens… the end.
Ok, well maybe there’s more to it, so let’s jump into what to do when those accidents happen. Unexpected spills occur everyday; especially in homes with kiddos and pets. Do you know what to do? Depending on the spill, is going to depend on how you will handle it.
Imagine for a second someone is walking to or from the living room with a large plate of spaghetti. The dog runs in and trips them and there goes the plate right on the carpet. First thing is first, don’t freak out. You don’t want to make an already bad situation worse by grabbing just any ole product under the sink. Remove the food from the carpeted area, you can use a spoon to try and remove anything left. Make sure you’re being soft and not agitating with the spoon too hard to remove excess sauce. Once all of the debris is removed now comes the important part. The spot that is left from sauce. As a professional cleaner I see it all the time where someone has tried using an over the counter product to “magically” remove the stain. These products can be very dangerous even using them exactly as directed. One, they can permanently set the stain into the fibers; second they can over work and remove the coloring from the fibers and leave you with a white area. Essentially “bleaching” the area out. These two recommendations I am about to give you is all you should use. If these don’t work, stop what you’re doing and call in a professional.
***Ensure they are certified, cleaners can be a dime a dozen and you want to make sure you call a true professional; we happen to be certified, background verified, and properly insured so feel free to use us, or don’t, but you really should.***
The first product we recommend starting with is a pretty common household product. White distilled vinegar is a cleaning machine. We recommend 1 part of vinegar to 2 parts warm water. Using a spray bottle lightly mist the area and tamp with a white towel (if you use a colored towel you risk transferring the color to the carpets). If you don’t have a spray bottle just dip your towel directly in the solution and begin tamping the area. NEVER SCRUB THE FIBERS. Once fibers become distorted they are permanently damaged. This also may take several tries, so have patience and give it a few applications. Another recommendation we have is to use to Dawn’s Dish soap. I can’t stress this enough, one drop max. If it isn’t working just repeat the process, adding more soap can cause the area to foam up and re-soil due to the fact that it will be left at a higher PH. If you have tried both options and you still haven’t removed the staining from the sauce, it’s time to call in a professional. It is well worth the money to have a professional do it right than damage your expensive carpets, rugs, or upholstery.