How do you clean a badly stained carpet? While some carpet stains require seconds to remove, others are a real headache. Cleaning a badly stained carpet has always been a daunting task, requiring much elbow grease and creativity.

Below we discuss the worst stains your carpet could get and how to tackle them.

Biological stains

Cleaning biological stains is a difficult task, especially if you let them set into the fiber. Blood spills and pet accidents require immediate treatment, else they will cause even more headaches later.

One thing for your to remember is that hot or warm water doesn’t do the trick with biological stains. It only helps the protein to set into the fabric. Coldwater proves more effective at tackling these stains.

To remove the blood spill, use a dry tissue first to absorb as much blood as you can. Then mix two cups of cold water and one tablespoon of dish detergent. Dab the stain with the mixture until the stain goes away.

Since scrubbing is forbidden due to spreading concerns, you will have to blot quite a lot for the spill to disappear. If the blood has dried in and refuses to leave the carpet, try some hydrogen peroxide to make it surrender.

For pet waste stains, the dish soap and cold water combination would also work. Yet, pet accidents come along with a strong smell. You will have to use an odor neutralizer in addition to the solution.

If you don’t have time for do-it-yourself stain removal, go to the store and grab some enzyme cleaner. This product especially targets biological stains, removing them without requiring elbow grease.

2. Red wine

A red wine spill is the nightmare of every homeowner. Start by dabbing the liquid that hasn’t managed yet to absorb into the carpet. It will make the next steps easier. Mix two cups of warm water, one tablespoon dish soap, and one tablespoon vinegar.

Soak a cloth with the solution and scrub the stain. If the spill is old, you may have trouble removing it with this mixture. You may need to use stronger weapons, such as a solution of water, hydrogen peroxide, and regular detergent.

As long as hydrogen peroxide has bleaching properties, you are good to use it in extremely low quantities. Don’t worry, it’s strong enough to deal with stains even when you use a few drops of it.

3. Old stains

Even the easiest stains may become a nightmare if you allow them to set into the carpet. Removing old stains may range from a hydrogen peroxide combo to the implication of professionals.

It all depends on the nature of the stain and how much time it has spent on the carpet. Regularly, professionals have the needed tools to lift old stains. However, if the removal is going to come at the expense of carpet damage, the team may avoid tackling the stain.

In this case, you will have nothing else to do other than covering the ugly spot with some furniture.

4. Bleach

Bleach is for many homeowners the worst stain their carpet could ever get. And here we have to stop and explain an important thing. Bleach does not stain the carpeting but rather removes its color.

While food, beverages, blood, urine add color to the carpet you need to remove, there is nothing to remove in case of bleach. Hence, none of the stain removal remedies works with this carpet accident, not even vinegar and dish detergent.

What you have to do is to restore the color of the carpet, which is not an easy task.

You may need to call in professionals to assess the possibility of repainting the carpet or restoring it in any other way. There is a certain chance that even professionals won’t be able to tackle your bleach problem.

If so, you will have to learn to live with the bleached spot. If you don’t want to replace the carpet, you may mask the bleach with a rug or furniture.

How Do You Clean A Badly Stained Carpet? – Final thoughts

Tackling a badly stained carpet is one of the most difficult tasks of the cleaning routine. Removing biological, wine, and old stains involves much elbow grease and a correct choice of cleaning product. Don’t hesitate to ask the help of professionals if the stain refuses to go away.