Rug Stain Removal – Dos and Don’ts

We all know the feeling when our precious rug that may have been passed down through generations or purchased with your hard earned money, carefully taken care of and kept out of the way of any accidents, suddenly has a whole mug of coffee or a whole glass of red wine spilt on it. Before you run for the carpet cleaner, before you Google “stain removal” and before you call your mother in a panic, take a deep breath. We will get through this together, and in the end, your carpet will be as good as new.

DO remove as much of the spill as possible

If it is a solid or semi-solid spill on the carpet, remove it as quickly as possible with a spoon or knife, getting as much residue off the carpet quickly will help to reduce the chances of permanently staining your carpet. If there is a liquid that has spilt, use clean kitchen towels or any highly absorbent paper to quickly absorb any excess liquid. Repeat with clean, dry cloths until the majority of the liquid is absorbed.

Avoid pressing the towels until you can no longer absorb liquid from the surface of the stain. At that point, begin applying small amounts of pressure until no more liquid is absorbed by clean towels. Even water spills should be addressed immediately! Water that gets absorbed into a carpet can lead to the growth of mold and mildew.

Rubbing or scrubbing will only spread the stain to a larger area and can risk damaging the carpet fibres. Blot the stain from the outside and work your way to the centre of the stained area. If blotting isn’t cutting it, then try laying an absorbent towel down and weighing it down with something heavy to force the liquid to transfer from the carpet to the towel. Do this as many times as possible to remove the stain and moisture.

DO NOT over wet the rug

This occurs when too much water soaks into the bottom of the carpet. Some backing materials cause the carpet to discolour if they get too wet. Some carpets will shrink, and some can become almost impossible to dry without placing in the sun. While this may seem like a feasible choice, to help remove all moisture, UV light is extremely damaging to most fibres.

Natural fibres can become bleached from exposure to the sun causing colours to fade and for the carpet to look old and worn. Synthetic fibres can be very sensitive to heat, long exposure to heavy sunlight can cause the fibres to warp and melt leaving the carpet useless.

If your rug has become excessively wet, prevent any contact with your furniture as well. Many kinds of wood furniture will release some of the dyes in their stain if left in contact with a wet surface. Many pieces of furniture have feet that are at least partially metal. The metal can rust, leaving a stain on the carpet.

DO NOT use any available soap

Not all stains respond to the same cleaning solution and not all detergents are safe to use on carpet or rugs. Cleaners that create a sudsy foam are near impossible to remove completely and can dry into your carpet, leaving a crunchy or stiff feel on your feet. These cleaners can also make it much harder for professional cleaners to completely clean your carpet.

If one stain remover does not work, refrain from trying different removers on the same spot. Different stain removers may contain chemicals that are not compatible with each other or that react with another to cause the stain to become worse or cause damage to the fibres of the carpet. When buying any rug cleaning solutions, look for those that work specifically with the fibres used in your rug, and when applying the cleaners make sure to test them in an inconspicuous portion of the rug before applying them to large stained areas.

DO Contact professional carpet cleaners

Contacting a professional carpet cleaning company quickly will ensure that the spots and stains on your carpet can be removed before they become permanent and no longer removable. Regular carpet cleaning will also help to remove any spots that you may not have noticed before.

With Big Red, you get immediate access to over 35 years of experience in rug cleaning in Singapore. Based on the rug, we select the most appropriate method of rug cleaning best suited to your rug – using state-of-the-art technology, cleaning machines, processes, and solutions to restore your rugs. Our firm is a certified member of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration (IICRC) and Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), which means we continuously keep learning with the latest scientific way on the most effective carpet cleaning techniques.