Furniture_Stains

How do you prevent furniture stains? The answer, you don’t! No matter what you do these types of stains seem to appear from out of the blue! The two most common stains are from wooden and metal furniture. Such as sofas, loveseats, recliners and wooden entertainment centers. These types of furniture have wooden legs that bleed into your carpet leaving a stain. Typically, the color of the varnish. Metal types of furniture will leave rust marks on your carpet. Both of these types of stains are difficult to remove and take some time. But, let’s talk about prevention first. You can try to prevent these types of stains by not placing furniture in areas that are prone to getting wet. Also, wipe up any spills around your furniture before it has time to spread causing a stain. When having your carpet steam cleaned make sure the carpet cleaning company provides carpet protectors. Last resort, you can purchase plastic carpet protectors from lowes or home depot that prevent your furniture from making contact with the floor. These do not look the best but they do serve a purpose! Another option is to use clear plastic tabs (similar to sandwich bag material) but made for carpet purposes. They look better! If you have furniture stains, be patient and do not rush the project. Here are some tips on removing furniture stains from carpet.

Things you will need:

  • Paint Thinner
  • Ammonia
  • Spray Bottle
  • Steam Iron
  • 5 Gallon Bucket
  • Cotton Towels (2)
  • Wet/Dry Vacuum

Follow these steps:

First, pour 1/2 cup equal parts paint thinner and water into a spray bottle. Shake well mixing the solution. Before you apply the solution to the carpet you need to test it first. Test the solution in a closet or unseen area to confirm that your carpet color will not fade or run. Once you have guaranteed its safety then follow the next step.

Second, spray the mixed solution directly onto the stain and let sit for about five minutes. After wait time, use the wet/dry vacuum to remove the excess solution from the carpet. It’s used as an extraction method, instead of blotting and applying pressure to the stain. Continue this process until all the solution has been removed. Next, spray clean water onto the stain 2-3 times and extract the water with the wet/dry vacuum. The stain should be gone or much lighter than before. If not, there is another step to further the process.

This process is more difficult than step one. The method is called "heat transfer" and uses heat to remove the stain from the carpet fiber. But, with this method you must pay very close attention! First, pour one part ammonia and three parts warm water into a spray bottle. Next, turn on iron and let warm up. Take your white cloth and saturate with warm water and wring out lightly. Proceed to spray the stained area with the ammonia and water solution and lay the damp cloth on top of the stain. Then take the hot iron and place on top of the moist cloth. Steam will begin to rise and it will smell from the ammonia water mixture. Leave the iron on towel for about ten seconds…then remove immediatley! The stain will begin to lighten and the stain color should be in the cloth. You can repeat this process until desired results are achieved. Do not walk away from the iron ever!! Once you are finished, unplug the iron and store properly.