“Whoops! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to spill my wine on your new shirt!” How many times have you heard something similar to this as you look down in disappointment or maybe shock to find that your favorite outfit has been ruined? Well, fear not! Whether it is your favorite piece of clothing or your carpet, here are some tips to beat that stain beyond all recognition.
- Soak it- One simple fact that transcends anyone else’s opinions or home remedies is that the faster a spill dries the harder it will be to get out. Make sure as soon as you see a spill that you soak it in warm water.
- Seltzer Water- Once you have soaked the stain (unless you have the seltzer water handy), try to find some seltzer water to apply to the spill. The fizzy action of the carbonation will act as an agitator at the molecular level preventing the dyes from setting into the material. Hand soap or dish soap should always be your last resort as it can make the spot worse by adding other chemicals and dirt to the area, and laundry detergent is only for the laundry. Another warning is that you should never apply soap of any kind into your carpet! Step one and two is the only steps you should take for a carpet. If those don’t fully work, then call a professional carpet cleaner as soon as possible.
- Lemon juice- This remedy is one that should be used only on fabrics, not carpets, and only if you cannot obtain seltzer water. This suggestion is a backup method. Do not use this unless absolutely necessary. The Lemon’s acids that work to get the stain out can be unpredictable on the material. However, many claim that it does work.
- Brand Stain Sticks- If you are the type of person who does not mind pre-purchasing and carrying around a stain stick, both Tide and OxiClean sale these that you can use on minor stains. Of course, this would be harder to use on a large spill. Note that these should be used on clothing and not carpet. Chemicals and detergents are almost impossible to extract from carpets no matter what someone else may tell you. If you get too much into the carpet, then this can cause discoloring and attraction of more dirt potentially making the stain worse than it was.
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Remember if you are out on the town, experience a spill and have tried these remedies on your clothing, you can always use a detergent for pre-spotting stains once you return home to your laundry facilities. A mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide will be useful but do not use this on your carpet, only clothes!
