Reader Question:
We have 4 kitties. Last night they got rambunctious and knocked over one of our oil lamps that were sitting on the end table. They broke the glass and the blue tinted oil spilled all over the table and dripped on the carpet. We soaked up as much as we could with some paper towels, but there is still a faint blue stain on the carpet. Is there any way to get this out without using a general store bought carpet cleaner?
Answer:
According to Wear-Dated’s stain removal guide:
Asphalt, butter, calamine lotion, Crayon, furniture polish, gravy, grease, hand lotion, ice cream, ink (ballpoint), ink (Fountain Pen), lacquer, make-up, mayonnaise, milk, oil, paint (latex), paint (oil), Play Dough, rubber cement, salad oil, sauces, shoe polish, shortening, tar, Vaseline, unknown spots
Remove as much foreign material as possible by blotting with a white paper towel or scraping with a dull knife. Apply isopropyl rubbing alcohol to a clean white cloth, white paper towel or cotton ball. If the spot extends deep into the pile, blot until it is removed or no color transfers to the cloth. Do not allow the alcohol to penetrate the backing, as it will destroy the latex bond. If the spot is on the surface only, rub in one direction at a time.
If rubbing removes the spot, blot dry and stack several white paper towels over the damp area. Place a brick or similarly weighted object on the towels to keep them in contact with the carpet. The towels will absorb any stain wicking up from the backing to the carpet surface. Allow carpet to dry, remove the brick and towels, and brush up the pile.
NOTE:Â Never use a circular motion to remove a spot as this may destroy the texture.
November 25th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Shannon, thanks for bringing up the Wear-Dated stain removal guide. Hard to believe that such a sweet little kitty could create such a mess, but stuff happens and we’ve gotten terrific feedback – including from you – on how helpful our guide is.