How to Pre-Treat Carpet Stains Before Calling the Carpet Cleaners

Carpets make your home cosier, warmer and tidier, until you spill something on them and aren’t sure how to safely remove the stain. Your local carpet cleaners in Perth know how to professionally clean and treat stains, but the chances of having a carpet clean booked within the next few hours, before the stain sets, are slim.

That’s why it helps to know how to pre-treat carpet stains yourself. Below, we cover the golden rules, quick tips for the most common stains we see (red wine, blood and pet accidents), the mistakes that can set a stain for good, and what a professional clean can do.

The Golden Rules of Pre-Treating Carpet Stains

• Act fast. The sooner you treat a spill, the less time it has to soak into the fibres and backing.
• Blot, don’t rub. Press a clean white cloth or paper towel onto the stain and lift. Rubbing spreads the stain and frays the fibres.
• Start with cold water. Heat can set some stains, especially blood.
• Test first. When trying a DIY solution, always test it on a hidden patch of carpet, such as inside a wardrobe, before using it on the stain.
• Don’t overwet. Too much liquid soaks into the underlay and can leave water marks or a musty smell.

How to Pre-Treat Red Wine Stains

One glass of red wine is good for you, right? That is, until you have to clean it out of your carpet. Contrary to popular belief, red wine stains do come out if you treat them quickly enough. First, blot (don’t rub) the spill with paper towels or anything similarly absorbent. Once your towel stops picking up red wine, mix 1 part bicarb soda to 3 parts water to make a paste. Spread it over the stain and let it dry: it will absorb any leftover residue. Then vacuum up the dried bicarb soda to reveal a cleaner, pre-treated carpet.

How to Pre-Treat Blood Stains

Wounds cleaned, band-aids applied, tears dried. Once you’ve dealt with the source of the blood, you may notice a bright red stain on the carpet. Luckily, this is easy to remove. First, pour a little cold water on it (warm water will only set the stain) and blot to soak up the blood. Then add a few drops of mild detergent to cold water and gently work out the remaining blood. Finish by blotting with plain cold water to rinse out the detergent, then press with a dry towel.

How to Pre-Treat Pet Urine Stains

Pets bring plenty of joy, along with hours of house-training and the cleanup that comes with it. If you’ve come home or woken up to an accident on your carpet, a top concern will likely be removing the odour. Blot up as much as you can with paper towel, then blot the area with distilled white vinegar. This will help lift any visible stain as well as the odour. Avoid ammonia-based cleaners: they smell similar to urine and can encourage pets to go back to the same spot. For any stain or odour that’s left, a thorough steam clean gives you the best chance of getting it out. We explain why in our post on removing pet urine stains.

Mistakes That Can Set a Stain for Good

• Using hot water or a hairdryer on blood and other protein stains.
• Scrubbing hard with a brush, which spreads the stain and damages the pile.
• Mixing cleaning products. Some combinations, especially anything with bleach, give off dangerous fumes.
• Leaving soap or detergent in the carpet. The residue attracts dirt, so the spot comes back darker.
• Soaking the carpet, which can lead to water marks and a musty smell in the underlay.

Can Professional Carpet Cleaning Remove Stains?

Often, yes. Pre-treating is first aid: it stops a stain setting and makes it easier to remove. A professional clean does the rest. At Wizard Cleaning®, most jobs use a truck-mounted hot water extraction system, which flushes hot water deep into the carpet and extracts it along with the dirt and residue that home methods leave behind. Some stains, such as strong dyes or marks left for a long time, may not come out completely, so treat spills early.

Treating a stain after it occurs is only half the secret to spotless carpets. A visit from your local carpet cleaners in Perth gives your carpets the deep clean and thorough refresh you’re after. We recommend professional carpet cleaning twice a year to maintain your carpets, even when you pre-treat stains yourself.

To book a visit from our team and get your home feeling brand new again, give us a call on 0400 634 609 or send us an enquiry for a free, no-obligation quote. We service Perth Metro and surrounding suburbs.