Ink and Red Wine Stains

I must start off by telling you that everything in here is a suggestion and if it fails I cannot be held accountable for these suggestions failing to remove the stain or any damage resulting in you trying to remove the stain(s). They work and I have tried them myself.

Ink stains: You can remove ink stains from your carpet. The Number one Secret to doing it is rubbing alcohol. It will work better if it is 90% Isopropyl alcohol but if you only can find 70% we will just have to work a little bit more to get what we can out of the carpet. Of course the sooner you get to the stain the better. I have found hand sanitizers work well on removing ink from surfaces. Being high in the alcohol is the clue in these. But remember to use the clear ones. And always wash your hands after the use of these Alcohols. They are NOT safe to ingest and can make you and more so children very ill.

-First of all, DO NOT pour the rubbing alcohol on to your carpet.
-Apply the rubbing alcohol onto a white cotton cloth and dab the stain carefully so you do not spread the ink. -Remember no rubbing. We do not want to damage the fibers of the carpet.
-Using the Wet/dry Vac or by blotting remove the liquid and stain out as much as possible.
-Repeat this process until you are not getting anymore transfer to your cloth from the ink.

It may not be possible to remove the stain completely but do try some commercial products and fallow what they believe will work. In Canada there is a Product called Winning Colours. It is normally used in removing Paint from Carpet but removes all kinds of stains and Ink is one of them. (No I wasn't paid to put that tid-bit in, it is just that good of a product.)

Remember to rinse the area of all product. Rinse and remove the liquid as soon as possible. Weather by blotting the liquid up or using a Wet/Dry Vacuum. The great thing about the Wet/Dry Vacuum is you will do less damage to the carpet fibers and this is the bigger plus as you do not want to damage the fibers. Damaging the Fibers gives cracks and hiding places for the stain so it is harder to get out and ages your carpet faster.

Again you want to make sure the area dries quickly so we prevent any remaining Ink from wicking up the fibers to be a returning stain. If you have white paper towel to use and then a household fan to quickly dry the area.

Red Wine:

-If this is a fresh stain try to get up as much of the liquid as possible using a clean white cloth, white paper towel or our trusty Wet/Dry Vac

Even when the stain is older and has dried:

-Open a bottle of White Wine

-Apply the White wine to the area. This recreated the initial conditions of when it first occurred and it will make it easier to remove the stain.

-Extract the liquids by blotting or the Wet/Dry Vac

-Repeat by applying the White Wine to the area

-Extract the liquids by blotting or the Wet/Dry Vac

Hopefully you have a store purchased carpet cleaning product on hand and can now use this on the area to help remove the stain to help get more up. Fallow there instructions.

-Rinse the area using cold water to make sure you get the remaining liquids up.

-Dry as quickly as possible.

Remember you want to dry it as quickly as possible because you do not want if it is there the stain that maybe deep down from wicking up to the surfaces. Think Candle wick here. The stain comes back by using the fibers like a candle wick.

There are no quick fixes when it comes to really getting in there to removing any stain. Keep in mind a job done right is a job well done. Anything else truly is not worth doing and you will regret it when the stain keeps returning or you have damaged the carpet by rubbing or scrubbing the carpet so it wears faster and it has to be replaced sooner. Using home made products to use on your carpet to gives you the control of the chemicals used and often is the better choice for the health of your family and pets.

With the Holidays comes spills of all kinds be prepared and get yourself a Wet/Dry Vacuum. It is a must have. The soon you start to left those nasty stain causing substance off your carpet the better. Stop the spread and low your risk of damage to the carpet by having a Wet/Dry Vacuum. The best are the Shop Vacuums in my option. Have your rubbing Alcohol and Shaving Cream on stand by. Read my other articles for more stain removing ideas. Happy Birthday parties and or Holidays that bring you Fun, Joy and sadly Stains.