Two Last Ditch Carpet Stain Removal Tricks

As resilient as beautiful as your carpet may be, there are some stains it just wont recover from. Hair dyes, stomach acid, urine, chlorinated bleach, acidic toilet bowl cleaners, alkaline drain cleaners, iodine, and similar very acidic/alkaline chemical stains permanently discolor carpets. Removing carpet burns without latent evidence is also challenging. If this unfortunate spot is in a high traffic area chances are you can't throw a table or rug over it. If your stain is one of these types or so old nothing is helping, there are two somewhat extreme techniques to try. The first is dyeing using a kit, the second is removing and replacing the stained carpet.

As your first last ditch resort, you can try dyeing the spot where the stain is back to it's original color. This is probably preferable if you're a renter or if you don't want to make any cuts. Companies sell a custom DIY kit to achieve this. You send them a small sample of your carpet as small as a one inch square of fibers cut from the back of a closet. One company sends you a this custom kit for around $90, containing enough dye to cover 100+ spots. The stain has to be thoroughly cleaned using a carpet cleaning machine or a wet vac to insure all chemical residue is removed and the dye will stay colorfast. The dyes are non-toxic and safe around pets and children.

The final last ditch technique to remove - and I do mean remove a stain from your carpet is to cut out the stained section and replace with a fresh piece. This works best with thicker pile rugs that can be brushed to hide the seam. It's also good for removing carpet burns without scraping away burnt fibers and leaving a noticeable difference in height.

Use a utility knife to cut the stained spot out. Make as small a square as possible.

Remove the underlying adhesive. You can do these by scraping or by carefully using a product like Goo B Gone.

If you don't have remnants of the carpet on hand (and stubborn stains are an excellent reason to keep a square foot or two) the least expensive solution is to remove a same-sized piece of carpet from a bedroom closet or other inconspicuous place. If you have patterned or textured carpet you'll want to make sure that you cut a piece that's in the same direction or pattern section as the one you're removing. It might take a bit of detective work and a discerning eye. If the stained piece is acceptable for the closet you could simply swap the two out to prevent wear around the hole you've created

An alternative, or if you'd rather not cut more holes than necessary, is taking the stained carpet piece to the store and finding the closest match.Carpet stores often keep remants and scraps on hand for people with smaller needs. If you know the maker and type of carpet you can check their website to find the best retailer or to request a sample directly.

Place carpet tape on the new replacement carpet piece. You'll have to rent a carpet iron to get this hot enough to melt and secure properly. The tape will come with specific instructions on using it corretly. An alternative is double sided sticky tape, although this wont be as permanent. If it's patterned make sure that it's placed in the correct direction.

After the carpet has set take a wire brush (preferred) or your fingers and gently brush out the lines where the edges meet.

You're done. Stand back and admire your handiness. You are now a carpet stain remover pro.