Learning to Communicate with Your Cleaning Service

Posted on: 24 June 2015

Summer is a time when people take on remodeling projects and paint their homes. As a result, this is also a time when a lot of people stain their carpeting with various paint spills. Many homeowners assume that paint spills are untreatable in carpet, but that's not true. From tiny smudges to giant, disastrous spills, paint can be cleaned out of your carpet, provided that you follow the appropriate steps.

Small Smudges

The tools you'll need to remove small smudges from carpet include rubbing alcohol, dishwashing detergent, water, a bucket, several clean rags and hydrogen peroxide. To remove the stains, follow the procedure below:

1. Apply rubbing alcohol to a rag and blot the stain with the rubbing alcohol. Do not smear the paint, but apply the rag to the paint and push down on the paint repeatedly, forcing the paint to transfer from the carpet to the rag.
2. Combine non-bleach dishwashing liquid with warm water.
3. Use the dishwashing liquid solution to blot the stain as you did with the rubbing alcohol. 
4. Spray the affected area with hydrogen peroxide.
5. Blot the area with a clean rag. 
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until the stain is gone.

Large, Disastrous Paint Spills

Large paint spills, like what happens when you spill a can of paint over the surface of the carpet, can only be handled by professional a carpet cleaning service. However, without proper treatment before the carpet cleaning service arrives, your carpet can probably not be saved. To ensure that your carpet can still be treated when the professionals arrive, follow these steps:

1. Use a shop vacuum (or a soup ladle) to suck up (or scoop up) the spill until all excess paint has been removed.
2. Lay a wet (but not soaking) rag down over the paint spill. 
3. Cover the spill area with plastic wrap.
4. Call the professional cleaning service.
5. Keep the towel moist until the carpet cleaning service arrives. 

Tips

These tips will help you as you attempt to remove both types of stains from your carpet:

• Do not allow stains to dry. 
• When blotting up a stain with the rag, do not smear the stain. Push the paint inward toward the center of the stain to prevent the stain from getting larger. 
• Never pour, dump or spray rubbing alcohol directly onto the carpet. Put rubbing alcohol on a rag and use the rag to blot the paint. 
• If you can't treat a stain immediately, cover it with wet rags and plastic wrap to ensure that the paint will not dry. 

For more tips and tricks, speak with a professional carpet cleaner like one from Clean Sweep Professional Cleaning Service.