When Your Little Ghouls Trash Your Carpet: Stain Check-list for Getting Carpet Stains Out When Trick-or-treating Goes Wrong

With Halloween right around the corner, are you decking the house with pumpkins, skeletons, and spiderwebs? Of course, it’s fun to celebrate this spooky holiday with costumes and trick-or-treating. But just because your kids want to spend an evening at the spook alley doesn’t mean that your home should look like a haunted house.

Everyday living results in wear and tear at home, especially when kids move in and out of the house. You might be noticing dirt on the carpets, fingerprints on the windows, and sticky spots on the tile. These signs show that you have a house full of people that you love – children, friends, and pets often leave messes behind.

Whether you have grime building up from the summer or Halloween candy residue on the carpet, you need to have a good strategy for getting carpet stains out. A little bit of TLC right now goes a long way to protect your carpets in the future. Ready for a carpet stains home remedy or two so you can have a clean rug at home? Let’s go!

Carpet Stain Checklist: How to Get Rid of Carpet Stains

Don’t be frightened when the carpet spots start popping up. The right carpet cleaning tools will help you stay ahead of the mess, so these dirty spots don’t turn into permanent stains.

Follow this carpet stains home remedy checklist to remove the stains and keep your carpets looking good:

1. Act Fast! Getting Carpet Stains Out Requires Immediate Action

Cleaning the carpet stain while it is fresh improves the likelihood that you will be able to remove the stain. Take a few minutes to run through this carpet stains home remedy checklist as soon as you notice a new spot on the floor.

2. Blot the Spot

If any liquid causes the carpet stain, blot the area to soak up as much liquid as possible. Avoid scrubbing with back-and-forth motions because it can spread the carpet stain. Sometimes just blotting can be the key to getting carpet stains out.

3. Test Cleaning Products Before Cleaning Your Rugs At Home

It might be a fun surprise to meet a neighbor dressed as a ghost while trick-or-treating. But don’t face an unexpected surprise by ruining the carpet with a cleaning solution. Instead, always test new products in a discreet place on the rug before applying the stain remover to a carpet stain in the middle of the room. Big promises of getting carpet stains out aren’t so great if they create new spots or marks on your area rug or carpet.

4. Absorb the Moisture

After you finish with a carpet stains home remedy like a cleaning product, be proactive about rinsing out the chemical spotters. Then, dry the area as much as possible. One strategy is to blot it dry with clean, white towels. Next, place a thick towel over the treated area and weigh it down with something heavy. Let it sit for a few hours (or overnight) to absorb the moisture.These carpet stains home remedy tips work for minor carpet stains, but remember the carpet cleaning DC team at Zerorez® DC are standing ready if you need to call in the carpet cleaning professionals.

How to Get Rid of Carpet Odor from Pets

In addition to treating the visible carpet stains, you might also need to know how to get rid of carpet odor from pets. Just because you can’t see the spot on the carpet anymore doesn’t mean the pet mess is gone. Often, proteins are left behind in the carpet fibers, leaving a scary smell that will continue through Halloween and beyond.

A pet odor remover for carpet that contains enzymes, like ZeroStink™, helps to break down proteins from pet messes to get rid of the smell. Another of our cleaning carpet stains home remedies is to sprinkle baking soda on the soiled area and let it sit overnight. The baking soda is a natural carpet odor eliminator that absorbs the odors. Then you can lift the baking soda by vacuuming in the morning.

Preventing Carpet Stains in the Future

In addition to spot treating fresh messes, you can prevent spooky carpet stains (and prevent the need for a carpet odor eliminator or other cleaning carpet stains home remedies) in the future with a few proactive steps to protect your carpets:

1. Invest in Door Mats

Placemats in front of every door to remove excess grime and dirt on the shoes. This captures the dirt to prevent it from coming onto the carpet.

2. Take Off Your Shoes

The kids might want to leave their Halloween costumes on, but ask them to remove their shoes when coming into the house.

3. Vacuum Regularly

Set a schedule to vacuum the floors at least once a week to reduce the risk of loose dirt settling into the carpet. You’ll want to vacuum more often if you have pets or kids in the house.

4. Change the Air Filters

Maintaining clean HVAC air filters decreases the dust, dander, and pollen that settles into the carpets

Need Help Getting Carpet Stains Out? Contact Zerorez® DC for Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services

Will carpet cleaning remove stains? Yes! One of the simplest ways to enjoy a clean rug at home is by consulting with the carpet cleaning DC team at Zerorez® DC. If you have sticky fingerprints on the couches, don’t forget to ask another important question during your consultation: how much is upholstery cleaning? Then, add upholstery cleaning to your carpet cleaning appointment to freshen the entire room. You can also contact us to find out about our current Monthly Specials on Residential and Commercial Cleaning Services. Call Zerorez® DC Metro at 703-382-1221 — or book a carpet cleaning appointment online. Does Zerorez® really work? Check out our Zerorez® reviews and you’ll find the answer is a resounding yes!

We invite you to connect with Zerorez® DC on Facebook to find the latest Zerorez® carpet cleaning specials or to see examples of our upholstery cleaning service! We can also be found on LinkedIn for business and commercial accounts — and get all our great cleaning tips on our blog, The Residue Chronicles!

Locally owned and operated Zerorez® DC and Fredericksburg – “The Right Way To Clean” in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, Stafford County (including Ramoth, Dahlgren, and Hartwood), Maryland (including Germantown, Potomac, and College Park) and the Northern Virginia Region (including Burke, Sterling, and Alexandria) since 2015.