Carpet Cleaning Tips & Tricks

All of the tricks it's taken us 40 years to learn!

Five Items That Produce the Worst Carpet Stains

A glass of red wine spilt on a pure wool carpet.

Depending on how your home is set up, your carpet is usually one of the first things your feet touch as you step in through the front door. It most likely covers your living space, your dining area, every inch of every bedroom, and it sits at the leading edge of your kitchen and bathroom. Considering the amount of square footage it consumes, there will inevitably come a time when something gets dropped on your carpet that isn’t so easy to get out — carpet stains.

Unfortunately, some of the worst offenders for producing carpet stains are items found throughout your home. Here are the substances you should keep away from your carpet at all costs.

1. Grape-Based Products

Most homeowners already know that red wine is great at producing everlasting carpet stains. What you may not know, however, is that wine’s direct sibling, grape juice, is equally as detrimental to your carpet. The reason why is because the grapes used to make both of these products contain an active dyeing agent. In fact, grapes are so effective at manipulating the pigments of whatever surfaces they touch, the early Pilgrims used grapes to dye clothing.

2. Coffee

For 83 percent of Americans, the morning can’t start until a cup or two of java has been heartily consumed. Unfortunately, morning time is often when most Americans are groggiest, leaving a greater opportunity for accidents to occur. All it takes is a single spill to leave an infinite stain on your carpet.

3. Facial Makeup

When taking into account that facial makeup products are designed specifically to alter the shade and luster of its wearer’s skin, there’s do doubt that makeup can produce unsavory carpet stains. Be forewarned: the most dangerous makeup-related carpet-stain culprits are lipsticks and wax-based products.

4. Tomato-Based Products

Keeping in mind that grapes were used to dye the clothing of early American settlers, tomatoes served a similar role. The staying power found in tomato-based products, such as ketchup, tomato soup and tomato paste, will leave your carpet a shade of red deeper than your flushed face after one of these items have been spilled across your dining room.

5. Bleach

Bleach is a powerful tool used by parents everywhere; it’s designed to keep white clothes whiter, as they say. However, if even a drop of bleach gets spilled on a surface that is anything but the purest of white, – that means colored carpets, rugs, etc. – its staining capabilities are legendary. As a result, you are advised to store your bleach somewhere in a kitchen or utility closet that has tiled flooring.

The Expert Carpet Stain Removers

At E&B Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, we understand that carpet is meant to be lived on. No matter how careful you are, there will eventually come a time when it needs to be cleaned, whether it’s a routine sweep or a stain must be removed. No matter what your needs may be, there is no job too large or too small for E&B. Let us prove it!

Upon request, E&B Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning conducts a free estimate of the space you need cleaned. This way, you will know exactly how much the job will cost before we ever bring our equipment into your home.