How to remove shoe polish stains from carpets

 Hurrying for school? Yikes, that very polish which breathed a new life into your shoes has breathed life out of your carpet. Panic Stricken, are you? But hold on, before you rush out to get a brand-new carpet or brace yourself for your mom’s chiding; we provide you with some effective remedies which will help you bust these stains.

These shoe polish stains can be very stubborn, and can ruin your carpet for good. Yet if treated swiftly and adequately, they can be cleaned indeed. The magic key lies in knowing what to do. Yet the crux of the matter lies in one important fact:

 ‘The shorter the amount of time, the shoe polish stays on the surface of the carpet; the lesser time will it have to set in and consequently, will be easier to remove.’

Following tips will equip you with the armor to battle these polish stains on your carpet.

Method One (Using a dry cleaning solvent)

            Removing polish stains from carpets can be a piece of cake, or on the contrary they can be as stubborn as a mule. It all depends upon how you choose to deal with them. The following method is pretty simple and can enable you to get rid of these polish stains effectively. All you will need is some dry cleaning solvent and a little elbow grease and before you know it, your carpet will be as good as new.

Things that you will require:

·      Dry cleaning solvent

·      Clean Lint Free Cloth

Steps that you need to take:

1.    Primarily, scrape off the excess polish from the stain. Although, this step seems the simplest of all, but technically speaking, this one is the most difficult. This is because you have to do it in such a manner that you don’t end up spreading the polish stain on carpet further.

2.   Apply the dry cleaning solvent on the stain with the help of a clean, lint free cloth.

3.   Keep blotting the polish stain with this cloth until it comes off.

4.   Rinse the polish stain with clean water and you will end up with a carpet as good as new.

Tip:   

Do not apply the solvent directly on your carpet. Always use a clean, lint free cloth or sponge for this purpose. This is because excessive amount of solvent can dissolve the backing of your carpet. . If this method does not work, you can adopt the following method.

Method two (Using non-acetone nail polish remover and detergent)

This method is a bit complex and works well for the removal of persistent old polish stains on the carpet, which refuse to budge easily.

Things that you will require:

·      Non-acetone nail polish remover or ethyl chloride

·      Liquid detergent

·      Water

·      Clean white rag

·      Protective gloves

·      Ammonia

·      Warm water

·      Carpet stain removal kit

Steps that you need to take:

1.   Apply some non-acetone nail polish remover or ethyl chloride on the polish stain with the help of a white rag or a cotton ball.

2.   Gently rub the chemical on the polish stain.

3.   Then make a detergent solution, and rub this solution onto the stain with the help of a white rag.

4.   Rinse the polish stain on carpet with clean water and blot it dry.

5.   If the stain still hasn’t got out, then put on a pair of protective gloves and make an ammonia solution.

6.   Work this solution into the stain with a clean cloth.

7.   Blot the stain with warm water and then leave it to air dry.

8.   However, if despite all these steps the stain refuses to come off, and then get a carpet stain removal kit. This kit contains professional spot removers to get rid of polish stains effectively.

9.   Hopefully, you would have ended with a stain free carpet by now.

Precaution:  

A white rag has been used constantly. This is because we are using a number of chemicals in this method and it is quite probable that the colored rag might transfer its color to the carpet, therefore white rag is used as a precaution. Moreover, always make the ammonia solution with warm water.