Helpful Tips from Canada Carpet Care’s Cleaning Guide
Educating Our Customers One Spill at a Time
Dedicated to educating our customers across the Greater Toronto Area, Canada Carpet Care has assembled an informative cleaning guide based upon our many years of experience. The most important thing to remember when dealing with a spill is to act as quickly as possible!
Absorbing the spilled liquid or scraping up as much of the spilled solid material is going to cut down on the amount of staining caused by the spill. However, if you weren’t fast enough to prevent the spill from developing a stain, don’t fret. Here are some helpful tips on what to use to remove each type of stain for you to keep in mind:
Alcohol– Use warm tap or soda water; blot dry
Blood– Use cool dish detergent solution, ammonia solution or laundry detergent; rinse
Burns– Use one teaspoon of white vinegar; rinse & trim the burned area with scissors (if the burn is extensive, call us)
Chocolate– Use cool dish detergent solution, ammonia solution, white vinegar solution or laundry detergent; rinse
Coffee, Tea & Cola– Use cold or soda water; blot; dry; remove remnants with a dry cleaning solution
Fruit, Juice, Jelly, Soda & Artificial Colours– Use a dish detergent or white vinegar solution; rinse
Glue– Use a special solvent available from the manufacturer
Grass– Use laundry detergent & rinse (if unsuccessful, try an ammonia or white vinegar solution; rinse)
Gravy, Ketchup or Mustard– Use a dish detergent, white vinegar or laundry detergent solution
Grease, Oil & Clear Salad Dressings– Use a dry cleaning solution or carpet shampoo; you can also try to blot the area with a warm iron
Gum– Use an ice cube or a dry cleaning solution; scrape off as much as possible
Ink– Use a dry cleaning solution or paint/oil/grease remover
Milk– Use warm or soda water or a carpet shampoo or dry cleaning solution
Mud– Let it dry and then brush/scrape/vacuum as much of it as you can; Use a dish detergent solution; rinse
Nail Polish– Use a dry cleaning solution, paint/oil/grease remover, non-oily polish remover, or a detergent/ammonia/white vinegar solution; rinse & blot dry
Paint (Oil or Water Bases)– It’s best left in the hands of professionals!
Rust –It’s best left in the hands of professionals!
Tar & Shoe Polish –Use a dry cleaning solution, paint/oil/grease remover, dish detergent or ammonia solution; rinse & blot dry
Urine & Animal Stains– Use a dish detergent, ammonia, white vinegar or an enzyme solution; rinse & blot dry
Vomit– Use laundry detergent, ammonia or white vinegar solution; rinse & blot dry
Water– If significant flooding occurs, clean-up is best left in the hands of a professional!
Wax (Crayons & Lipstick)– Use a dry cleaning solution, paint/oil/grease remover or dish detergent solution; rinse & blot dry
Wine– Use a dish detergent, white vinegar or ammonia solution; rinse & blot dry
Your Guide to Mixing Cleaning Solutions
Ammonia Solution
Mix a tablespoon of ammonia with half a cup of water.
Detergent Solution
Mix a teaspoon of a mild dish detergent or powdered laundry detergent with one cup of water or a laundry pre-treatment.
Vinegar Solution
Mix one-third of a cup of white vinegar with two-thirds of a cup of water.
Dry Cleaning Solution
These can be found at most hardware stores.