Carpet Stain Removal Tips Earn An A-Plus

Summer has ended, and students are leaving lazy days behind to start the new school year. Families flock to stores to go back-to-school shopping for all of the essentials: paper, pens, pencils…items that are a must-have in the classroom. But what if your child’s science fair project threatens to stain your carpet at home? STAINMASTER® carpet offers some simple cleaning solutions to help protect your carpet from a back-to-school blunder.

CLEANING SOLUTIONS:

For ink, crayon, felt-tip marker and rubber cement:
Dry Cleaning Fluid Solution
Use non-flammable dry cleaning fluid or a liquid spot remover from the grocery store or hardware store. (Note: Do not apply dry cleaning fluid directly to carpet. Apply first to a cloth and use the cloth to apply the fluid to the stain.)

Detergent Solution
Mix 1/4 teaspoon mild liquid dish detergent (with no optical brightners) in one cup of warm water.

For chalk:
Sudsy Foam
Mix 1/4 teaspoon mild liquid detergent (with no optical brightners) in one cup of warm water. Using a whisk or beater, whip the solution until you have created a sudsy foam. Use only the foam on the carpet. Note: It may be necessary to increase the amount of detergent to get enough suds to create foam.

For white glue:
Detergent Solution
Mix 1/4 teaspoon mild liquid dish detergent (with no optical brightners) in one cup of warm water.

Ammonia Solution
Mix two tablespoons clear, white, non-suds ammonia in four cups of warm water.

BASIC CLEANING STEPS:

1.	Scoop up and blot as much of the spill as possible.
2.	Vacuum any dry particles.
3.	Prepare suggested cleaning solutions, beginning with the first one listed.
4.	Pretest the cleaning solution on an inconspicuous spot of carpet to ensure it does not discolor or damage the carpet.
5.	Apply the cleaning solution to the stain area. Work from the outside of the stain toward the center.
6.	Allow the cleaning solution to remain on the spill for at least five minutes.
7.	Blot with a clean white cloth until no more stain transfers to the cloth. Do not rub the stain area or you might damage the carpet fibers.
8.	Rinse with cold water. Be sure all cleaning solution is removed from the carpet.
9.	If you can still see the stain, repeat the process until either the stain is removed or the stain no longer transfers to the cloth.
10.	If the stain remains, try the next solution on the list and follow the same protocol above. If the stain persists after trying each of the solutions, contact a professional cleaner.
11.	Once the stain is removed, place layers of white paper towel on the site to absorb any moisture. Weight down the towels with a non-staining glass or ceramic object. You can let them sit overnight.
12.	When the carpet is dry, vacuum to restore the texture.
13.	Have your carpet professionally cleaned every 24 months, as required by the STAINMASTER® carpet limited warranty.

*Facts for Features, U.S. Census Bureau, "Back to School"

DID YOU KNOW?*

• In August 2004, back-to-school shopping at family clothing stores totaled $6 billion.

• In 2003, there were more than 9,000 office supply and stationary stores in the United States.

• More than 70 million people are enrolled in schools, from nursery school to college, across the United States.

• An estimated 54.6 million students enrolled in U.S. elementary and high schools in 2005.