When changing a cartridge, it’s not uncommon to spill some of the toner. However, cleaning them is pretty difficult. In this case, time is of the essence. If you don’t clean the stain as soon as you can, it will set and will become more difficult to clean the carpet.
For this, you will need a vacuum cleaner, some soft cloths, some water, a dry cleaning solvent, some dish washing soap, and some towels.
1. If you’ve spilled lots of toner, get a spoon and try to scoop as much of it as possible. Vacuum the rest. If you’ve spilled liquid toner, try to absorb it by blotting with a cloth.
2. When you’ve removed the loose toner, you can work on cleaning the stain.
3. Moisten a cloth with some of the dry-cleaning solvent.
4. Blot the stained area with it.
5. While you’re doing it, the stain will start to move onto the cloth. Remember to turn to a clean part of the cloth after every few blots.
6. Don’t pour the solvent directly on the carpet; only dampen the cloth with it.
7. If this doesn’t work, read the following steps.
8. Add a few drops of the dish washing soap in a cup of water.
9. Moisten a cloth with the mixture and blot the stain with it.
10. When the stain is fully gone, leave it to air dry.
11. Just in case, put a towel on the wet spot and press down on it, to absorb any remaining liquids.
12. After that, vacuum it to restore the former texture of the fibres.
If you’ve spilled dry toner, and you’ve vacuumed it, clean the vacuum bag afterwards, because if you leave it like this, it will return in one way or another on the carpet.
Try not to scrub the carpet, because you will harm the fibres and make it look worn out.
Don’t use laundry or dishwasher detergents, because they can discolour the carpet and harm the fibres.
You can use rubbing alcohol, as it is good at removing ink stains, but be careful and don’t let it soak into the carpet. It will loosen the carpet fibres.
If your carpet is in a light colour, you can use hydrogen peroxide to clean the toner. However, don’t forget that you should first test it on a hidden area before starting on the stain, because it has a bleach-like effect and will discolour darker colours.