You probably know the agony of having some oil stains on the carpet. The realisation sinking in, the oil sinking in… It really is one of the most difficult stains to remove, ever. It’s not, however, impossible, and here’s how you can clean it.
For this, you will need some absorbent cloths or newspapers, a grease fighting dish washing soap, like Dawn, some cornstarch or baby powder, a vacuum cleaner, an old toothbrush, a bucket, some sponges, water, a few towels, and a lot of patience.
1. Start with trying to soak up as much of the spilled oil as you can with one of the absorbing materials. Put towels or newspapers and press them on the stain to absorb the oil. If it’s newspapers that you’re using, don’t press them for too long, or the ink will print itself on the carpet.
2. When you’ve absorbed most of the oil, cover it with cornstarch or baby powder completely. Brush over it lightly with your fingers to work it in the carpet. This will absorb the oil between the fibres.
3. Leave it like this for a couple of hours.
4. Vacuum away the cornstarch or baby powder.
5. If you’ve spilled a lot, repeat steps 2-4 again.
6. Now you can take care of what’s left.
7. Put some grease-fighting dish washing product on the stain. Spread it across the area with your fingers. Work it in the carpet again.
8. Use the toothbrush to scrub it into the fibres.
9. Since the dish cleaning product suds easily, you will have a bit of a hard time removing it.
10. Spray the area with clean water and blot with a clean cloth.
11. Repeat the process until all of the soap is gone.
12. If you have carpet cleaner, use it – it will easily rinse the spot.
13. When all of the soap is gone, put a towel or two on the wet area and put some weights on it. Leave it for an hour.
14. Leave the carpet to air dry.
You can dry the carpet more quickly if you place a dehumidifier nearby.
Try using a dry cleaning solvent to remove the oil stain. Just blot it in with a clean clot, and then remove by blotting with a different cloth.
If you need some more cleaning power, try mixing some vinegar with the dish washing detergent, and then applying it on the stained area.