How to Remove Stains

Whether you are entertaining at home, or the kids are playing in the living room; inevitably someone will drop some liquid onto the carpet or sofa.   

Here are some tips on how you can remove stains from household items. 

For coffee stains, cola, ice cream, ink, milk, or nail polish – here are some quick fixes: 

* Use one cup of warm water with a teaspoon of detergent (non-bleach) and blot the surface of the stain. 

* Take two parts of water to one part white vinegar and blot the stain. 

* Using a sponge, again blot the stain with water. 

There are two exceptions, however.  You do not need to use vinegar and water to remove ink, milk, nail polish or ice cream stains.  The detergent alone will suffice.  

Here is another tip.  If you happen to accidentally get some hair dye on a carpet, immediately blot it with a clean dry towel.  While there are cleaners such as Resolve, that claim to remove the stain, the problem is it also lightens the fibers in the carpet.   

Use caution when using any type of carpet cleaner. 

While it is very easy to tell the kids to play in another room, it is not always advantageous to do so.  If you invite guests to your home, there will be the occasional spill of wine and/or coffee.  It happens. 

Addressing the problem immediately by utilizing the aforementioned methods can clear up the problem right away. 

Just remember to blot the surface of the stain instead of rubbing it.  This will only embed it deeper in the carpet or sofa.  Accidents will occur; after all a living room is just that – a place where family members can relax and occasional guests can gather.  Don’t sweat the small stuff!