Below the Surface: A Guide to Dealing With Deep Stains

Any passionate chef, visual artist, or homemaker will tell you that stains are an inevitable, unshakeable part of a life well-lived. The issue with stains is that there are just so many of them, and they all have their own particular methods for removal. For the purpose of this nifty guide, though, we’ll be focusing specifically on deep carpet and rug stains, a common domestic breed that can require some ingenious thinking at the worst of times. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how best to deal with your household’s deep and dark stains.

Step 1: Find the right tools

First and foremost, you’ll want to find yourself some quality cleaning products and tools. We’d recommend using natural cleaners such as baking soda and cleaning vinegar wherever possible, but if you’re dealing with particularly tricky stains, you may also decide to use carpet formulas that are specifically designed with stain removal in mind. If you’re dealing with a particularly tricky pile carpet, it’s highly recommended that you get yourself a quality spot cleaner to ensure that your stain removal is not only thorough but can also get deep into the fibres and aid in tackling the build-up of bacteria that may arise from some food or beverage stains.

A spot cleaner may also be able to do the job of multiple other products and tools with ease, meaning that you may be able to minimise the amount of clutter in whatever home storage you’ve allocated for all your home maintenance goods.

Step 2: Develop your spot-cleaning game plan

Now that you’ve sourced your weapons of choice, it’s time to figure out exactly what order to use them in. Naturally, with any stain, the first thing that you should try to do is to stop the stain from spreading. Basically, stains can spread in two main directions: either sideways, elongating the actual size of the visible stain, or down deeper into your flooring. Letting a deep stain sit for too long can often cause mould or mildew, which can be infinitely trickier to treat if you have timber flooring under your carpets and rugs! You’ll want to control the flow of the stain by dabbing it as dry as possible with a paper towel. Be sure to suck up any moisture you can.

If there’s a fair amount of moisture, consider using talcum powder to help dry out the spot. You can then use your formula of choice, or potentially also try using vinegar if you feel the spot may be small enough to treat with minimal chemical cleaning.

Step 3: Take preventative measures

It’s worthwhile taking some time to assess where any potential sources for stains are in your home and do what you can to help mitigate these stain-makers. For instance, it may not be wise to place carpets or rugs in your kids’ bedrooms, or any other spaces where your children may be eating or drinking. There are better ways to design these spaces without the need for fancy flooring, but if you are looking for some kid-friendly floor coverings, you can’t do better than some colourful foam or rubber matting, or other coverings that would be easy to clean.

Another popular preventative measure is simply limiting the areas in your home where you allow food and drink to be consumed. Make full use of your kitchen countertop to make kitchen and dining clean-ups as simple as they can get.

Finally, it’s best to keep in mind that all stains are different, and so it’s no big issue if it takes you some time to finetune your spot-cleaning routine. Be sure to keep it open and flexible so that you can accommodate even the toughest stain removal jobs.

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