Juice: it's every toddler's favorite beverage, and every parent's worst nightmare when it spills on your carpet! But you don't have to be doomed to a decade of blotchy, stained carpeting. Follow these steps to remove a juice spill, whether it's bright red cherry or purple grape!
Step 1: Blot, blot, blot.
The more juice you can soak up out of the carpet before applying anything else to the carpet, the better. Absorbing a lot of the juice at this beginning stage will help keep the stain from spreading and will also make the cleansers more effective since they'll have fewer juice "particles" to work on. If you have a light-colored towel you don't mind ruining, this is your best option since you'll be able to see the juice on it and judge more easily when the blotting is done. Place the towel over the spill, and press straight down. DO NOT rub, as this will push the juice further into to fibers. Lift up the towel, use a new part of the towel, and blot again. Keep blotting until you're no longer absorbing any more juice from the carpet.
Step 2: Apply vinegar and water.
The main point of this step is to dilute what juice is left so that you can remove it from the carpet. But the vinegar does have some slight stain-fighting properties, too. Make a mixture of about ½ cup vinegar and 2 cups water. You don't have to be exact. Pour enough of this onto the carpet to saturate it, and then start blotting just like you did in the step above. With any luck, by the time you're done blotting, the stain should be barely visible. Repeat the step again – pouring on more water/vinegar, and blotting it up.
Step 3: Apply dish soap.
If you still see a stain, then apply some dish soap and water to a sponge, and start blotting the stain with the sponge. Start at the outside of the stain and work inwards, as this helps keep the stain from growing larger. When you're done, use another towel to blot the whole area again.
Step 4: Apply baking soda.
When you're done blotting that one final time, sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda onto the spill area. The baking soda will help draw any moisture – including any lingering juice particles – up and out of the carpet. Let it sit there for a day or longer, and then vacuum it up. Your carpet should look fresh and stain-free. For more information or help, contact a carpet cleaner, like those at Go Green Carpet Cleaning.
