Carpet stains happen. Liquids spill. Pets have accidents. Shoes track in who-knows-what and the result is a stain that ruins the appearance of your carpet. But if you react quickly, there's an excellent possibility you'll be able to get rid of that stain.

That's the encouraging word from Jim Mitchell, of Cleveland Carpet One at 2045 North Expressway, in Griffin, a member of Carpet One, America's largest floor covering retailer.

“Although many carpets and rugs sold today are pretreated with a stain repellent, that doesn't mean a spill will just bead up on your carpet until you sop it up, says Mitchell. “You still may have to take some steps to remove any stain that results. But fortunately those are steps you can do yourself,” said Mitchell.

The Top 10 Carpet Stains

The top 10 substances that most commonly stain a carpet or rug, according to Mitchell are:

(1)fruit punch, (2)coffee, (3)pets, (4)vomit, (5)cola, (6)grease, (7)apple juice, (8)mustard, (9)urine, and (10)substances no one can remember spilling or dropping — i.e. “unknown” substances.

Here, according to Mitchell is what you can do if one of the “top 10” stains your carpet.

Speed is important. Attack it before it gets a chance to attack your carpet. If it's a liquid, blot up the excess immediately. Always dab or blot; never rub.

If it's a solid, gently scoop or scrape off the excess with the blunt edge of a spoon working from the edge of the stain to the middle... and don't rub.

For fruit juice, punch, soft drinks, pet food and vomit, apply dry baking soda to the area, then scrape or vacuum that off. Using a damp sponge and a blotting action, rinse off any remaining baking soda. Be careful not to over-wet the area — never wet the carpet through to the backing.

Then, mix one teaspoon of enzyme laundry presoak such as Axion or Biz in one cup of warm (not hot) water and blot it on with a dampened towel. Rinse as above. Dry well by blotting with a dry towel. After that, apply a dry powered carpet cleaner such as Maintain, Capture or Blue Luster and then vacuum.

For coffee, tea, berries, candy (sugar, chocolate), catsup, mayonnaise, milk, ice cream, mud, mixed drinks, beer, white wine, urine or excrement, scrape or blot up the detergent in one cup of warm water and dab that on the spot with a dampened towel. Then blot it off.

Next, dab on undiluted household ammonia followed by undiluted white vinegar. Blot that off. Rinse by dabbing with a sponge dampened with water. Blot again and finish by applying a weighted 1/2-inch thick pad of white, unprinted paper towels overnight.

If the stain is tar, butter, cooking oil, shortening, makeup (foundation, lipstick, mascara), polish (furniture, shoe), grease from food, auto), ink, oil paint, or an unknown substance, gently scrape or blot up the excess. Then dab on a non-oily, non-caustic dry cleaning solvent of the type sold for spot removal on clothing. Blot off the solvent and repeat as necessary. Rinse by blotting with a dampened sponge. Finish by applying a weighted pad of unprinted, white paper towels to the area overnight.

If you have gum stuck in your carpet, scrape off what you can and freeze the rest by placing an ice cube on it. Don't let the ice melt though. Try a fresh cube when necessary. When the gum is hard, shatter it with a blunt object such as the back of a heavy spoon and vacuum up the gum and ice chips before they melt. Repeat as necessary.

For a really stubborn stain, or a stain not listed, you can call Cleveland Carpet One at 770-228-6110. Or, if you have access to the Internet, go to Carpet One's webpage at <www.Carpetone.com> where there are detailed instructions on how to remove more than fifty common stains.

For more information about carpet care, contact Cleveland Carpet One which offers protection against all stains for most of the new carpets it sells, covered under the ScotchCare Protection Plan from 3M and Carpet One.

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