When it comes to stains, people often have bizarre methods for getting things out, and while they may sound like old wives tales, there is in fact usually a lot of logic behind the techniques. Whether you are sloshing white wine over a red wine spill like a mad person, or down on your knees rubbing lemon in to the carpet, you will often find that certain things work better for different people. We’ll look over some of the basics of stain removal which can help you base some of your methods in reality!

First off, the real issue with stains is that when they have dried in, they become almost impossible to budge. Certain stain removers work in the wash on clothes, but it is still best to keep the stain moist so that the staining agent is not setting in to the fabric, whether it be carpet, clothing or upholstery. You should use water to keep the stain wet while you find a suitable way to remove it. There are cleaning products dedicated to getting stains out of all types of fabric and home wares, which employ different methods, and can be used by anyone in the home. These will usually revolve around a pretreatment for the washing machine, or a shampoo type foam for furniture and carpets. Ensure that you rinse or vacuum the shampoo out after the stain is removed however, as sometimes there will be sticky residue that can attract dirt and make the patch of fabric discolored or tacky.

When it comes to tougher stains in carpets, you may want to try dry cleaning methods on a smaller area. If your carpet is pretty much clean all over, then you should not have any trouble with the area with the stain being too clean and looking out of place in terms of color. If the whole carpet is a little worse for wear, then perhaps it is time to get the whole thing spruced up and take the opportunity to get the whole carpet dry cleaned. Dry cleaning uses dry compounds in combination with solutions in order to attract dirt particles away from the carpet and in to the compounds. The compounds can be left to rest on the surface of the carpet, or scrubbed in. You will find that hand scrubbing is not as effective as using a machine to do the job, so it is well worth getting a professional in with the adequate equipment. Again, ensure that all residue is appropriately vacuumed up after, and hopefully your stain should be completely gone!

As mentioned above, certain tricks and tips like white wine on red wine and lemon and vinegar are based in scientific reality, and can be an eco-friendly way to reduce staining. The whole wine scenario is more of a deterrent, and will likely be solved better with a proper stain remover, but the idea is nice, if a little bit of a waste of white wine! Salt on liquid stains does a similar job to the dry cleaning compounds mentioned above, in soaking up all of the colored liquids to detract them from marking the carpet. You should vacuum these regularly, and attend to the stain with a proper stain remover sooner however. Lemon and vinegar are both natural substances with high acidity which can get rid of stains, but the smell and nature of the substances can make it an unpleasant thing to swab over your house!