Tips for removing 8 types of carpet stains

If the carpet you love turns to a mess in a split second due to an accidental spill, one of these eight tips may restore your carpet quickly.

• Immediately blot excess with paper towels.
• Soak with club soda.
• Blot again.
• Scrub with diluted carpet shampoo.

• If fresh, blot with cold water (not hot).
• If dried, cover with equal parts cold water and meat tenderizer.
• Let set for 30 minutes.
• Sponge off with cold water.

• Freeze with a plastic bag full of ice cubes.
• Scrape off gum with a butter knife and blot with trichloroethylene (a dry-cleaning fluid available at drug and hardware stores).

• Blot the excess with paper towels.
• Scrub the area with a diluted carpet shampoo.
• Cover with paper towels weighted down for two to three hours.

• Blot the excess and sponge with a solution of five grams (one teaspoon) of powdered laundry detergent and five millilitres (one teaspoon) of white vinegar dissolved in one litre (one quart) of warm water.

• Blot excess with paper towels.
• Sponge with dry-cleaning fluid, working from edges to centre.

• Dab with paint remover.
• If that fails, use dry-cleaning fluid.

• Scrape off as much as possible, then place a brown paper bag over the area and run a warm — not hot — iron over it.
• The bag will act as a blotter and absorb the wax.