You’re moving around your laundry room doing the laundry and probably getting other things done. Then accidentally, you kick and spill some liquid or powder laundry detergent on the floor only this time it’s on your favorite carpet.
It might just be a drop or splash or maybe a large spill. It’s enough to make you worried. But do not.
Ideally, you should know how to get laundry detergents out of your carpet if you want it to last for a long time.
That’s why these tips are perfect for you. They’re also quite easy to carry out.
Steps To Take To Get Laundry Detergent Out Of Carpet
If you’ve got laundry detergent on your carpet, it’s likely to sit on the carpet and cause stains if you leave it for a long time.
To remove the detergent from the carpet, you should try out these steps.
- Check if your carpet can be machine washed
No need to worry if you spill any liquid or powder detergent on your favorite carpet.
Determine if the carpet can be cleaned with a machine in the first phase.
Many washing machines are capable of this. All you need is to throw it in the washing machine with a high-heat spin cycle now.
You can also manually remove detergent from carpets that aren’t suitable for machine washing.
- Remove any excess detergent
Once you’ve taken the first step above, you should proceed to remove any extra detergent residues you can possibly get out from the carpet.
To do this, you’ll need a little spoon, a little cup, or probably a laundry detergent cover to scoop up any excess detergent if it’s a powder detergent.
If it’s a liquid detergent, you can use a bunch of paper towels, say about 10 pieces to absorb, and press them on the carpet to remove the excess detergent.
Time is of the essence, so you might want to speed up the removal process.
- Get some heated water in a spray can
Next up, after removing the excess detergent from the carpet, get some water and heat it in the gas cooker or microwave.
It’s a very important item for removing the detergent to prevent any further stains.
When the water has gotten to a certain temperature say 150 to 170° Fahrenheit, you can take it off the heater and pour it into a little spray can.
- Spray the heated water on the area with the detergent
Now using the spray can, apply the heated water over the area with the detergent. You can do this in little sprays of up to 2 seconds to ensure the detergents foams on the carpet to a pretty large degree.
Note that this applies to liquid detergents.
- Scrub the area with a clean cloth
After applying the water to the detergent area, get a clean piece of cloth and steadily scrub the area to remove any amount of detergent that you can from the carpet.
- Now, you can involve a vacuum cleaner
After you have finished cleaning the section of the carpet with the detergent foam, you may now fetch a vacuum cleaner.
Now, use the vacuum cleaner and get rid of any excess water that is on the carpet.
Despite this, the carpet will still have a slight dampness to it.
You are allowed to repeat the process a maximum of three or four times.
In addition to that, any kind of vacuum cleaner will do.
- Then dry the area with towels
Although there might be some little detergent particles still hidden in the carpet, you’ve largely accomplished much.
You should dry the area (still a little bit wet) with a microfiber towel. The towel will absorb much of the little water and excess detergent still hidden in the carpet.
Dryers and electric fans are also a great resource for quick drying.
- Use a steam cleaner
Steam cleaners are very helpful in cleaning your carpet and making it durable.
You can use it also for stains that have settled on your carpet. It works by using steam (water and heat) to remove dirt and microorganisms like bacteria, mold, and many more.
It also sanitizes your carpet and removes odor from it.
All you have to do is pour some water into the boiler tank of the cleaner, set it to pressurize, and heat it to 180° Fahrenheit to create dry steam to work with.
- You’ve successfully cleaned your carpet
And that’s it, you’ve cleaned and removed the detergent stain from your carpet. It’s not so hard.
If you are not certain about the complete removal of the laundry detergent, you can get professional help if you like.
How can I prevent Carpet stains?
Of course, it’s not possible to completely prevent stains on household items and fabric, in this case; carpets.
But to some extent, you can limit the number of times it can get stained. How? By simply following some of the tips I recommend below.
- Remove laundry detergents from exposed areas
This is perhaps the most likely cause of laundry detergent stains on your carpet.
You should remove any laundry detergent that’s lying in exposed spaces on the floors or washer tops (the washer vibrations can cause the laundry detergent bottle to topple over).
Ensure you properly seal the laundry detergents, both liquid and detergents to avoid any spills.
You can also make sure that it’s not left out for kids or pets.
Leaving it out could result in detergent spills in their attempt to fiddle with its contents.
- Make use of carpet protectants
Carpet protectants are quite essential. They give carpets some kind of temporary resistance to spills so that you can act quickly to clean them by vacuuming or just brushing them.
So, it’s sort of a shield for your carpet. Although it tends to wear off after some time, you’ll need to replace it every 20 months or so.
You can find them at a home maintenance store. It’s very much worth it.
- Act fast to remove detergent spills
If you spilled some detergents on your carpet, you shouldn’t leave it for more than 20 minutes, or else it can settle on your carpet.
This can later develop into stains that are very difficult to remove. Meaning you’ll have to spend extra and probably get help from professional carpet cleaning services.
- Utilize laundry detergents that are clear
If you use clear laundry detergents, you won’t have to worry about any stains appearing on your carpet in the event that some chemicals spill on your carpet at some point.
Your only task will be to rinse away the detergent and any foam that may have formed as a result
How Do I Remove Laundry Detergent from the Carpet of My Automobile?
It’s pretty much the same way as regular carpets.
You can use water and white vinegar (diluted solution) to get rid of the foam. Then vacuum the area slowly and clean it after.
You can repeat the process many times as you want to get better results.
Or you can try out some Upholstery cleaning material in addition to a vinegar solution. Then clean and dry.
Repeat this procedure as many times as necessary to remove any traces of laundry detergent from the carpet. Additional options include engaging professional cleaners, who can take care of your cleaning needs.