TACKLE IT TUESDAY–ANCIENT CARPET STAINS
Posted by Karen on Feb 26 2008
I’m afraid to post this Tackle it Tuesday because you are going to think I am a complete and total slob and that my house is disgusting with a capital D! But I swear, it’s not.
It all started when my dad came down for a visit. He took the dog out to potty and came back in and tracked mud on my cream colored carpet. Being a man (ha!) he had no idea he did it! Seeing as my dad graduated summa cum laude from Man College, he didn’t know how to clean it up.
I grabbed my BioKleen Bac-Out. If you remember, I raved about it here.
One squirt, two squirts, rub with a paper towel. BANG! The stain was totally gone. Only one problem now, the mud was in a high traffic area of my carpet which had gotten quite grungy, and now that spot is a bit cleaner than the surrounding carpet, but hey, at least the mud is gone!
What happened next? Well, Dr. Mike was working on tweaking the basement so we’d be more likely to go down there and exercise. But the thing that could not be moved was the carpet remnant that was covering an old cat hair ball stain from (gasp!) about 3 years ago. We had tried to get it up with various carpet cleaners, but there was always a stain there.
Then it hit me….Bac-Out! Squirt, squirt, squirt, rub, rub. Gone!
Then, and only then, I read the directions for how to clean carpets. Squirt, allow to soak, blot. Repeat as needed. Oh, I’d been doing it wrong and yet it still worked!
A few days later, I was straightening the bedroom and saw this:
Ah, yes. The puke stain from when some kid slept in a sleeping bag on our floor and got sick in the middle of the night. I don’t know the exact age of this stain, but (gasp) I’m thinking it was at least
Then it hit me…..Bac-Out! Squirt, squirt, squirt, let soak, blot.
Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. First the squirt, squirt, squirt. And immediately it looked like this:
WOW! Then the soak and blot and it looked like this:
Wow!
Ok, in total honesty, when the carpet was totally dry, there was a faint circle of slightly darker carpet there. So I did as recommended–repeat as needed. One more squirt, soak, blot cycle and the carpet is totally clean. I did stack some paper towels, a paper bag, and two very heavy med school books on top to facilitate the blotting!
I’d take another picture of it, but quite frankly, I’m not even sure I’d get a picture of where the stain actually was. I can’t find any evidence of it!
Again, I highly recommend BioKleen products. Good for you, good for your home, good for the environment!
on 26 Feb 2008 at 12:22 pm 1 Autumn said …
I’ll have to remember this for the future! I have “Ancient ’70s Shag Carpets of Doom” in my apartment and I’m afraid of using any spot cleaner on them lest I have to spot clean the WHOLE carpet.
on 26 Feb 2008 at 12:34 pm 2 Deb - Mom of 3 Girls said …
Hmm… I wonder if it could tackle the ‘white carpet of doom’ in our living room and hallway… We’ve given up trying to get any stains out since there are just so darn many - I’ve always figured that we’ll just try to replace it someday when the kids are older. Nothing we’ve tried has made much of a difference anyway. But now you’ve got me thinking… Do they sell Bac-Out by the vat?
on 26 Feb 2008 at 12:43 pm 3 Pinkaholic Mom said …
Hmmm, I think I’ll have to pick some of that stuff up. While I was at Fred Meyer the other week to restock my “green” toilet cleaner I noticed that FM also carried BioKleen. As a matter of fact, I picked up the powder dishwasher soap. There were so many choices, which is nice. I’ll have to see if they have the Bac-Out. Thanks for that tip. I wonder if it’ll remove red juice stains from a cream colored carpet?
on 26 Feb 2008 at 2:33 pm 4 Mary T said …
That is some impressive stuff right there! Maybe I should find some of that so I won’t be SO worried about Cody having anything. I swear, that boy can leave a stain while playing with his cars somehow!
on 26 Feb 2008 at 3:01 pm 5 Fran said …
Sounds like awesome stuff!!! Do you think it would also work on laundry stains that have dried in the fabric?? Will have to keep my eye out for that product. Thanks!
on 26 Feb 2008 at 10:09 pm 6 jen said …
Ok, I’ll have to get some of this goodness. I need to reread your original post on this, I need laundry detergent and other cleaning supplies.
Just wish Whole Foods was closer to me.
on 27 Feb 2008 at 8:35 am 7 Teri said …
I am impressed. So you put the Bac Out into a squirt bottle and viole’, miracles happen! I’m sure I have kitty puke spots somewhere, I’m off!!!
on 27 Feb 2008 at 10:20 am 8 reba said …
i am going to get some because our poor poor sofa….. i cant even begin to tell you of the horrors its seen thanks to my 4 year old. I was just thinking about renting the steam cleaner…poor sofa
on 27 Feb 2008 at 4:12 pm 9 feefifoto said …
If you’re a complete slob then I’m right there with you. My kids are both former World Champion Nose Bleeders. In fact my son bled so copiously all over his bedroom carpet that it looked liked we’d committed a murder in there. I finally had to have both kids’ noses cauterized; I told the doctor I felt guilty because I wanted to get it done so I could replace the carpet. He replied that many nosebleed families feel similarly; when patients tell him they have no stain-free sheets, pillowcases or towels, he tells them it’s time to have the noses done.