Carpet stain removal comes with any home that has a warm, comfortable carpet beneath the owners' feet and a new baby or toddler in the house. Stains are the norm for parents and the carpet tends to be the place they seem to collect the most.

This carpet stain removal guide details some of the more common stains you may come across with a newborn, the ones that somehow manage to by-pass the bib, slip from the baby tray, bounce off the tiled kitchen floor, out of the baby bottle or sippy cup, and right on to that carpet that used to look as good as new.

Milk carpet stain removal

Use a mild detergent (one that contains no bleach) and a bottle of regular household ammonia. Mix a small spoonful of the detergent with a cup of warm water. Now, mix a spoonful of the ammonia into a separate glass of room-temperature water.

Blot the milk stain with a dry cloth dipped in the detergent mixture. Then blot again with the ammonia mixture. Repeat both blotting steps as needed until the milk is removed. Sponge the whole stain area to water down the two mixtures used on the carpet. Let dry.

Fruit juice carpet stain removal (excluding artificial fruit drink and Kool-Aid stains)

Use a mild detergent (no bleach) and some white vinegar. Mix a spoonful of the detergent into a cup of warm water. Blot the entire stain with this. Then blot the stain with the vinegar. Repeat by treating the stain with the detergent mixture then the vinegar as needed. Cleanse the carpet with water and let dry.

Kool-Aid or artificial fruit drink carpet stain removal

These stains have to be acted upon very quickly. The longer they remain in the carpet, the more difficult it is for them to be removed. First, use any household dish detergent (not for the dishwasher), a dry cotton cloth, and a clothes iron. Mix one-half spoonful of detergent into two cups of warm water.

Take the cloth and moisten it with the mixture. Lay the cloth over the stain. Do not blot or dab, as this usually results in the stain being pushed further into the carpet. Instead take the iron, set it to the lowest possible heat setting, and place it on the cloth.

Do not press down. Leave it for about fifteen minutes. When next you check it, the stain should be seeping into the cloth. Repeat as necessary with a new cloth or a clean part of the same cloth. This could be a long process and some of these kinds of stains may never come out. At the very least, the process will lighten them up.

Urine carpet stain removal

There will be a moment with new babies where the diaper isn’t snug enough and the result is a nice little yellow stain on the carpet. As with Kool-Aid stains, urine carpet stain removal involves quickness as the key. Some stains are more difficult to get rid of when they’re dry.

Use some liquid dish detergent (not for dishwashers, or dish soap with bleach), ammonia, and white vinegar. Mix a quarter of a teaspoon of dish detergent into a cup of warm water. Pour this into a spray bottle and spray the entire stained area. Dab or blot out this detergent mixture with paper towel or a clean cloth.

Rinse the area with regular warm water and blot it dry. Repeat this until stain is removed or there’s no further improvement. Mix two spoons of ammonia into another cup of water.

Blot this mixture over the area at least twice to kill any bacteria. Last, mix one cup of vinegar to two cups of water and apply this solution lightly over the area. Rinse it all once more with water then dry the carpet by laying paper towel to allow the water to seep away from the carpet.

photo by Zach Klein -CreativeCommons Attribution