Carpet, Meet Snow and Mush: How to Tackle Those Winter Stains

Aside from your normal year-round pet, kid and food stains, winter wreaks havoc on your carpet from tracked-in snow and ice melt and messy holiday parties. Winterizing your carpet and protecting it from stains before they take root is the best defense, but if it’s too late or stains still leak through, you don’t have to replace the carpet. Clean the carpet correctly with the right carper washer and you’ll see fast results.

Leave It to the Pros

After a party or a particularly snowy day, your carpet may have so much slush and mud stains to deal with, tackling them by yourself is out of the question. To save your carpet, call in professional cleaners as soon as possible. Schedule an appointment for after a party even before it takes place. It’s better to be proactive than reactive when it comes to rescuing your carpet — but it’s never too late to call in the pros. They can usually treat old stains you find that you think just aren’t coming out, so they can certainly tackle a snowy, slushy mess.

Work Fast

For smaller stains, you may be able to hold off on the professional call, or at least start treating the stain before they arrive. The key is speed: The faster you treat a stain, the less likely it is to settle into the fibers. Walk the length of your carpet after every party or snow fall, especially if you know someone’s been through the room with boots or wet paws. Identify and treat stains as quickly as possible. Even wet stains that don’t appear to be dirt at the moment can dry and harden with dirt caked into the carpet, so clean the area as if it’s dirt even if it isn’t visible yet.

Vacuum First

Before beginning your spot treatment, vacuum any loose dirt away. Snow seems clean, but once it’s been on the ground for more than a day or two, it mixes with dirt, leaves and other debris. This sticks to your shoes or your pet’s paws and gets tracked inside. Ice melt is another thing that might get dragged onto your fibers. Vacuum the spots where people or pets have walked before you begin treating stains and make a habit of vacuuming the entire carpet at least once a week to prevent unnoticed dust and dirt from settling.

Treat Small Stains Naturally

Make a chemical-free carpet stain mix that’s effective and won’t dye your carpet fibers:

• Mix equal parts distilled white vinegar and warm water in a bucket; start with ½ cup of each if you’re unsure of the amount needed
• Put the mixture in a spray bottle
• Spray the stained area; let it soak for a couple of minutes
• Lay a cloth rag down on top of the treated area; dab – do not rub – the stain
• Spray warm water over the area to rinse it
• Soak up the excess moisture with a new rag
• Allow to dry

If stains are especially stubborn — or if you failed to notice them right after they were made and they are tougher to work with — try a baking soda treatment:

• Sprinkle baking soda over the dried area
• Take a bristle brush and work the baking soda into the fibers
• Allow to sit for a few hours or overnight
• Vacuum the baking soda away

Use the baking soda and vacuum treatment on a regular basis to freshen your carpet. If you don’t see any stains, you can skip the brush. Sprinkle the baking soda over the length of the carpet, allow it to sit overnight or a few hours, and vacuum it away. Even if pets accidentally get in the room before you vacuum, the baking soda won’t harm them.

It’s nice not to have to worry about winter’s ravages on your carpet when you can tackle small stains on your own and call in the professionals when it’s too much for you to handle. Homewyse reports that it costs an average of almost $825 to replace a 200-square-foot carpet. Change the carpet every winter and you may as well kiss your holiday bonus goodbye. Fighting carpet stains is hundreds of dollars cheaper than replacing the carpet, even if you hire professional cleaners.

About the Author

Phil Kearny owns COIT professional cleaning and has seen every kind of carpet stain imaginable. To get those winter stains out of your carpet, visit www.coit.com.