How to Get Laundry Detergent Out of Your Carpet

This article comes from Angi.

How to Get Laundry Detergent Out of Your Carpet

Just when you finally decide to tackle that growing pile of laundry, you watch in horror as your container of laundry detergent topples onto your fresh, beige carpet. Luckily, with a little elbow grease, a few household items, and just a few hours of your time, you can get those laundry detergent stains out of the carpet.

There are actually a few different methods to help you remove liquid laundry detergent stains from your carpet. If you have a wet/dry vacuum, carpet cleaner, or steamer, you’ll have the quickest results, but there are other methods available to you, too, if you don’t have those tools on hand.

Wet/Dry Vacuum

1. Fill a spray bottle with very hot water.
2. Spray the detergent stain until the carpet is thoroughly damp.
3. Run the wet/dry vacuum over the damp carpet to clean up the water.
4. After running the wet-dry vacuum, the spot will still be damp. Let it sit for a few minutes to give the hot water time to lift the detergent, then repeat steps one through three until the detergent is entirely or mostly removed.
5. If some detergent remains after running a wet/dry vacuum a few times, blot the area with a dry towel to remove the most stubborn detergent remnants.

Blotting and Sponging

1. Fill a large container with a mixture of vinegar and hot water, with 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of white vinegar.
2. Soak a cleaning towel or sponge in the mixture, then squeeze the water and vinegar out of the cleaning towel or sponge onto the stain. Let the mixture soak into the carpet.
3. Place an old towel over the stain and press firmly into it to blot the detergent spot.
4. Repeat steps one through three until the stain has lifted fully. Be sure to use a fresh, dry towel each time you repeat step three.

Steamer or Carpet Cleaner

1. Start with one of the three methods above to extract as much of the detergent as possible. Liquid detergent can absorb deep into your carpet, so combining methods can help completely lift the stain and return the color and texture of your carpet to normal.
2. Fill the steam cleaner with its accompanying cleaning solution.
3. Fill the water compartment to the fill line. Do not exceed the fill line, or you could damage the machine.
4. Run the carpet cleaner or steamer over the detergent spot as often as needed until you can feel that the texture is normal.

Click here to continue reading this article.