Carpet Care Advice

Please use the following shortcuts or scroll down to find out which method of cleaning best suits you.

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Alcoholic drinks and wine
Soak up with absorbent tissues. Dab stain with carpet shampoo solution, starting from the edge. Rinse with clean water.

Blood
Blot up with absorbent tissues. Immediately dab with cold water. Apply carpet shampoo solution. Finish by rinsing the carpet with clean water.

Butter, mayonnaise, oil, grease
Scoop with the back of a knife or a spatula. Dab stain with a cloth impregnated with spot remover for greasy stains. Use carpet shampoo solution. Rinse with clean water.

Candle Wax
When cold, remove as much as possible by gently scraping. Place some blotting paper on the stain and use a warm iron. Repeat with new blotting paper until no more wax is absorbed. Use a spot removal product for greasy stains for further treatment.

Carpenter's Glue
Remove most of glue. Dab remainder of stain with warm water.

Chewing Gum
Chill with ice-cubes in a plastic bag. Crack gum and carefully remove loose pieces with the back of a knife. Remove rest with gum remover.

Chocolate, Cocoa
Dab with some white spirit. Apply cloth impregnated with carpet shampoo solution. Rinse with clean water and brush in the direction of the pile.

Cigarette Burns
Wool carpets. A burning cigarette only leaves a small scorch mark. Remove this mark with a brush or rub it with a coin.

Coffee, Coca-cola, Tea
Remove stain using carpet shampoo solution. Dab with solution of one part vinegar to ten parts water Rinse with clean water.

Dirty Oil / Tar
Use a cloth impregnated with spot remover for greasy stains.

Eggs
see milk, eggs

Fruit / Fruit Juice
Dab stain with cold water. Carpet shampoo solution. Laundry detergent solution. Rinse with water.

Furntiure Polish
Dab with cloth impregnated with turpentine. Use carpet shampoo solution.

Glue
Remove as much as possible. Dab with acetone (nail varnish remover).

Grease
see butter

Indentations left by furniture
Wool fibre will bounce back into shape. Spray on a little water and lift the pile with a few brush strokes.

Ink (ballpoint, felt tip pen)
Dab with surgical spirits (alcohol), then with carpet shampoo solution.

Ink (fountain pen)
Remove as much ink as possible with blotting paper. Dab with warm water and carpet shampoo solution.

Lipstick
Use a cloth impregnated with greasy spot remover. Apply carpet shampoo solution.

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Make-up
Dab with cloth impregnated with turpentine. Use carpet shampoo solution.

Mayonnaise
see butter

Milk, Eggs
Dab with a cloth, warm water and biological detergent. Treat with carpet shampoo solution. Rinse with clean water.

Mud
Let mud dry. Vacuum gently. If necessary, use a carpet shampoo solution. Rinse with clean water.

Nail polish
Dab stain with nail varnish remover (non oily) or acetone.

Oil
see butter

Paint
If stain is still fresh, clean with either turpentine (if the paint is oil-based or similar) or cold water (if the paint is water-based or similar). If the stain is dry, rub gently and carefully with coarse sandpaper. Use a carpet shampoo solution. Rinse with cold water.

Red Wine / Port / Sherry
Soak up with a clean dry cloth or absorbent tissue. Dilute and rinse out remaining liquid with lukewarm water and a small amount of proprietary brand carpet shampoo. Blot the excess liquid and brush the affected area in the direction of the pile.

Rust
Dab stain with a rust remover (before using, try it out on a non-visible corner of the carpet to ensure that it doesn't produce any discolouration).

Shoe polish
Carefully scrape up the solid. Clean gently with a dry-cleaning fluid. Then use a clean white cloth moistened with diluted carpet shampoo to rinse the area..

Spilled liquids
Soak them up straight away with white paper tissue or an absorbent cloth. Do not rub.

Stains
Dab stains with an appropriate spot removal agent and always work inwards from the outside edge to prevent the stain spreading. Change your cloth regularly rather than use too much stain removal agent. After cleaning rinse lightly with clean water and a sponge. Do not soak the carpet pile.

Sugar and sugar based products
Immediate action is needed ! Absorb with tissues. Rinse with cold water. Absorb remainder with tissues or absorbent cloth to dry the carpet.

Tea
see coffee.

Urine
Immediate action required ! Absorb with tissues. Rinse with clean water. Clean with carpet shampoo and small amount of deodorizer.

Wine
see alcoholic drinks, and red wine, port, sherry.

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Carpet Care Advice from Brookside Carpets

Note

We give them as a general guide and we do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for their application, effects or any consequences.

Make sure that any cleaner or cleaning solution you use (read the instructions on the packet / tin / bottle carefully) is suitable for the type of carpet or floor covering that you are treating. The methods we give here are generally suitable for wool carpets, and they may be suitable for other types. Spillages are more easily removed if tackled immediately. For persistent stains, for valuable or special carpets, for highly-visible stains, or if you are not sure, consult a professional carpet cleaner.