How to Remove Red Stains, Such As Kool Aid, From Your Carpet
I am inspired to write this article because of my 5-year-old daughter Jessica.
Last weekend she and her brother Justin had a couple of their friends at our house as guests.
My wife Laura, who seems to enjoy a house full of kids as much as the kids do, was spreading out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and coffee mugs half full of Kool Aid.
With out going into excessive detail lets just say that my daughter spilled her mug of Kool Aid.
On our cream colored carpet right in the middle of our living room.
No big deal the things can be dealt with using a few simple items you probably have lying around the house.
Now before we go any further I need to stress that there are some consequences to not following my advice to the letter.
Furthermore I will accept no responsibility for any damage done; you are on your own here OK? OK let's jump right into in then.
The method I am about to describe is especially useful on red food dyes.
This is due to the unique molecular structure of the dye.
This method can be used on other stains, but it works best on the food dye found in kid's drinks.
First take a clean trigger sprayer; you are sure to have a dozen of them under your sink.
You squeeze the trigger and the liquid inside spray out.
Next take regular old ammonia; please make sure it is not the kind with detergents in it, just regular old clear ammonia.
Fill your trigger sprayer with 50% ammonia and 50% water, distilled water works best, but any old water will work.
Now carefully spray the mixture onto the red stain.
Try to keep the mixture off the unstained carpet.
This method can on rare occasions remove the color of the carpet too.
Spray enough to get fibers of your carpet wet from top to bottom.
Now take an old white cotton cloth, like a white kitchen towel, and get it wet.
It is important that the cloth is completely wet.
Not dripping wet, but thoroughly dampened.
Next take your towel and place it over the red stain and set a steam iron, set to high heat with steam, on the towel-covered stain.
Leave it there for between 30-45 seconds.
That's it! The sudden burst of heat reacts with the ammonia releasing the dye's hold on the carpet and draws it up into the towel.
You may need to do this a few times to remove a much of the stain as possible.
OK now a few more words of caution.
First make sure you use a whit towel.
A blue towel may release blue dye into your carpet; a green dye may stain your carpet green, and so on.
Also make sure the towel is damp and that you are using the steam setting on your iron, you do not want to scorch your carpet.
It is important to only leave the iron on the spot for no more than 45 seconds.
This is due to the possibility that the color of the carpet may also be drawn up into the towel.
Also please watch carefully if you try this more than once.
Watch closely for any change in the color of your carpet, if you see any stop! It is better to have a little extra color in your carpet than a little less.
Last weekend she and her brother Justin had a couple of their friends at our house as guests.
My wife Laura, who seems to enjoy a house full of kids as much as the kids do, was spreading out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and coffee mugs half full of Kool Aid.
With out going into excessive detail lets just say that my daughter spilled her mug of Kool Aid.
On our cream colored carpet right in the middle of our living room.
No big deal the things can be dealt with using a few simple items you probably have lying around the house.
Now before we go any further I need to stress that there are some consequences to not following my advice to the letter.
Furthermore I will accept no responsibility for any damage done; you are on your own here OK? OK let's jump right into in then.
The method I am about to describe is especially useful on red food dyes.
This is due to the unique molecular structure of the dye.
This method can be used on other stains, but it works best on the food dye found in kid's drinks.
First take a clean trigger sprayer; you are sure to have a dozen of them under your sink.
You squeeze the trigger and the liquid inside spray out.
Next take regular old ammonia; please make sure it is not the kind with detergents in it, just regular old clear ammonia.
Fill your trigger sprayer with 50% ammonia and 50% water, distilled water works best, but any old water will work.
Now carefully spray the mixture onto the red stain.
Try to keep the mixture off the unstained carpet.
This method can on rare occasions remove the color of the carpet too.
Spray enough to get fibers of your carpet wet from top to bottom.
Now take an old white cotton cloth, like a white kitchen towel, and get it wet.
It is important that the cloth is completely wet.
Not dripping wet, but thoroughly dampened.
Next take your towel and place it over the red stain and set a steam iron, set to high heat with steam, on the towel-covered stain.
Leave it there for between 30-45 seconds.
That's it! The sudden burst of heat reacts with the ammonia releasing the dye's hold on the carpet and draws it up into the towel.
You may need to do this a few times to remove a much of the stain as possible.
OK now a few more words of caution.
First make sure you use a whit towel.
A blue towel may release blue dye into your carpet; a green dye may stain your carpet green, and so on.
Also make sure the towel is damp and that you are using the steam setting on your iron, you do not want to scorch your carpet.
It is important to only leave the iron on the spot for no more than 45 seconds.
This is due to the possibility that the color of the carpet may also be drawn up into the towel.
Also please watch carefully if you try this more than once.
Watch closely for any change in the color of your carpet, if you see any stop! It is better to have a little extra color in your carpet than a little less.
