Clean tricks and treats out of your carpet

Happy Halloween Everyone! In spirit of the holiday we’ve taken chocolate treats and fake vampire blood to the carpet, finding ways to clean up the messes so you don’t have to worry.

Fake Blood and Carpet Cleaning

Fake blood brings to your carpet two ingredients many carpet-lovers fear more than those ghouls and ghosts themselves: corn syrup and red food dye. These messes can wreck havoc on your otherwise pristine floors. First thing’s first: If you purchased commercially sold fake blood, check the packaging for clean up instructions. You may get lucky and find the solution to be easier than expected.

Some of the items you’ll need to make this a successful cleaning include a dull knife, warm water, mild soap and patience– lots and lots of patience. While many times you can blot the red food dye out of carpet, in this instance the corn syrup thickens the dye and blotting will work against you. After researching, we’ve found the most effective way to remove both these substances is first by scraping off as much as you can with the dull knife to remove any of the excess on your carpet. This is where the patience comes in; you don’t want to quickly scrape and risk pushing the dye and syrup further into the fibers. Once much of the corn syrup has been scraped off, move to a white cloth and begin blotting the dyed area. Remember not to rub; this will only make things worse! To finish off the stain removal process, continue blotting with warm water and the mild soap on your cloth. Continue to blot until either the stain is removed, or it doesn’t look to be improving.

Chocolate Treats & Carpet Cleaning

Chocolate is another monster in it and of itself. Much like with the fake blood, chocolate is thick and requires the use of a dull knife to start, patiently scrapping away until the excess is removed. In this case, however, you should try to work scraping from the bottom up to avoid pushing the chocolate further down into the carpet fibers. Since chocolate is composed of multiple oils, a dish detergent should be used next in the blotting process. Taking a clean white cloth and dish detergent, begin the blotting process. Again, do not rub into the carpet!

A tip for any of your future carpet messes: keep scrap pieces of carpet around your house. If something does happen, you can test out cleaning instructions on the scrap before potentially harming your actual carpet. And if worst comes to worst, stop by to talk with a carpeting expert for tricks on covering treats with a new carpet.