In the pantheon of alcoholic drinks, red wine truly deserves a special place. Its greatness is ancient. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of grape harvest and wine, so from ancient times people knew getting drunk is something that needs to be raised as a cult! Unfortunately, when it comes to alcohol use, there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and your carpets and floor rugs might be in the centre of all this. I'm not talking just about spilled red wine here. What if (for example), one of your guests drinks too much and barfs all over your living room floor? Well, luckily for you, I came up with this short guide on how to remove both red wine stains and accidental vomit from your carpet.
The Carpet Cleaning Technique
The first thing you must do, when you indicate the spilled wine, is to blot the affected area. Use some paper towels or old expendable cloth. It is very important not to scrub the spot, because this will only work the red wine deeper into your carpet's fibres. In any case, don't leave the stain just there to dry, because there is a chance of permanent colouration. This will surely ruin your carpet forever. If it is too late, I'd recommend for you to contact some company that works in the field of steam or dry carpet cleaning, and see if their experts can do something about it. The next thing you must do, is to spray some hydrogen peroxide over the stain. Make sure to use hydrogen peroxide of low percentage, because the full-strength one acts like bleach and it will make the whole mess even bigger. Let the peroxide stay there for a while. After that, pour some water directly on the stain but add some of the peroxide as well. Again, blot the treated area and hang your carpet somewhere to dry. Let's hope this will be enough to remove the stain. Otherwise, you already know who to call.
Now, we've reached the nasty part. If somebody puked all over your carpet after too much wine-drinking, you're in for a ride! I'm sure that after such an experience you'll reconsider the idea of having carpets! To start the carpet cleaning procedure, you'll need to remove as much of the vomit as you can. Use a spatula or a small shovel (even a tablespoon will do the job). Just scrape as much of the excess puke as you can. After that (when you've removed most of the goo and chunks of food), blot the affected area with paper towels or whatever you have at hand. Once again, try not to scrub, just blot!
You'll need to prepare a carpet cleaning solution. Mix equal parts of water and white vinegar into a spray bottle and add a tablespoon of some mild non-bleaching dish-washing liquid. Shake well. Spray the affected spot with the cleaning solution and start scrubbing in straight lines with a sponge. The vinegar should neutralize the unpleasant smell. When the spot is completely clean, just rinse your carpet with warm water and hang it somewhere to dry. In any case, don't cover your floor while it is still moistened from the cleaning procedure. This way, you'll prevent the occurrence of mould.
Well, I hope this short guide will be useful to you. I know, that removing puke from your carpets is not the greatest thing in the world, but if you want to keep them, occasionally you'll have to deal with this problem.