“I don’t need to move the furniture off the carpet, I’ll just be careful.” Such statements are often later followed by “Oops!” and a bit of panic. Sure, it’s a pain to move heavy furniture from the carpet, but it’s also a little ironic – after all, you’re applying furniture polish to help protect your furniture, but you skip the step of protecting your carpet. Now, you must address the furniture polish stain. Oops, indeed.
One of the main challenges with furniture polish is the wide variety of waxes, polymers, oils, solvents, emulsifiers, and other ingredients used in different brands today. Along with those ingredients, furniture polish comes in a variety of consistencies like paste, liquid, or aerosol formulas. As such, cleaning the stain on your own might end up with mixed results.
Your best bet is to contact Preferred Carpet Care and tell us what kind of furniture polish made it on to your carpet. We can direct you to an appropriate cleaning option or schedule a time to address the stain for you. Nevertheless, the following method is most likely to have a positive effect on removing a furniture polish stain from your carpet.
Furniture Polish Removal Steps
- Start by removing as much of the residual polish as you can by dabbing the stain with a white paper towel. If you’re using a thicker version like a paste, scrape off as much as possible with a dull knife. Next, pour about 2 ounces of rubbing alcohol on a clean white cloth, or set of paper towels if no other option. Be careful, though – if rubbing alcohol penetrates the backing of the carpet, it could destroy the latex bond and disintegrate the carpet, which is why you should pour it onto the cloth and not directly onto the stain.
The application of the alcohol depends on the depth of the stain. If the stain has penetrated the carpet pile, blot the stain with a corner of the cloth, then blot again with another corner. Repeat this until no more color is transferring to the cloth. If the stain is only on the surface, gently blot the cloth onto the stain in a singular direction. Don’t use a circular motion, however, as it could deteriorate the texture of your carpet.
- If the stain isn’t coming out, try mixing ¼ teaspoon of clear hand or dish detergent with 1 quart of water, but make sure the detergent doesn’t have bleach or lanolin included as this could cause damage. Dab and blot the mixture into the stain until the spot is removed. Then, rinse the area with water from a spray bottle, apply some paper towels with a weight to keep them in contact with the affected area, and allow to dry.
- If the stain persists, you could try applying 3% hydrogen peroxide to the area, but such a persistent stain will likely not be affected. At that point, give Preferred Carpet Care a call to discuss what else can be done about the stain, or to schedule an appointment so we can take a first-hand look.
Prevention is the Best Medicine
Furniture polish can be tricky stuff. In truth, placing an old sheet over your carpet or moving the furniture to a different location will help ensure your furniture polish doesn’t try to polish your carpet as well. But if by chance the two should meet, try this method – or let Preferred Carpet Care of Redding address the carpet spotting issue for you.