How To Efficiently Get Oil Stains Out Of Carpets

If you have accidentally spilled oil on your carpet, black oil that looks like it will never come out, there are ways to potentially extract this from the carpet fibers. Oil can be difficult because of the way that it can soak into the fibers of the carpet, and if it was oil that had particulate materials that made it dark, this can be even more difficult to remove. For those that have tried, you have probably created a worse mess then you started with. You may have spread it around, simply trying to get it out. Here are a few tips on how to efficiently and effectively get oil stains out of your carpet, even if they have been there for quite a while.

Products That You Will Need

There are a couple of products that you will need in order to successfully remove most oil stains. First of all, you are going to need baking soda, and if you don’t have that, you can also use cornstarch. Second, you are going to need a couple cups of warm water. Third, you will need a tablespoon of white vinegar. Fourth, get a tablespoon of liquid hand dishwashing soap. Finally, you are going to need a sponge, bowl for all of the ingredients, and a white cloth or paper towels that you can use to extract the oil.

How To Proceed

The first thing that you need to consider is how recent the oil stain actually is. For example, if you have just dropped the oil on, you need to get a paper towel immediately and blot the oil stain out. If you swirl the paper towel, it’s just going to spread the oil through the carpet fibers. You simply blot until you get most of it out, and then proceed to the next step.

The second step, will include using the solution of vinegar, baking soda, and detergent with the sponge. You will dip that into the bowl, and onto the oil stain. You will then take the white cloth, or the paper towels that you have, and repeat the process of blotting. If this is an older stain, the only difference is going to be bypassing the first step because the oil will already have dried into the carpet. You will leave the solution of vinegar, water, and detergent on the carpet for several minutes before starting the blotting procedure.

In conclusion, most of the stains that are recent will come out quite effectively. Older stains may not come out as easily, or at all. It also depends on the type of carpet fibers that are in the carpet, and how absorbent they were when the oil was first spilled on them.

Additionally, the color of the carpet can either accentuate the oil stain, or may actually help hide it, especially if most of it can be extracted using these procedures. By making sure that you do not swirl the sponge, cloth or paper towels as you are extracting the oil, you can keep the oil stain in that one location. You want to extract the oil through blotting, and if all goes well, most of the stain will be removed. Learn more on our carpet cleaning Youtube video.