Cleaning expert reveals how to easily clean Halloween stains, from fake blood to slime
From Halloween chocolate to face paint, Halloween can lead to the scariest carpet stains that can be a nightmare to get out after the festivities have come to an end. Fortunately, carpet cleaning expert Stan Tomov from Fantastic Cleaners is on hand to offer the best tips and tricks to get the most difficult Halloween stains out of your carpets.
Face paint
Face paint is an essential part of Halloween; however, it can be a nightmare if dropped or spilled on your carpet. If this does happen, the most important thing to remember is to act fast! Leaving a paint or ink stain to dry will make it nearly impossible to get out completely. To get Halloween face paint out of your carpet, try these steps:
- Moisten the stained area with some rubbing alcohol. Blot the ink stain using a clean cloth. Do not rub the area to prevent spreading the stain!
- Re-wet the cloth with more alcohol and dab it over the affected area several times. Be patient! The alcohol should sit on the spot for about 30 minutes.
- Rinse the area with a solution made of a quarter cup of white vinegar and a quart of warm water.
- Once the stain is gone, rinse with clean water and let the carpet dry.
- Vacuum the area thoroughly.
Fake blood
Fake blood is an essential part of almost any Halloween costume and whilst some may think it might be a pain to clean up, it’s not as bad as you may think! Fake blood is typically made with a combination of corn syrup and red dye, with the dye part creating the stain. The same rubbing alcohol that you might use to clean up make up stains will therefore work very well for fake blood too, since they’re both pigment-based products. As an added bonus, the rubbing alcohol will reduce the sticky texture of the fake blood, making it far easier to clean from your carpet than expected.
Glitter
At almost any festive event, glitter is bound to feature. Whilst it may look nice and add a lot of fun, it can be difficult to get glitter out of a carpet. However, this simple solution that many overlook. Simply grab a paper towel or some kitchen roll, wet it and dab it onto the carpet or rug wherever glitter has fallen. Most of the glitter will cling onto the towel and be removed easily, with a quick vacuum of the carpet clearing up any remaining bits.
Slime
For Halloween slime that may have seeped into your carpet, vinegar is your best friend. As an acid, it has the power to dissolve the slime from any fabric and prevent permanent staining.
Start by preparing a 2:1 cleaning solution of vinegar and lukewarm water in the spray bottle. You may find suggestions on pouring vinegar directly onto the stain. However, this may not be good for the carpet, especially for more delicate types. It is safer to test with a mixed solution first.
Once you pre-treat the stain and eliminate all the excess slime, generously spray the stain and let the solution work for at least 5 minutes. You should be able to notice the slime getting dissolved, and that’s when you can try scrubbing gently with the brush without pressing too hard. Then blot with the towel for absorbing the liquid.
Sometimes you may have to repeat the whole procedure more than once, so feel free to repeat until it fully disappears. If the vinegar smell bothers you, just wash the area with water and a small amount of dishwashing liquid. Leave the carpet to dry or speed up the process with a hairdryer.
