How To Remove Notorious Paint Stains On Carpet | DIY

Remove Notorious Paint Stains: For people who use do-it-yourself methods for revamping their house – painting the walls or ceiling, upgrading cabinets, installing shelves; accidental spills can happen anytime, especially for first-timers.

If you have already installed carpets on your entire floor and you needed to repaint the walls near it, it can be frustrating and horrifying to see your precious carpet is stained with paint. Things like this can be avoided if you hired a commercial painting company to do it for you. However, in this case you did it yourself and made the mistake of spilling paint on your carpet.

Although it seems that carpet stains are hard to remove, there are DIY solutions available for stain removal as well. Before proceeding with the tips for removing paint stains, you'll need to understand the basics of paint composition.

Basic Types of Paints

Most paints are made up of three (3) components:

• Solvent 

• binder 

• pigment 

Other paint brands include an additive to improve the paint quality.
The type of solvent used in the paint is the biggest determining factor in what kind of stain removal techniques you'll need to use to get rid of those unsightly paint stains. There are two types of paint solvents:

• Oil 

• water

If the paint is water-based, then it will be a lot easier to clean it up because oil based paints require extra steps. Latex and acrylic paints are considered water-based paints, which is comforting since both are commonly used in the home.

To remove oil-based paint stains, you will need paint thinner to dissolve the solvent and remove the stain. Oil-based paint stains can take a lot of time and effort to remove completely from your carpet. If your DIY efforts are not having the desired effect you might have to consider calling in the experts for this one.

Safety Tips Before Cleaning the Carpet

• Wear gloves, eye protection, and a face mask when using strong cleaning materials or solvents.
• Before you use solvents or harsh chemicals while removing paint stains, make sure you test a small patch of carpet in a less visible area. Some carpet fibers fade easily when strong cleaning agents are used.
• Carpet stains must be removed as soon as you notice them. The longer you leave the paint to soak and dry, the more it will set into your carpet's fibers making it harder to remove.
• Blot, blot, and blot. Don’t scrub because it will spread the stain. Work from the outer edges to the center of the affected area.
• If possible use a vacuum meant for wet surfaces when cleaning up liquids like paint and solvents. Wet vacs are meant to handle liquids with ease and they won't damage the vacuum at all.
• Wool fabric carpets are extra sensitive to strong chemical agents so patch tests and extra caution are extremely important with these types of carpeting.
• Professional carpet cleaners often use specific types of cleaners for specific types of stains. If you have no idea where to start when it comes to removing your paint stain, try giving the pros a call and see what they suggest using. 
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Removing Whiteout from Upholstery and Carpet

A spillage of white out on your upholstery and carpet does not have to be a cause of your bad day. You can eradicate the white fluid if the stain gets treated before it sets into the material. To remove the stain, follow the instructions below:

Here are some proven ways to remove different types of carpet paint stains:

Water- Based Paint Stains

1. For wet paint stain, use a paper towel or white cloth to blot the spot. Make sure you do not scrub and definitely use that white cloth you just saw recommended to prevent the transfer of color pigments from the damp cloth to the carpet.
   
2. For dry paint stains, mix hot water and liquid dish detergent. Put a few drops of the mixture on the stained area and let it sit for a couple of minutes. When the paint starts to soften, use a knife to scrape the paint stain. You can repeat these steps as needed until the stain is gone.
   
3. If the paint doesn’t soften, you can use handheld steamer while you try to scrape off the paint. Eventually, the steam will help soften the paint, and the paint will start to come off of the carpet.
    

Latex Paint Stains

1. When dealing with wet latex paints, you need to blot as much as you can. Once again, remember not to scrub. Blot from the outside in.
   
2. Mix warm water with mild dishwashing liquid. Using a cloth dipped in the mixture, blot the paint stains and remove as much paint as you can.
   
3. After drying out the carpet, vacuum the spot.
   
4. If the stain is dried you'll have to start using those solvents you read about. Contact a carpet cleaning pro to see what solvents they recommend. Don't forget to do that patch test first to make sure your whole carpet isn't ruined by the solvent.
    

Acrylic Paint