When you have kids at home, it is tough keep your carpet free from stains. Cereals, ice cream, biscuit crumbs, crisps, popcorn – you will always find something on your carpet. The worst of these different food stains is chocolate. Not only does it take a long time to clean chocolate from carpet (especially if it has dried), it is also very difficult to remove the stain.
You always have the option of getting a professional carpet cleaning service to remove chocolate stains from carpet. But if you want to know how to clean chocolate from a carpet and do it by yourself, here are a few steps you need to follow:
Scraping
Follow this step if the chocolate that has been dropped on your carpet has dried. If it is still wet you can safely skip this and go straightaway to step number three. Scrape off the chocolate stain as much as you can. You can use a butter knife for this. Take care not to damage the carpet.
Vacuuming
Once you have scraped away the stain, it is time to remove as many dried chocolate flakes as you can by vacuuming the stained area of the carpet. If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner you can use a brush and a pan to remove the dried chocolate flakes.
Soaking
The next step to remove chocolate stains from your carpet is to soak the stain by running some cold water directly on the chocolate stain. You can use a bucket or a large cup of water depending on the size of the stain. Luke warm water will help in loosening the stain from the carpet pile.
Cleaning
Take a clean cloth and squirt some dish-washing detergent onto it. Now start dabbing the stain with the cloth using circular motion to clean the chocolate from your carpet. Continue until you see the stain fading, taking care not to use too much of pressure. Once you are done, let it sit for a few minutes.
Rinsing
Once you have cleaned the stain, rinse the area of the carpet using some clean cold water. This will remove the soap from the carpet and clean the area.
Drying
After rinsing it is time to dry the carpet pile. You can either wait for the carpet to dry naturally, or you could use your hair dryer to dry the wet carpet. Once dry, the chocolate stain should have disappeared.
This is a safe DIY solution to remove chocolate stains from carpet, without using any harsh chemicals. However, if your carpet is still looking stained, it is always better to get it professionally cleaned.
Professional carpet cleaning companies use very effective methods such as hot water extraction cleaning and steam cleaning to clean chocolate from carpet. Apart from being effective, these methods are also safe enough not to cause any allergic reactions. Getting a professional to remove chocolate stains from your carpet will give you faster results with complete satisfaction at an affordable price.