How To Remove Salsa From Wool Carpet

Catching up with friends and family over the festive season is a great Australian tradition. A few food and drink spills during these festivities is also a time-honoured tradition… at least it is at my house!

Salsa and corn chips is a summer favourite, but getting a salsa spill out of carpet, especially wool carpet, is hard work. Don’t stress, the stain should come out with a little effort especially if it’s fresh.

Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Salsa from Carpet

What you'll need

• a spoon or butter knife

• a tub with a litre of warm water and a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid

• ½ a cup of white vinegar with a cup of water in a spray bottle

• fresh towels

Act fast. The quicker you act, the better the result. To remove salsa from your carpet, follow these simple steps.

Instructions

1. Scrape away the excess using a spoon or butter knife.

2. Liberally blot the stain using the warm water detergent solution and a clean cloth. Use a rolling motion to roll the cloth over the stain. Do not rub the stain. The aim is to flush out the Salsa from the carpet, so be very liberal with the warm water solution.

3. Dry the area by placing a large towel folded double on the wet carpet and place heavy downward pressure on the towel (standing on the towel is best). This will draw out the warm water solution and the salsa from the carpet. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until there is no further colour transfer to the cloth.

4. Mix the half cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of warm water in a spray bottle and liberally spray onto the carpet. Agitate into the carpet with your fingers (wearing gloves). Blot dry with a clean cloth applying heavy downward pressure. This may help remove any of the stain that remains.

5. Mist the area with the white vinegar solution. This will slowly lighten any remaining stain as well as preventing water-marking (called cellulosic browning) of the carpet.

In our trials, this method worked fantastically, however it took a solid 5 minutes of repeatedly blotting with the warm water/detergent solution, so be patient. Old stains (over 2 days) may cause permanent colour transfer to the carpet fibre and may not be possible to remove. Your Electrodry technician will usually be able to lighten these stains as part of a specialised stain removal process.

Electrodry provides the above stain removal tips in good faith. Whilst we have tested these remedies and believe them to be effective and safe, we cannot accept responsibility for damage to the carpet that may occur by attempting to follow the above stain removal tips.