Have you spilled paint on your carpet after applying a new coat to the walls, or has an art project gone wrong? Don’t worry – you still might be able to save the carpet. Here’s how to get paint out of your carpet.

Preliminary Steps

1. Blot

If the paint hasn’t dried yet, use a clean cloth or paper towel to blot up any that might remain. Be careful not to rub it because you could make it set deeper or spread around the carpet.

2. Utility knife

Use a utility knife to scoop up as many dry chunks of paint as possible. The goal is to get as much out of your National City home’s carpet as you can before moving on, so try to be thorough. Be careful not to cut up your carpet fibers, though.

3. Vacuum

Finally, vacuum everything that remains. Once again, be careful not to accidentally spread paint, and ensure there’s no wet paint left on your carpet that can be smeared by the vacuum.

For Latex-Based Paint

1. Get it wet

Make the stain wet again by dabbing some hot water onto your carpet. Heat, like the kind you get in steam cleaning, is crucial. Be careful you don’t over-soak the carpet and accidentally encourage mold growth. Just blot water on top until the paint starts running onto your cloth or paper towel.

2. Apply dish soap

Mix some dish soap into the hot water and apply it to your carpet. This cleaning solution should be gentle enough for even fragile carpets to handle while not compromising its ability to lift the paint stains.

3. Apply alcohol

If the paint stain remains, use an alcohol solution like rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, or alcohol-based hairspray. But BE CAREFUL and do small spot testing to ensure you don’t damage your carpet.

4. Scrub

Scrub away anything that might remain and perform a final vacuuming. Hopefully, the entire paint stain is gone now.

For Oil-Based Paint

1. Apply a carpet cleaning solution

You’re going to need something more powerful to clean oil-based paint. Try a strong carpet-cleaning solution. Do some testing to ensure the chemicals won’t damage your carpet before applying them to the stain.

2. Apply paint remover

On top of the carpet cleaner, you should apply solutions designed to remove paint. These were NOT made for carpets, so use a lot of care before putting them on your carpet.

3. Apply hydrogen peroxide

If none of the above works or is available, you can also try hydrogen peroxide to clean your carpet. It can cause some carpets to lose color, so if you’re worried about that, be careful and consider something else.

For Stubborn Stains

1. Call a Professional

If, after everything, you still can’t get the stains out of your carpet, call a professional National City carpet cleaner. A National City steam cleaning could help your carpet and remove deep-set paint that wouldn’t come out otherwise. 

You can call Supreme Carpet Cleaning in National City to help get your stains out and make your carpet look as good as new.