Your carpet withstands a lot of use and abuse. From spilled drinks to melted wax, you’ve probably encountered your fair share of accidents. But in doing so, you’ve also probably found reasonably effective solutions to remove messes.
But dried paint? Surely there isn’t a fix for that, right? Well, not so fast. As it turns out, even something as threatening as dried paint isn’t a death sentence for carpeting. So if you’ve found yourself face-to-face with dried paint, we have the solution for you.
Before the Paint Dries
If at all possible, you want to get to the spilled paint before it has a chance to dry. In doing so, you will have a much easier task in front of you. When it comes to removing wet paint from carpet, many people make the mistake of scrubbing out the paint in their haste.
But this only serves to make a bad situation worse. Scrubbing actually forces the spilled paint into your carpet’s fibres. And when this happens, you are effectively shortening the lifespan of your carpeting. As such, you want to resist scrubbing at all costs.
Instead, blotting is the key. To do this, you’ll need a lot of paper towels, liquid dish soap, and warm water. Start by mixing the soap and water and use the paper towels to blot up as much paint as you can.
After the Paint Dries
If you couldn’t get to the paint before it dried, you have your work cut out for you. Start by scraping off as much dry paint as possible. It’s tedious but necessary. The key here is to use a knife that cuts dry paint but not carpet fibres.
Next, soak the remaining dry paint with hot water and liquid dish soap. If this doesn’t soften the dry paint, a steam source likely will. You can use either a handheld steamer or a good old-fashioned clothes iron.
Just be sure that you have a wet rag in between your iron and carpet to avoid scorching fibres. With the paint sufficiently softened, use the blotting method discussed above to pick up any leftover paint residue.
Still No Luck?
Call ACC Carpet Cleaners! We are happy to come out to offer our services and get your carpet looking new again.