Removing Red Stain from Carpet

How do I get rid of a red dye stain in my carpet? It is from my cat and I have tried cleaners. It has been there for 3 or 4 days.

By blinggirl13 from Tampa, FL

Answers:

Removing Red Stain from Carpet

When I had a professional clean our office carpets, he told me that red spills are difficult to remove (and he said that red Kool-Aid is impossible to remove). What, exactly, is your stain? You said it's from your cats, but it doesn't look like blood, pee, or vomit. Did they knock something over? If it's some sort of bodily fluid, I'd suggest starting with an enzymatic cleaner.

If they knocked something over, try something with peroxide, like Oxi-Clean. It looks like your carpet is beige, so I doubt it'll make it look worse. But if you're worried about it, please test in a hidden spot (like a closet) first.

These are guesses. I hope you find something that works for you. Best of luck! (06/13/2010)

By Lisa

Removing Red Stain from Carpet

Depending on the stain there are several avenues you can take. If it is blood you can foam some of it away with peroxide. The best stain remover we have found is Kaboom with 3x oxy cleaner in it. I work in an Assisted Living and we are always encountering stains. Try it, it won't hurt the carpet and it should come up. (06/15/2010)

By gem

Removing Red Stain from Carpet

The best way to remove red/orange stains is to use steam. If you don't have access to any type of steam cleaning machine, try putting a wet, white towel or other wet, white, absorbent clean rag on top of the stain. Put your iron on high at the steam setting. DO NOT rub the iron back and forth on your rug! Damage could occur. Instead, hold the iron above the wet towel and steam until the stain pulls up into the white towel. This seems to work most of the time. You may need to do this several times to remove all of the stain.

The cleaner I'd suggest is Oxiclean, but be sure to test it first in an inconspicuous place before attempting. Then blot, blot, blot! (06/15/2010)

By Melody Hoffman

Removing Red Stain from Carpet

I suspect the red is from red dye in dry cat food. I have written to several cat food manufacturers telling them that I will not buy their food because of the red dye used. Cats don't care what color their food is and the dye does nothing, but stain carpets, furniture, etc. Check ingredients and look for one without it, they are available. Good luck getting that out, red is tough! (07/05/2010)

By Donna