Your Baby and Carpet Spills: How to Prevent and Remove Stains

Having a baby means baby carpet spills seem inevitable, especially when you’re living in small spaces in an apartment. However, living in an apartment makes it all the more frustrating, as you can lose your deposit if the spill (or your errant clean up effort) results in a permanent stain. Knowing how to prevent most stains and how to remove the stains that do slip by will make your life as an apartment-dwelling parent much easier.

Preventing Stains

You won’t have to worry so much about removing baby carpet stains if you take steps to prevent them. Foremost, remember that most baby stains come from eating. When you’re feeding your baby, even if it’s just a bottle, either do so in the kitchen or dining area (or any area without a carpet) or put down a plastic mat. That way, any spills will be much simpler to clean up.

Another common cause of carpet stains is knocking over items onto the floor when crawling around the exploring. Simply keep your own beverages and other items that might causes stains high out of the reach of your baby. Even placing drinks and the like on coffee tables or end tables can cause them to fall over when the baby bumps into it. Keeping these items high out of reach will help you prevent stains and make it safer for your baby to explore.

Removing Stains: What You’ll Need

Even when you take proper precautions, with a baby, carpet stains are somewhat inevitable. Removing the stains is more successful when you work on them as soon as possible, although it’s not entirely impossible to remove set-in stains. To help prevent stains from setting in, keep the following on hand:

-Paper towels
-Hand towels
-Scrub brush
-Vacuum
-Fan or hair dryer (optional)
-Baking soda
-Cold water
-A commercial carpet cleaning solution, or a homemade solution of equal parts distilled white vinegar and warm water

How to Remove Stains

Attack any baby carpet stains as soon as possible.

1. Begin by scooping any excess spill off of the stain with the paper towel and throwing it away.
2. Then use a hand towel to blot the excess moisture from the stain.
3. Next, pour a small amount of cold water over the stain and blot the stain again.
4. After that, put your commercial stain cleaner or your homemade solution onto your hand towel (not the stain) and rub the stain in gentle, circular motions. Allow it to soak for a few minutes and then wait for the stain to dry or use a fan or hair dryer to speed up the drying process. If the stain remains, cover the area with a liberal amount of baking soda.
5. Take your scrub brush and work the baking soda into the stain in circular motions. Allow the soda to soak for a while (you can even soak it overnight) and then vacuum the soda away.

Your baby and carpet alike will stay cleaner if you practice a few tips to prevent and correctly remove stains from spills. However, if you can’t get a stain out, remember that there are always professional cleaning services.