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Red wine, barbecue sauce, and mud don’t stand a chance.
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The right cleaning solution, however, can make it look like it never happened.
It takes some time to penetrate the stain.
but it also required the least amount of effort for removal.
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It took multiple applications to remove the stains.
High-traffic areas require a stain remover that can handle all types of messes, especially from pets.
We found the Rocco & Roxie Oxy Stain Remover to be the best one for the job.
PHOTO: Real Simple
The only stains we could not completely get out of our rug were from the fresh barbecue and mud.
It also helps that this household item is safe for pets and smells great.
It was not able to fully remove mud or barbecue sauce stains.
If eco-friendly cleaning is important to you, youll like this green solution from Biokleen.
Instead, it uses enzymes and biodegradable ingredients and has no odor.
Biokleen doesnt test on animals, and its bottles are recyclable.
However, it took two for the cleaner to make a difference on the mud and barbecue sauce stains.
In the end, we could not get those out.
It has a strong scent.
This one was also incredibly effective on dry stains.
It wasn’t able to fully remove mustard stains (this is common for upholstery sprays).
When we tested thebest upholstery cleaners, this pre-treatment came out on top asthe best spray option.
Size: 22 oz.
It doesn’t eliminate odors.
You cant do much better than The Hate Stains Co. Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Remover.
The results were amazing, especially considering that very little (if any) blotting or rubbing was needed.
It only took about 10 minutes for our fresh and set-in wine stains to come out of our carpeting.
For upholstery, it took just six minutes.
Although it did remove the urine stain, the smell of the urine still lingered.
For an eco-friendly alternative, we like theBiokleen Bac-Out Stain + Odor Remover Spray.
We stained our rug with red wine, barbecue sauce, mud, and wolf urine.
If the stains remained after cleaning, we did one more utility.
For our set-in stain test, we applied the same substances on our carpet and had them sit overnight.
Oxygenated bleach works with pet stains, but a carpet stain remover that contains enzymes is even better.
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The gold standard for pet stains is a cleaning product that combines both," Berry says.
If this makes you uncomfortable, she recommends trying soap and water orhomemade carpet stain removersfirst.
There are also natural formulas.
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Compatible Surfaces
One would easily assume that all carpet stain removers are compatible with all carpets.
That’s not always the case.
Rapinchuk does not recommend using carpet stain removers on vintage rugs or hand-dyed rugs.
Questions You Might Ask
What is the best way to remove old stains from carpet?
It depends on the throw in of stain.
After youve properly blotted,use baking sodato further absorb liquid messes.
After the baking soda has soaked up the mess, scrape it away andthenuse your carpet stain remover.
Be prepared to do repeated applications.
For example, theEmergency Stain Rescue Chateau Spill Red Wine Stain Removeris made specifically to tackle red wine stains.
Another common mistake she sees is not rinsing the stain fully.
You should rinse both fresh and old stains.
Take Our Word for It
This article was written byRachel Center, a home writer forReal Simple.
We also tapped expertsKatie Berry, owner of Housewife How-Tos, andBecky Rapinchuk, owner of Clean Mama.
United States Environmental Protection Agency.Learn about the safer choice label.
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