We are sure any parents reading this, or those who occasionally have children visit their home, have had to deal with messes or stains caused by those beloved children, and may even have had to call in professional carpet cleaners to deal with the issue. Let us be honest and admit that children, even the adorable ones, can be messy, and the problem is messes and carpets are not compatible.
You may carry out regular carpet cleaning as a rule, but, when children are around, the need and the frequency of that carpet cleaning may increase significantly. In a home with children, it may simply be part of your routine, however, if you only have children visiting, when that visit is over you might be faced with a genuine need to have carpets cleaned due to the mess that has been created during the hours the children were there.
Thankfully, most carpet cleaning issues that have been created by children can be resolved. You may choose to go for the option of hiring a local carpet cleaner who not only can remove any stains created, but can also give your carpets an overall clean to bring them close to as new condition as possible.
However, there are other ways in which you can reduce the stains and damage created by children. Most of them are contained in the many tips which professional carpet cleaners give to their customers, and below you will find the best of those tips relating to messes and stains most commonly caused by children.
Glue: Not many substances cause more angst than glue when found in a carpet after children have been using it for arts and crafts or model making. The key is to get to it before it dries so constant monitoring is advised whereby you dab any spilled glue with a paper towel. If dried, then it is time to call in a professional carpet cleaner.
Blood: Kids have accidents and if they, unfortunately, cut themselves as a result of a fall or a cut then you might find some blood has dripped onto your carpet. If so, pour some soda water onto the affected area and then dab it gently using a dry cloth which should soak up the blood before it dries in.
Mud: Removing shoes or boots before entering should be the rule but kids being kids, they will often forget. If they do bring mud in and onto your carpets, unlike other substances, the best option is to let it dry. Then, it should just be a case of vacuuming. Some water and mild soap should remove any remaining mud stains.
Fruit Juice: One of the quintessential carpet stains caused by children is spilled fruit juice. To remedy this, pour some soda water on it and then blot the area with a microfibre cloth. You may have to repeat this several times to remove the fruit juice completely from your carpet.
Chewing Gum: Love it or hate it, chewing gum is sticky, and if it somehow gets into your carpet after children have been chewing it, you have a sticky mess. This is where ice becomes a pseudo-carpet cleaner because you can use it to freeze the offending piece of gum and often remove it completely.
Food: This can be anything from chocolate to cake crumbs. For a dry mess, you will usually be able to remove it by vacuuming the area. However, wet stains caused by the likes of ketchup and ice cream need to be dabbed carefully to remove as much of it as possible. Then, use water and mild dish soap or soda water to soak the stain and again dab it to soak it away from the carpet’s fibres.
A Final Note: If you encounter a stain made by children which you cannot remove, do not keep rubbing it as all this will do is cause more damage to your carpet. Instead, call your local carpet cleaning company which can either advise you what to do or better still, visit to remove the stain properly and safely.