Everyone loves chocolate, right? Not if it leaves a nasty chocolate stain on your carpet. The combination of ingredients, coloring, and texture that makes chocolate so appealing can also make it one of the toughest stains to get out of carpet. So, for the next time the dog knocks that chocolate ice cream cone out of your toddler’s hands, here’s how to get chocolate out of carpet:
STEP 1: Remove Chocolate from Carpet
If the spill includes solid particles, pick up as much of the loose material as you can. To make this easy, grab two paper plates and scrape the solids onto one with the other. Then get any excess liquid like chocolate syrup or a chocolate milkshake out of the carpet by blotting it with a clean cloth or towel.
STEP 2: Choose the Right Formula for Chocolate Stains
BISSELL carpet formulas are specifically designed to lift and remove all kinds of dirt, dust, and stains from your carpet. In other words, they work so you don’t have to!
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For getting chocolate out of carpet, we recommend using Heavy Traffic® Pretreat and Spot Cleaner, which penetrates and breaks up oily materials like chocolate.
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If your carpet is still discolored, try our Oxy Deep® Pretreat and Spot Cleaner to dissolve the coloration and remove the chocolate stain without affecting the color of the carpet itself. It’s a good choice, not only for chocolate, but also for other tough stains like red wine, fruit juice, and ink.
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For a chocolate stain that reaches deep down into the pile of your carpet, like a chocolate shake or chocolate syrup, apply our Pet Stain & Odor pretreat spray. This may seem like an odd choice, but enzyme-action products are a secret weapon when figuring out how to clean carpet stains. An enzyme-based cleaner will penetrate down into the fibers of your carpet, where it dissolves the organic material forming the stain.
STEP 3: Let the Formula Do the Work
To apply any of these formulas and begin treating chocolate stains, simply spray the solution and work it into the stain with a cloth or sponge. Use light strokes from the edges of the stain to the center – no rubbing is required. When you reach the center of the stain, lightly pinch in an upward motion. Let the solution sit for 5 minutes before blotting with a clean cloth or towel.
If you decide to use an enzyme-based cleaner, cover the stain for 24 hours with a damp cloth or towel (make sure it’s white so that the color won’t bleed). This gives the enzymes time to work to break down and remove the stain particles.
STEP 4: Deep Carpet Clean for the Best Results
For a deep carpet clean you can feel good about, rent the BISSELL Big Green
® Carpet Cleaning Machine. Choose
Advanced Clean & Protect with StainProtect™ for professional cleaning results and for future protection against carpet stains. See a detailed
step-by-step approach to deep cleaning carpet here. When you’ve finished, remember to keep children and pets away from the area until it is dry. Vacuum as a last step to that deep carpet clean. Then step back and admire your results.
And that’s how to clean carpet stains. Now, maybe it’s time to treat yourself to a little bit of chocolate?
Before cleaning, it’s always a good idea to check with your carpet manufacturer or retailer for specific cleaning do’s and don’ts. On upholstery, look for a manufacturer’s cleanability code tag. If the fabric is coded “WS” or “W”, it’s safe to clean with a water-based cleaning agent. If your tag is coded “X” or “S”, it is not safe to clean. For carpet, test a small hidden area of your carpet; if your carpet’s color is affected, do not use this product. Also, do not use BISSELL products on velvet, silk, vinyl or leather upholstery.