Luxurious, soft carpets are beautiful things; the installers just left and the gentle cushion feels like nothing else under your toes.
Surely, this is bliss - until you drop your spaghetti on it.
Suddenly bliss just isn't there any more.
So what do you do to get your toe-cuddling-floor back to its normal prestige? Having a few chemicals on hand in the case of an accident never hurts; there is one singular, all important rule, however.
Never scrub! Blotting is the way to go.
Scrub that sweet Marinara stain and you might as well tell people it's abstract art.
Use a solution of non-bleach laundry detergent or white vinegar and blot your way from the outside of the offending blotch to the inside.
How do you best blot? Take a rag or a towel you don't care too much for, get it wet with your cleaning solution of choice and press it down into the outside of the stain, pick it up, and press it down next to the spot you just did.
Scrubbing will only further force the stain into your trouble-attracting rugs.
When you've blotted all the way to the inside, soak your rag, and do it again.
Depending on the size of the stain, if you don't have any cleaning products at hand you could try something like soda water as this can often help bubble the stain out.
If the stain proves too much to handle then you can always use a carpet cleaning services and leave it to the professionals.
Another important rule of thumb to keep your floors clean is to act quickly.
The longer the stain is allowed to lay in the carpet, the longer the chemicals are allowed to react to each other and the molecules bind even more, making your job that much more difficult.
Accidents can and will happen, so always be prepared and make sure you get to cleaning the mess before it becomes a permanent part of your floor.
To prevent a heartbreaking accident from becoming a lifelong reminder, there are steps you can take to keep your floor as cleanable as possible.
The best of these is to consistently keep your carpets clean and vacuumed so dirt doesn't mix in with whatever is spilled on them to further complicate the matter.
Accidents are bound to happen; the things we most want to keep clean seem to attract the trouble the most, but keeping your carpets clean in general, and swiftly taking action to blot out the stains is the best way to help maintain the life and beauty of your carpet.