If you have children and pets, experiencing an oily stain on your carpeting is likely. With children, food, crayons, and other items could be the culprit. For pets, after being outdoors, they could easily bring in car oil from the driveway or some other substance. Even adults could be a part of the problem. As an example, walking out in public would result in all types of greasy or oily substances being left on the bottom of the shoes. If the shoes were not taken off at the front door, carpets would be left with the residue.
In addition to leaving unsightly stains, any substance would likely create an unwanted odor as well. Typically, getting oil and grease stains from carpet is difficult. After all, oils/greasy substances are without doubt the most stubborn. However, whether the stain has been caused from dropped food, automotive grease, lubrication, petroleum jelly, lipstick, or any other oily or greasy substance, you have viable options for getting the stain out.
In this case, you would first need to apply a type of absorbent substance. We recommend cornstarch although baby powder and talcum powder also work well. Sprinkle the absorbent on generously and then allow it to sit for five to ten minutes depending on the severity of the stain. From there, use the brush attachment of the vacuum cleaner to remove the absorbent, which will also remove the majority of the oil or grease.
This solution works exceptionally well on smaller stains but if the stain is large, you would need to take some additional steps. In this case, go through this same process, followed by placing a clean paper towel or cotton cloth down on top of the leftover stain. Next, purchase a dry cleaning product sold at drug stores, retail stores, and grocery stores, the best being Dryel. Use the dry cleaning sheet provided in the kit to apply to the backside of the paper towel or cloth. You may need to use several paper towels or cloths until the oil or grease has been completely absorbed.
Once you begin to notice that no more stain is coming up, spray a pre-treatment product directly onto the area, letting is sit for five minutes. Then with another clean cloth, clean the stained area using the hottest water you can handle. While the process requires several steps, it has been proven to work repeatedly so rather than ending up with permanently stained carpeting it would be worth the investment of time and effort.
In addition to this option, you have several other ways to remove oil or grease stains from carpeting. For instance, Dawn dishwashing soap has a particular formula made to release grease. In fact, this very product is what people use to clean oil and grease off animals affected by oil spills in the ocean. By applying a few drops of the dishwashing soap directly onto the stain and then letting it stand for five means, it will break up the oil/grease. From there, paper towels or clean clothes would be used for blotting the stain.
It is important to remember that oil and grease are always going to be one of the more challenging stains to get out of carpet. Therefore, no matter the method of removing the stain you decided to use, you need to be prepared for a little work and a lot of patience. However, the outcome would be clean carpet without it being stained from oil or grease, and no foul odor.
