So you decided not to hire a professional painter and you’ve dripped some latex paint on your carpet. Don’t worry!!! It doesn’t mean the carpet’s ruined. It may seem impossible, but Cleaning latex paint out of carpet is doable! The spill may require several different methods and some elbow grease, but it can be done. In all honesty, professional painters are human too and if an accident should occur, they use these methods as well.
The first, most important step is to determine if the paint is a latex water-based paint, or an oil-based paint. For this article, we’ll be discussing only water based latex paint removal. No matter which paint you’re trying to clean out of the carpet, the faster you get to it, the better. Cleaning latex paint out of carpet is much easier to clean when wet. Dried paint requires a lot more effort.
Get Your Supplies Together
The first step is to gather your supplies. You’ll need lots of paper towels, a trash bag, hot water, mild dish soap, a 32oz spray bottle, stiff bristle brush, and a few microfiber rags. If the paint has already dried, you will also need an old butter knife, needle-nose pliers, and a vacuum. And, if the spill turns out to be really stubborn, you may need a carpet cleaner. Spot cleaners on the market work very well for cleaning latex paint out of carpet once you’ve removed most of the paint.
Prep For A Spill That Is Still Wet
For a wet spill, the name of the game is blot, blot, blot! You do not want to scrub at the wet paint, as this will push the wet paint down deeper into the fibers of the carpet. Using paper towels, lightly blot all the excess paint you can out of the carpet. Blot an area until the paper towel is full, then throw it into the trash bag and get a new paper towel. Repeat this process until you’ve removed as much liquid from the carpet as possible.
Prep For A Spill That Has Dried
If the spill has already dried, you’ll perform a different method of cleaning latex paint out of carpet. Using an old butter knife or similar, scrape away the thicker paint areas. Be careful not to scrape so hard that you damage the carpet fibers. You’re just scraping to get the big chunks. To loosen large drips of dried paint, you can use needle-nose pliers. You will then vacuum the carpet to remove the debris.
The Cleaning Process For Wet Or Dried Paint Drips
Now that you’ve prepared the spot and removed as much paint as possible, you’re ready to start cleaning. The process from here forward is the same whether the spot was wet or already dried.
Begin by mixing ¼ teaspoon of mild dish soap with 32 oz of hot water in the spray bottle. Spray the stained area well with the solution, and let it sit for a moment to soften. Next, scrub with a stiff bristle brush. Stop every now and then to blot with paper towels. Repeat this cycle until the paint is gone.
If the paint stain is stubborn, you may need to resort to a carpet cleaner. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning a deep set stain.
While cleaning latex paint out of carpet can feel like an impossible task, it really isn’t. Since latex paint is water based, it is very forgiving and typically can be completely removed from carpet.
