12 Stains of Christmas

The holiday season is one filled with wonder. Between the celebrations, visitors, and kitchen experiments, it can also be filled with holiday blunders. You may encounter one or more of these typical stains of the season on your carpets, rugs, or upholstery.

Plenty of the DIY tips you’ll find on the internet can cause more harm than good. Using bleaches, rubbing alcohol or even laundry stain removers can potentially change the colors or further damage the fibers of your upholstered furniture, carpets, and area rugs. And dish detergents and other soaps or detergents leave behind dirt-attracting residues that can make the area of the stain more susceptible to further soiling over time.

For any stain or spill, we recommend keeping it simple. Start by using the backside of a butter knife or spoon to remove any solids from food spills. For liquids use a clean, dry white cloth or paper towels to gently blot up as much of the stain as you can.  Patience is key. You don’t want to grind or push the stains further into the fibers. Repeat the process then use clean, cold water in small amounts to help dilute the remaining stain, followed by another round of blotting with a clean, dry white cloth or paper towels to soak up any moisture. These steps won’t aggravate your problem and can minimize any lasting damage.

To safely and permanently resolve these stains, we recommend scheduling a visit from your local Chem-Dry operator to remove all traces of these stains. You can get ahead of next year’s holiday craze with our Stain Fighter Package, which provides a protective barrier around the fibers to make cleaning up spills easier.