Spilled hot chocolate all over your new carpet ? Ouch!
If you have a toddler at home running around with a glass of chocolate milk all the time, this is bound to happen. Are you tired of cleaning up a hot chocolate spill from the carpet and rug in your home? I feel your pain.
If that big brown stain on your beautiful white carpet has begun to annoy you – we are here with a fool proof solution to all of your problems.
But you need to be quick, though. Hot chocolate stains are very impatient and love to settle into your carpets as soon as possible. Before the stains permanently haunt your home forever, you must clean them out!
The 5 Steps of Removing Chocolate from Carpet
Before we begin, you should know that there are five steps to the process of removing a hot chocolate stain from any carpet. The materials that you need include paper towels, a butter knife, dishwashing liquid, white vinegar, and a carpet cleaner spray from your local grocery store.
After you have gathered the required materials, it is time to get to work.
Step 1: Cleaning the Mess
Hot chocolate stains can result in some serious dark chocolate stains on the carpet. This means that dried up chocolate can get stuck between the microfibers of the carpet – making it very hard to clean. To avoid making a bigger mess, you need to clean out all the chunks of chocolate from your carpet. To do this, use multiple paper towels or a butter knife to remove all of the excess bits of chocolate. If you use a knife, remember to wipe it clean between each use to avoid further chocolate stains.
Step 2: Make the Detergent Solution
Combine half a tablespoon of a strong dishwashing liquid with 500ml (or one cup) of lukewarm water and mix properly. This will be the removing agent.
Step 3: Do a Patch Test, then Apply
Before you apply the detergent solution on the entire hot chocolate stain, test out a small area first to ensure that the chemicals are not damaging your carpet. Some carpets are especially sensitive to harsh chemicals and must be taken careful care of.
If your carpet does not react to the detergent solution within 10-15 minutes and you don’t notice any discoloration, you can continue to soak the entire hot chocolate stain with the detergent solution. After soaking, you should rub the stained area in order to clean it thoroughly.
You can repeat the soaking and rubbing process until you see the stain disappearing. Remember to be gentle whilst rubbing the carpet, since you can damage the cloth with harsh motions.
After approximately 20 minutes, the dark brown stain will begin to fade. At this point you are advised to clean up any excess detergent solution with paper towels.
Step 4: Apply a Vinegar Solution
Add 250 ml of synthetic white vinegar to 500 ml of water to dilute it slightly. The only purpose of this vinegar solution is to avoid the retention of any detergent on your carpet that could damage the microfiber cloth of the carpet.
Instead of applying the vinegar solution directly on to the carpet, it is recommended to soak a paper towel or a clean piece of cloth in the solution and gently tapping it against the hot chocolate stain. Leave the vinegar solution on the carpet for about 20 minutes before rinsing the area with lukewarm water to remove any residual vinegar and to avoid the lingering smell.
BONUS STEP: If you are somebody who cannot stand the smell of vinegar around your house, then you can either dry up your carpet quickly and apply a scented carpet cleaner or brush a teaspoon of baking soda on the area. Baking soda absorbs the smell of vinegar – leaving you with no unpleasant odors around the house.
BONUS STEP #2: If your hot chocolate stain is too dark or is on a plain white carpet, you may have to do an additional step to avoid permanent staining. Stack a few paper towels on top of the stain and place something heavy above it – such as a wooden box or a metal tray.
Step 5: Applying the Carpet Cleaner
Once your carpet is completely dried up from all the washing, it is now time to spray a generous amount of carpet cleaner on the stain. Since the carpet cleaner contains some commercial chemicals, it really helps speed up the process of removing such a difficult hot chocolate stain. Remember not to skip the carpet cleaner step because it is essential in preventing a permanent stain.
After spraying it on, let the cleaning liquid stay on the carpet for about 15 minutes. Once you see it drying up, you should scrub the area with a carpet brush gently to remove any excess chemicals.
And viola, you are done! After following all of these steps, we assure you that there is no hot chocolate stain deep enough to not be removed by our rigorous cleaning procedure.
Commercial Chocolate Stain Remover
If you prefer a commercial stain and spot remover instead of a homemade cleaning solution then try this one from Diversey.
Diversey Chocolate Stain Remover – Buy from Amazon
The carpet cleaning solution contains Benzyl alcohol that can get rid-off even the hardened chocolate stains from your carpet.
How to Remove Dried Chocolate from Carpet?
You may have learnt how to remove hot chocolate stains from the carpet, but what about the dried chocolate that you accidentally dropped while eating and completely forgot about? Dried up chocolate can become glued to the surface of the carpet and really puts up a fight during the removal process.
However, there are a few steps that you can follow to fully remove the dried chocolate from a carpet. Follow this cleaning technique:
- Use a scraping tool to remove any large bits of chocolate that you can see. Remember to be careful and not chip off any cloth off the carpet.
- Run the affected area under cold water for about 5 minutes. This will loosen the dried bits of chocolate.
- Add a mild dishwashing liquid to the chocolate area and use a clean cloth to rub it in circular motion. Remember not to apply too much pressure to the carpet since it could result in a permanent chocolate stain instead.
- Let the detergent sit on the carpet for about 10 minutes before rinsing it off with cold water.
At this point, there should be no more dried-up chocolate stuck to the surface of your carpet.
Closing Thoughts
Today you learnt how to remove the toughest hot chocolate and dried chocolate stains from your carpets. This means that you never have to replace your favorite carpet again since you can simply clean up all the messes that you and your toddler make.
As a closing thought, you should know that the same procedure can be used to remove tea stains and even chocolate milk stains from your carpets. With all of this information, you could be named a carpet cleaning expert!