How to remove chocolate from a carpet.
Hello, and welcome to Videojug.
We're going to show you how to remove chocolate from a carpet.
The following process will work for milk, white and dark chocolate.
Step one: you will need some white kitchen towel, a blunt knife, a teaspoon, a mixing
bowl or jug, some rubber gloves, some mild carpet shampoo or mild colorless detergent,
water, some household ammonia, a spray bottle, vinegar, a sponge, a heavy weight like a book,
and you might also need a plastic bag.
Step two: scrape up excess chocolate.
Take action as soon as possible after the spillage.
The longer you leave a stain, the tougher it will be to remove.
Remove as much chocolate as you can with a clean, unserrated knife.
Be gentle so as not to damage the carpet fibers.
Step three: check carpet type.
Different carpets react in different ways to stain removal techniques.
Using the wrong removal method could cause the stain to become permanent or leave a worse
mark than the stain itself.
Carpets made of natural materials such as grass, sisal or wool can be severely damaged
by liquid treatments.
If you're in any doubt as to your carpet's suitability, contact a professional carpet
cleaner.
Before applying any solution to your carpet, you should always do a patch test.
Choose an out of the way area of the carpet and apply a small amount.
Wait a few minutes to ensure that problems don't develop.
If your carpet starts to go brown or lighter in color, immediately rinse the solution with
cold water.
Do not continue and call a professional.
Step four: carpet cleaning products.
There are many good carpet cleaning products on the market, but experts tend to be wary
of using them.
They're not stain specific and may include ingredients which are not applicable to your
stain and could do more harm than good.
If you do intend to use them, you should watch Videojug's how to use carpet cleaning products.
Otherwise, keep following these steps.
Step five: to dissolve the fat in the chocolate, use surgical spirit.
Put on some rubber gloves and then apply surgical spirit to a white cloth.
Lay the cloth over the stain.
Handy hint: use a spoon to work solutions into your carpet.
This will help you avoid damage to your carpet fibers.
With the spoon, massage the stain through the cloth.
When the surgical spirit is thoroughly worked into the stain, remove the cloth.
Step six: prepare the solution.
Take a quarter of a teaspoon of mild carpet shampoo or colorless detergent.
Add it to a liter of cold water and stir.
Step seven: apply the solution.
Do a quick patch test.
If it's safe to continue, dampen the whole cloth in the solution and lay it over the
stain.
Step eight: blot and repeat.
Press some kitchen towel onto the damp patch, blotting away moisture and lifting the stain.
Step nine: If any chocolate remains, try making an alkaline solution.
First, make sure the room is well-ventilated.
Keep your rubber gloves on.
Add one teaspoon full of household ammonia to a liter of cold water and stir.
Remember to carry out a patch test.
If there are no adverse effects, spread the cloth over the stain and massage with the
spoon as before.
Remove the cloth and blot with some kitchen towel.
Repeat the process until as much of the stain as possible has been lifted.
Step ten: neutralize.
You will need to neutralize any remaining alkaline with vinegar.
Add several splashes of white vinegar to a bowl of warm water.
Carry out a patch test.
If it's safe to continue, work it into the stain using the bottom of the spoon as before.
Blot using some kitchen towels.
Step eleven: rinse again.
Spray the patch with water as to rinse away the remaining solutions.
Step twelve: removing remaining damp.
To completely dry the carpet and get rid of any final remaining stains, stack some pieces
of kitchen towel over the area and place a heavy weight on top.
If you use a colored or porous weight like a book, put a plastic bag between it and the
towels to stop dye leaking into the carpet and to protect the weight.
Step thirteen: wait.
Leave the stain for a few hours, ideally overnight.
Then, remove the weight and kitchen towel.
The stain should now be completely gone.
Done!