Furniture with metal accents is a popular style that adds an edge to your living space. However, if the metal accents are resting on your carpet, you’ll face a few pesky rust stains that ruin the entire aesthetic. Don’t worry! You can easily save your carpet and obliterate those rust stains. Our professional cleaners will show two simple methods for removing rust stains from carpets.
Prep the Spot
No matter which method you use to clean your carpet, there are two crucial steps you need to do to prep your rusty spot.
Step 1: Remove the Source
When metal comes in contact with moisture, it oxidises and forms rust. Once that happens, the rust from the metal can stain almost anything that comes in contact with it.
So, before you use water and detergents, you must first remove the rusty source from the carpet. Otherwise, you’ll only make the stain worse. Try relocating that piece of furniture to keep it off your carpet; otherwise, it will staining it repeatedly.
Step 2: Scrape Off Excess Flakes
Now that the stain is visible and away from any sources of rust, you can treat the spot safely and efficiently. Grab any blunt scraping tool, like a butter knife, and gently scrape off as many excess rust flakes as possible. Be careful not to cut or snag your carpet in the process.
You’ll notice that all the clumped-up rust particles will come off as the stain becomes lighter in colour. Remember to vacuum all the rust flakes before you go in with detergents.
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Method 1: Clean with Dish Soap and Ammonia
This method works wonders if you remove most of the rust and only have a superficial stain on your carpet.
Step 1: Mix Dish Soap with Warm Water
Mix one tablespoon of mild dish soap—preferably lightly pigmented—with two cups of warm water. Stir well to activate the dish soap until suds form.
Step 2: Blot the Stain
With a clean sponge, blot the stain with the sudsy water repeatedly until you saturate the entire area. Most importantly, never rub the stain. Instead, dab the sponge over the stain to prevent spreading rust to clean areas.
Step 3: Let It Soak
Let the soap settle in for a few minutes to loosen the rust from the carpet’s fibres. You could leave it between 5 and 15 minutes, but never let it dry. If the spot dries out, the rust will settle in again.
Step 4: Blot with a Clean Towel
After leaving the stain to soak up for a few minutes, dab it with a clean white towel. A light-coloured towel will help you see how much rust is transferring from the carpet to the towel.
Keep pressing dry parts of the towel on the wet stain until the towel comes off clean and dry. This means you’ve absorbed all the rust and moisture, and your carpet is squeaky clean.
Tip: Use Ammonia solution for Tougher Stains
If dish soap does not completely remove the rust stain, dilute a tablespoon of household ammonia with two cups of water. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the mix if the smell of household ammonia is too strong.
Pour your mixture over the tough rust stain and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, dab it with a clean towel until all the rust is removed.
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Method 2: Clean with Lemon Juice, Salt, and Vinegar
Another way to remove rust stains is by using sea salt or regular table salt with lemon juice instead of dish soap.
Step 1: Sprinkle Salt and Lemon Juice
Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the rust stain. Bottled lemon juice would also work if you don’t have fresh lemons. The salt and lemon juice mixture is a mild abrasive that breaks up the rust particles on your carpet.
Step 2: Soak Stain with Water
Heat two cups of water and pour it over the stain. The goal is to saturate the area with hot water to remove the salt and lemon juice mixture and clear the rust stain. So, if the stain is relatively large, use hot water to saturate the entire spot.
After you pour hot water over the salt and lemon juice mixture, you’ll notice that the stain fades out.
Step 3: Blot the Excess Liquid
Grab a clean white towel or any light-coloured towel, and blot the carpet to soak up as much water as possible. You might need an extra towel if the first one gets too wet.
After absorbing all the excess water, leave the carpet a few hours to fully dry before putting your furniture back over it.
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Tip: Use Vinegar Solution for Tougher Stains
If the stain doesn’t clear up, you’ll need to add vinegar. Mix a cup of white vinegar with two tablespoons of lemon juice and one tablespoon of salt. Stir well to combine everything, and pour the mixture over the rust stain.
Let it sit for about two hours, then blot the area with a clean, damp cloth. Keep dabbing the cloth over the stain until it comes out clean and your carpet is rust-free.
Plus, both methods are safe for your family and won’t ruin the fibres of your carpet because they’re all made of natural ingredients. So, you don’t need to worry about using harmful chemicals around your children or pets.
In Conclusion
If you’ve fallen in love with a piece of furniture with metal legs or steel accents, rust stains are inevitable. However, cleaning rust stains on your carpet isn’t as hard as many might think. Be patient and gentle with your fibres. Your rust stain will be gone in a jiffy.
