How to Get Red Lipstick Out of Carpet

Lipstick may look well on you and even enhance your beauty, but it will not look good on your carpet. To your carpet, it is just a stain, and it looks even worse if the lipstick is red. No matter how careful you are with your makeup kit, accidents are bound to happen. You can accidentally drop it on your carpet and step on it, or your child can get hold of it a smear it on your carpet.

Whatever the case, you need to act fast on removing the stains before it dries up and becomes harder to remove. This guide will show you some steps you can use to get rid of red lipstick stains out of the carpet.

How to get Lipstick out of carpet

First method

1. Start with the large pieces

Remove any part of the lipstick that is still on the carpet by lifting carefully to avoid staining further. Scrub the edges of the carpet carefully with a plastic spoon. Work from the outer edges moving towards the inside so that you don’t spread the stains. Use a nozzle of your vacuum cleaner to vacuum the loose pieces.

2. Blot

Soak a damp cloth in water then use the wet cloth to blot the lipstick and absorb as much stain as possible. Once one side of the cloth is heavily stained, turn to the opposite side and repeat the same process. While doing this, ensure don’t rub the cloth on the stain as this may spread it to a wider area of the carpet. You can also use a cleaning product of your choice in place of water to soak the cloth.

3. Stain Remover

Lipstick stains contain grease that can stick on the fibers of the carpet. Use an all-purpose stain remover with a grease removing the element. Spray the stain remover into the affected area. This method works well to remove the stain, but if you are not careful with the kind of stain remover you’re using, it can end up discoloring your carpet.

Test the cleaning product first at a corner of your carpet and leave it for some time to dry. If it discolors the spot, then it is probably not the best product for cleaning your carpet.

4. Repeat the process

If the stain remover is giving you good results, repeat the process. Rinse out excess stains from the cloth and apply more stain remover. Repeat the process about three to four times until you see that most of the stains have been removed.

5. Hand wash

If left on the carpet for long, some cleaning products can discolor or even damage the fibers of the carpet. Mix some dish detergent with warm water or laundry water and wash with your hands. You can mix 1/4 of the detergent depending on the amount of stain remaining.

You should choose the kind of products carefully to avoid damaging your carpet. Stay away from products that contain bleach or lanolin as they can discolor your carpet. If you are not sure about the ingredients in your detergent, you can test it on a corner of the carpet and see if it has any effects.

6. Rinse with clean water and dry

After removing all the stains and the detergents from your carpet, it’s time to rinse with clean water without using any detergents. Damp a clean towel in the water and use it to clean the affected area thoroughly. Take another dry, clean cloth and use it to blow dry the area.

How to get Lipstick out of carpet

Second method

The second method involves bleaching your carpet to hide the stains. Sometimes no amount of washing can get rid of the red lipstick stains on your carpet. After blotting and using all kinds of products on your carpet and you still see some stains remaining, it’s time to hide using bleaching agents.

1. Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide works perfectly to remove the remaining traces of the lipstick stains after removing the majority of the stains. A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide will work well for you. Weaker percentage of the solution will not work effectively while the stronger solutions can damage the fibers of your carpet.

2. Moisture the carpet

Apply enough amount of hydrogen peroxide on your carpet to moisten the tufts of the carpet. Use a clean, dry cloth to apply the solution. Be careful not to apply too much as you can end up bleaching the unstained areas of your carpet.

3. Let it sit for an hour

One hour is enough to allow the hydrogen peroxide to bleach the carpet tufts and hide the remaining traces of the red lipstick stains. If you see some improvements but the stain is not gone completely, you can repeat the same process to achieve better results.

Removing lipstick stains from carpet - Common Questions and Answers

Can baking soda remove lipstick from the carpet?

Baking soda also works well to remove lipstick stains from your carpet. However, only use this method if you don’t have any other option because baking soda can lighten your carpet fibers and damage it faster.

Can I use nail polish remover?

To be completely sure about the results, use nail polish remover with acetone. Apply it directly on the affected area and let it sit for five minutes then blot. When using acetone, ensure you are in a well-ventilated area to ensure you don’t inhale the fumes.

Are there home products I can use in place of commercial products?

There are several products you can use in place of commercial products which will also give you good results. The products include nail polish remover, alcohol, white vinegar, hair spray, among others. Use the right amounts of these products to ensure they don’t cause discolorations or damaging the fibers of your carpet.

Conclusion

You now know that removing red lipstick stains from your carpet is not as hard as you might have thought. To make the work even easier, you should work on the stain as soon as you notice it so that it doesn’t dry up or smear on the floor even further. Try any of the cleaning techniques and see one that works best for you.