How to Remove Wood Stain from Carpet

Wood stains on carpets are caused for the most part by furniture or by wooden walls. While you can do the best you can to avoid getting stains onto your carpet, Murphy’s Law still applies. “If something could go wrong, it will go wrong”, accidents do happen. Good news is there is a way to remove wood stain from carpet.

The stain on your carpet is usually the dye/varnish from the wooden furniture, which is transferred to the fibers of the carpet, where the two are in contact. This guide shows you 6. how to remove a wood stain from carpet from carpet regardless of the type it is.

How do Wood Stains Get on Carpets?

In many instances of wood stains, moisture is the culprit. The following are the most common ways through which your carpet could get wood stains:

Why Do the Bottoms of Furniture Cause so Much Staining?

As a general rule, since the bottoms of the furniture are not seen, most manufacturers will not bother to apply protective coatings on them. Protective coats usually serve a dual role; they enhance the appearance of the furniture and seal in the staining compounds into the wood. Given that the bottoms of furniture lack the protective coating, they are more likely to cause stains when exposed to moisture.

What are the Different Types of Wood Stains?

The type of stain you get on your carpet will depend on the type of solvent used in the protective coating. The most common stains you will encounter are water soluble and oil soluble stains. Sometimes the manufacturer may use two or more dyes to get the appropriate shade on the wood.

In which case you may find that the color of the stain on your carpet has different hues. For instance, a stain made by the bottom of the table leg may be different from the one from drink spilled on the side of the leg, where the wood dyes are not as water soluble.

How do you Remove Water Based Stains on Carpets?

Materials you need:

Terry towels or absorbent towels
A cup of warm water,
Paper towels
Vacuum cleaner
Neutral PH residue spotter fluid (fine fabric or dishwashing detergent with no bleach will do fine)

How-To Guide:

Remove by scraping off any dried material on the carpet before making the attempt to clean.
Apply a small amount of your residue spotter onto a terry towel and blot the stain.
Remember to cover the stain and press down repeatedly until you are satisfied with the result, or no more of the stain is transferred onto the towel.
Once you are satisfied with the result, cover the area with a clean paper towel which will absorb any excess moisture and prevent re-staining.
Vacuum the area and dry steam to regain the look and feel of the rest of the carpet

How do you Remove Oil Based Stains on Carpets?

Materials you need:

Volatile solvent from the local cleaning supplies retailer
Terry towels
Non-staining block
Paper towels
Vacuum cleaner

How-To Guide:

Scrape off all dried material from the carpet especially the area of the stain.
Apply a small amount of volatile solvent using terry towels and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes (do not use paint thinner or gasoline)
Using the terry towels apply gentle pressure on the stain and clean the towel in the solution each time.
Repeat the process until no more of the stain is transferred onto the towel or you are satisfied with the result.
Once you are satisfied with the result, cover the area with a clean paper towel which will absorb any excess moisture and prevent re-staining.
Place a non-staining block on top of it and leave it overnight.
Vacuum and hot steam the area the following morning to regain the look and feel of the rest of the carpet.

⚡️ The lowdown on Volatile Solvents: We use volatile solvents given that they will typically leave no residue as they will evaporate at room temperature. If you use nonvolatile solvents with synthetic carpets, you may find significant delamination on the carpet over a long period.

How to Get Rid of Old Furniture Stains from Carpet?

Materials you need:

Gentle dishwashing soap Warm water
Terry towels
Vacuum cleaner
Paper towels
Non-staining block

How-To Guide:

Get a vacuum and use it to remove any dry particles on the stained area.
Make your mild carpet cleaning solution by adding in the liquid dishwashing soap to the warm water.
Using your clean absorbent towel apply the cleaning solution to the stained area and leave it for no less than 5 minutes.
Take your terry towels, blot out the stained area repeating the procedure until no more of the stain is being transferred onto the towel or you are satisfied.
Once you are satisfied with the result, cover the area with clean paper towels, which will absorb any excess moisture and prevent re-staining.
Place a non-staining block on top of it and leave it overnight.
Vacuum and steam the area the following morning to regain the look and feel of the rest of the carpet

Why it is important not to rub the stain while removing it?

We always recommend blotting and applying gentle pressure rather than rubbing. Rubbing may actually spread the stain. On top of this rubbing may also set the stain deeper into the fabric making it harder to remove.

My final thoughts for your quest to remove wood stain from carpet

It is cliché but it has to be said: “The earlier you treat the stain after the staining event, the more chance you have of getting it out”. I promise it’s much harder to remove wood stain from carpet once the stain has seeped in to the carpet fibres.

Another thing with carpet stain removal is that before you decide to try out a removal procedure, always so a small test. It’s best to test out the process on a section of carpet that is typically hidden under furniture or a rug. You do this so that in case you damage or discolor the carpet, you will not have ruined the entire carpet.

Also remember that you may have to repeat the procedure multiple times to completely get the stain out. There are also some stains that will just not come out no matter how hard you try. In such instances, you may just need to call in a professional.

As always “When in doubt call in the professionals”. Believe me, it is better to shell out money to pay a professional than ruin a carpet and have to replace it.