How to Get Soda Out of Carpet in 6 Ways
Author: Anne Cowart | Editor: Omar Alonso
Review & Research: Jen Worst & Chris Miller
The blotchy spot left by a soda stain on your carpet can be an absolute nightmare. Not only the dirt and grime will stick to it, but it may also attract ants. Luckily, there are many ways to remove it. Let's look at how to get soda out of carpet with the least amount of effort.
You can use lemon juice and salt if you want to go the natural route. Club soda or a combination of white vinegar and dish detergent are also effective remedies to fight soda stains. But if you want to use special products, you can go for a tannin spot cleaner or carpet stain remover. Let's get into the details.
First Steps to Getting Soda Out of Carpet
The soda stains will become deeply embedded into the carpet fibers if you let them sit for too long. The quicker you act to get it out of the carpet, the easier your job will be. Follow these steps to remove soda from your carpet, and keep the methods in mind for when you inevitably will need to get coffee out of your carpet, too.
Blot the Soda Stain
The first thing you need to do is to absorb as much of the spilled soda as you can from the carpet. You can get it out by using an absorbent cloth or paper towel. It's a good idea if you use white cloth as you'd be able to track your progress with it. You can also use a soft sponge for this job.
It may seem natural to rub the stain to get it out. But avoid making that mistake, as it'll only push the soda further into the carpet. Blot the area that has been stained by the beverage, and be gentle while doing so.
Continue moving the cloth in different positions and change it with new ones when needed to get the soda out. If the cloth no longer becomes dark, you've now got most of the soda out of the carpet. This is good, because any left over sugar will leave you looking up how to get ants out of your carpet next.
Moisten the Stained Area
After you absorb the soda, it'll still leave a stain on the carpet. You'll need to use different products to remove the stain. The stained area should be damp when you're treating it.
Only then the cleaning products can operate at maximum effectiveness. You don't have to do anything here if the stained area is damp after you absorb the soda. But if it has become dry, apply some water to it with a spray bottle. That'll make it moist and ready for some treatment.
Test the Products
This is a quick heads-up before you try a bunch of different products to remove the soda stain. Some of these products are strong bleaching agents and can cause discoloration in your carpets.
You should be extra cautious if you have a dark carpet. So, how do you know which of these products won't harm your carpet? You can test on a small area of the carpet that's not commonly seen. If it doesn't cause any discoloration or damage, you can use it to get rid of the stain.
How to Get Soda Stains Out of Carpet With Home Remedies
There are many natural and dedicated products that you can use to take care of a soda stain. Let's look at the natural ones first. Keep these around the house, too, because you'll need them when you're dealing with getting a beer spill out of the carpet, too.
Lemon Juice & Salt
The acidic nature of lemon juice makes it an ideal choice for fighting dark stains. You can lighten the soda stain to a great extent by drizzling a little bit of lemon juice on the stained area. To double its power, you can also add white vinegar and water to it.
Sprinkle some salt over the stained area after applying the lemon juice. The applied salt will soak up the remaining liquid soda from your carpet. But for it to work properly, you'd have to leave the mixture for several hours. It's a good idea to leave it overnight if the spill is large.
The salt will become dry after doing its work. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove the salt crystals from the carpet. Salt removes the soda from the carpet, and lemon juice lightens the stain. That makes them the perfect combination to remove soda stains. You can reapply the solution until you get rid of the entire stain.
Club Soda
The minerals and carbonation in club soda make it the perfect choice to tackle soda stains. It can remove certain dyes or colorings of soda from your carpet. You can directly pour club soda over the stained area. Just pay attention that you only use as much as needed and don't drench your carpet with it.
Let it sit for a few minutes so that it can start fighting the stain. After that, blot the area with a white cloth or paper towel. When blotting the stained area, always make sure that you start from the outside and work your way in. You should start lifting the stain with the cloth at this stage.
However, you can always add more club soda if you need it to remove the stain. Keep repeating these steps until you remove the stain entirely. Remember, blotting is critical in how to get soda out of carpet without spreading the problem around.
White Vinegar & Dish Detergent
Both white vinegar and dish detergent have amazing capabilities to fight stains. If you mix them, they can surely pack a punch. Combine one teaspoon of white vinegar, one teaspoon of dish detergent, and two cups of warm water together to create a strong stain-fighting solution.
Put this solution in a spray bottle and apply it to the stained area. Don't oversaturate the stain with this solution, as it's quite powerful and can damage your carpet when it's overused.
Blot the stained area with a paper towel after applying an appropriate quantity of the solution. You should be able to lift the stain. Change the paper towels as you need them until the stain totally disappears. That's how to get soda stains out of carpet with several methods, each of which can contribute to the lessening of the discoloration.
Removing Soda Stains From Carpet With Special Products
If going the natural products route isn't for you, there are a bunch of specialized products you can use that are dedicated to fighting tough stains. Here they are:
Tannin Spot Cleaner
Tannin is a dye used in soda to give it an attractive and dark color. The presence of this substance makes it difficult to remove soda from your carpet. Luckily, a tannin spot cleaner is a dedicated product to fight stains left by tannin.
Chances are that you won't have this product sitting around in your home. And while you go to the store to get it or order it online, you'll lose precious time that you could have spent removing the stain. The stain will get worse and go deeper into the carpet fibers if you don't do anything about it.
So, absorb as much of the soda as you can at first. Then, try natural remedies. If you don't get the desired results from it, you can get the tannin spot remover and remove the stain. You can also make a habit of keeping this product in your home if someone spills soda frequently.
Carpet Stain Remover
There are surfactants in a carpet stain remover that increase its ability to spread and go deeper into surfaces like carpet fibers. That means you'll get a more thorough cleaning job from these removers than you would with other products.
You'd find plenty of carpet stain removers in the market. Choose the one that's compatible with your carpet and use it to remove the stain. The instructions for applying may vary on the brand you choose. So, read the manual carefully and follow it exactly. Removing soda stains from carpet can be as easy as following directions.
What to Do After Removing Soda Stains
Regardless of which product you use, it's important that you get it out of the carpet too once the stain is gone. If you leave it there, the carpet fibers can become visibly damaged, and it'll only be a matter of time before you have to throw it away.
But there's no need to panic. Removing these cleaning products from your carpet is way easier than dealing with stains. Rinse the treated area with cold water. Then, blot it with a clean piece of cloth until you feel confident that you've gotten the cleaning products out.
The next step is to dry the carpet as early as you can. Mold and mildew can easily grow on a damp carpet. So, you can expedite the drying process by placing a hair dryer or desk fan next to the treated area. Once it's dry, vacuum your carpet to lift the carpet fibers to restore it to its former glory. Now you can go through the process of making that part of the carpet fluffy again.
That’s How to Get Soda Out of Carpet!
The reason soda stains your carpet and other fabrics is two fold. Brown and dark sodas contain tannins while brighter soft drinks contain a lot of food coloring dyes. Both of these soak into the fibers of your carpet and cloths and have to be extracted and diluted.
Dropping soda on your carpet can leave stubborn stains, we know. It's understandable to worry about it, but it doesn't have to be the end of the road for your carpet, as you know now how to get soda out of carpet using both natural and special products.