Home Tips by Anne & Larry - Dealing With Stained Rugs

Living with kids means living with spills... all kind of spills. Food, drinks, random items that you can't figure out as well as some you wish you hadn't figured out.

Carpet is great in a home with kids because of the accoustic factor (it helps keep the noise levels down), but it can be difficult when constantly dealing with spills and stains.

Some helpful advice from our dynamic home tips duo:

Anne: One factor of dealing with stains is to attact them as quickly as possible. The longer they have to set, the harder it is to get them out. If you, like me, are dealing with at least one spill per day, it is definitely worth investing in a small, portable carpet cleaner (usually available for less than $100) that can deal with these spots as soon as they happen. Sometimes, however, a cleaner isn't enough and you need some additional cleaning power, here are some things I've found that helps.

- Soda Water works on most stains, and the bubbling action helps lift stains to the surface.

- Use vinegar or rubbing alcohol on pet stains to help remove the stain and reduce the "scent" that encourages them to remark the same territory.

- Salt is an excellent stain absorber and can be used for juice or vomit. The trick here is the spill needs to be fresh for the salt to work. Sprinkle the salt, cover with a damp cloth and leave for a few hours. Remove the cloth, clean off the salt and vacuum the remainder.

- Baby wipes are also very useful for cleaning up fresh spills off carpets, as long as you get to them before they have time to set.

Larry: If you've got kids, stains are going to happen... deal with it. Instead of spending money on tons of cleaning products, put $5 in a jar every time a spill happens and use whatever is available to blot up as much of the stain as possible. By the time your kids have outgrown their "spilly walker" stage, you'll likely have enough money in the jar to replace the carpet with something newer... possibly even hardwood floors.

For those stains that you can't get out with paper towel... put something over it. A cheap area rug that can easily be replaced or, if you've got a big, unsightly spot, put a plant pot on it.

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Home Tips by Anne & Larry offers two sides of the same coin...

In the tradition of He Said, She Said, this column offers - with tongues firmly planted in our cheeks - two views of how to deal with common problems around the home, from cleaning tips, to home repair and improvement advice.

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