How to Remove Old Rust Stain from Carpet – Two Effective Methods

If you don’t know how to remove old rust stain from carpet floors, this article is here to help. Carpets can be stained with all kinds of spots whenever you least expect it, but removing rust in carpet is different from other stain types. Cleaning a carpet itself is not difficult; what makes it difficult is that sometimes we don’t know what causes rust stains on the carpet, so we don’t know what method is the safest to use.

How to Remove Old Rust Stain from Carpet

Cleaning your carpets will help keep debris away, and remove stubborn stains. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to remove old rust stains from carpeting. This article will provide you with two methods that will certainly help you remove any kind of carpet and rug stains, and keep your flooring safe and sound.

What Causes Rust Stains?

As we said, it’s hard to determine what causes the rust stains on your carpet (it could be furniture, foods, liquids…), but they all happen because of a simple process: oxidation.

Basically, “oxidation” creates an iron oxide that forms the rust in your carpets. Oxidation occurs when the iron reacts some sort of moisture, be it the one found in the air, or water. When the iron corrodes, it will create reddish flakes which then adhere to other surfaces. This later becomes rust.

Rust can come from household items that come into contact with our floors, such as furniture. Some cases it’s because of water, but because furniture pieces remain in the room far longer than any other item, they tend to be the number one source of rust.

Method One for Removing Rust

As soon as you spot a rust stain on your carpet, do the following:

• Remove any source of the rust stain (if it came from the legs of a piece of furniture, move it elsewhere).
• Scrape the rust with a butter knife, but be careful not to rip the carpet fibers.
• Apply dish soap on a sponge and blot it directly onto the stain. Let it soak for five minutes.
• Use a rag (preferably a white cloth) and press the rust stain, blotting continuously in this area. The stain should gradually transfer onto it.
• If it doesn’t disappear, mix two cups of warm water with one tablespoon of ammonia, and pour the mix onto the stain. Once again, let it sit for five minutes and try to clean it with the cloth once again.
• If the rust doesn’t disappear, this time pour a mix of lemon juice, white vinegar and salt onto the stain, but now let it sit for a few hours. Blot it with a damp towel, and this time the rust should have disappeared completely.

Carpets will pick dirt and dust. When it accumulates, it will be a source of constant irritation. For someone with an allergy, a dirty carpet is not a good thing. You should clean your carpet after a short while to keep all the allergens out.

This is the most laborious and aggressive method we can recommend, but it’s certainly the one that will surely work in the end.

Method Two for Removing Rusty requirements.

This is another option you can opt for when you spot a stain. It’s a lighter alternative to method one.

• Mix lemon juice and salt, and pour it directly onto the rust stain.
• Let it sit for a few minutes – not more than an hour, though.
• Apply hot water directly onto it and the stain should disappear.

This carpet cleaning method works better for less severe rust stains, but if it doesn’t work, try Method 1 instead.

What is the Best Homemade Carpet Stain Remover?

Vinegar, hands down. Mix it with lemon juice and/or salt and you’ll see the difference in your carpe. What makes it better is that vinegar can clean other things as well, such as pet stains.

How Often Should Wool Carpets be Cleaned?

Unlike nylon carpets, wool isn’t as durable. You must vacuum them regularly and remove spills on the spot (no pun intended) if you want a healthy wool carpet. Also, be sure to hire a professional service to clean it at least once per year.

In Conclusion

To summarize, you don’t need to know much about how to remove old rust stains from carpet floors: this article taught you that it is oxidation what causes rust stains on carpets and that you can avoid it by simply acting on time. Also, what will remove rust stains? A good mix of lemon juice, salt and vinegar will remove carpet rust stains in no time. Just keep these pointers in mind and we assure you: you’ll keep a healthy carpet for many years to come.