Your favorite lipstick color may look fantastic on your face, but it won’t look too good on your carpet. Colored lipstick stains are mixed stains that include an oily/waxy component as well as a dye. Lip balms are a little easier to remove because they usually don’t have color added to them.
If you step on a dropped tube of lipstick and it rubs into the carpet, act quickly to remove it. The earlier you begin the removal process, the easier it will be. Rubbing the stain will just drive it further into the carpet and possibly make it bigger.
Removing lipstick stains
Dish soap and fabric cleaner
Apply a stain remover directly to the lipstick stain with an old cloth and press it into the carpet. The lipstick stain will begin to come off the carpet and onto the cloth. Continue doing this until the cloth begins to absorb the color.
Next, combine a quarter cup of dish soap, warm water, and fabric cleaner in a mixing bowl. To remove any lingering lipstick stain, blot the spot with a rag soaked in this solution. When blotting off lipstick stains, it’s essential to use warm water.
Rubbing alcohol
If a commercial cleaning product fails, rubbing alcohol, also known as isopropyl alcohol, is a powerful grease remover that may be your best option. Use caution not to use too much alcohol, as it may reach the carpet’s backing and cause damage. Avoid rubbing in circular motions, as this might ruin the carpet texture by breaking the fibers.
If you don’t have any rubbing alcohol on hand, you can remove the stains with nail polish remover, as long as it’s pure acetone. If the stain is too stubborn or it has rubbed deep into the carpet, you can hire professional carpet cleaners to tackle the problem for you.
Hydrogen peroxide
To remove stains that blotting won’t remove, use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. After you’ve cleaned most of the stain with other methods, use this procedure to remove the last remains.
Weaker solutions of hydrogen peroxide will be less effective, while stronger ones may damage your carpet. Wet the soiled tufts of the carpet with just enough hydrogen peroxide. Within one hour, the hydrogen peroxide should faintly bleach the carpet tufts to disguise any leftover stains.
Detergent and ammonia
If you don’t have a dry cleaning solvent or carpet cleaning product on hand, make a cleaning solution by mixing one tablespoon of hand dishwashing detergent in two cups of hot water. Add 1 tablespoon of ammonia that can be purchased from the grocery store. Using a sponge dipped in the cleaning solution and a dry paper towel, blot the stain until it is gone. To eliminate any soapy residue, rinse the area with plain water.
White vinegar and liquid soap
Add two cups of lukewarm water to an empty spray bottle, one teaspoon of white vinegar, and about two drops of liquid dishwashing soap, and mix them. Spray some of the solutions over the stained area and wait 15 minutes before blotting it with white paper towels. Repeat until there are no more lipstick stains on the towels. After the stain has been removed, wipe the area with a sponge soaked in cold water to eliminate the soapy residue.
