There is no doubt that shoe polish can make your shoes shine brighter and amp up their look. But what if this same shoe polish smears right in the middle of your carpet? It doesn’t sound like the best situation, right? Although throwing shoe polish on the carpet or keeping the shoe brush upside down is rare, it does happen. Accidents happen, and in such scenarios, you have no choice but to call your local carpet cleaner, or get your hands on it immediately and clean up the mess as soon as possible.
Need to know how to get that shoe polish out of your carpet? You are in the right place because we are here to save the day. With a few handy ingredients and the right moves and what not to do (i.e. NEVER scrub your stain in the outward direction; you will only make it worse), you will get rid of that horrible stain in no time.
Scoop, Scoop, Scoop
If you got a large amount of matte polish on your carpet, scrape the polish as much as you can very carefully. You can use the sleek edge of a butter knife or scoop it up with a spoon. However, if you are dealing with a liquid-based polish, take some cotton balls and place them gently on the stain so that they absorb the liquid. Keep collecting the cotton balls in a paper bag to avoid creating any further mess. As the cotton balls suck up sufficient liquid, you will see that the color of the polish is now fading to a grayish tone.
Blot, Blot, Blot
Rubbing alcohol is a great thing to have on hand for cleaning, it can also be used to remove nail polish stains, and paint stains, in addition to ones that result from shoes polish. Pour some rubbing alcohol on the stained area and grab a clean paper towel. Now it’s time to blot so that the towel absorbs the dirty polish. This may take a while, but it will be worth it. Keep doing this until you see that the paper towel is coming up clean, even after holding it on the stain for about thirty seconds. This means that the paper towel did its job and blotted everything it possibly could.
Clean, Clean, Clean
Even after blotting, you will see that the actual colors of the carpet are not visible yet, and it is still giving an undesirable appearance. But worry not because dealing with it is very easy. Put a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a cup of warm water and give it a nice whip. Sprinkle a few drops of the diluted solution onto the stained surface of the carpet and then, using a laundry brush, start brushing the fibers of the carpet thoroughly. Your carpet will get a little foamy, but that’s okay (you can easily take out the foam with some warm water).
By now, your carpet should be as good as new. However, if you still find that your carpet doesn’t look nice (it is possible if you let the stain stay for long), you can use a solution of one part vinegar and four parts water. Pour a generous amount of solution onto the carpet, cover it with a microfiber towel, and let it sit for a few hours, preferably overnight. In the morning, remove the towel and implement the steps given above and voila!