Did you splatter or spill some of your hair dye on your carpet? Don’t worry. In most cases, you can remove the hair dye completely from the carpeting without leaving permanent stains and damaging it.
Since permanent hair dye acts quickly and can bond with the fabric of your carpet, the faster you act to remove it, the bigger the chances are to get rid of the stain completely.
Contents
The good news is that in most cases, you will need some common household items to get the hair dye out of your carpet, and the chances are that you already have them in your pantry.
How to get hair dye out of carpet – what you will need
Here are the essential items and materials you will need to remove the hair dye from your carpet or rug:
- A clean white or colorfast cloth
- Absorbent paper towels
- A spray bottle
- Dishwashing soap
- White vinegar
- Water
- Isopropyl alcohol
Steps to successfully remove hair dye from a carpet or rug
Blot any excess hair dye
When you get the hair dye on the carpet, do not panic and act as quickly as possible in order to prevent bonding and permanent damage.
First of all, take a clean white cloth or absorbent paper towels and gently dab them on the stain. Blot the stain itself without rubbing it in order to prevent spreading the stain and pushing the dye inside the carpet. Never use a cloth which is not colorfast, because you can make matters worse by transferring its color to the mat.
Keep blotting the stain with a clean cloth or towel until you can see no leftover liquid on the carpet and until the dye stops transferring to the cloth or paper towel.
Make your carpet cleaning solution
Add a tablespoon of white vinegar and a tablespoon of mild dishwashing solution to a cup of lukewarm water.
Mix them all well, and pour them into a spray bottle.
Cleaning the carpet
Spray the cleaning solution directly on the stain, or you can even pour it from a cup.
Then use a clean white cloth or a sponge to work the solution into the carpet gently. Again – do not rub it and spread it around outside of the stain!
Keep dabbing with a cloth or paper towel until you notice that the transfer of the dye and cleaning solution from the carpet to the towel stops, and there are no signs of transfer visible.
Remember to keep changing the parts of the cloth or towel to clean ones while dabbing and treating the stain.
You should also notice that the stain becomes lighter and starts to disappear.
Once you have worked the cleaning solution into the carpet, proceed to pour a tablespoon of rubbing alcohol on the hair dye stain. Proceed to dab it, as described above, until the transfer to the towel or cloth stops.
Usually, this step is sufficient for the complete elimination of the hair dye stain from your rug, mat, or carpet.
After you are done, rinse the stain with some clean water by either spraying it on or using a damp clean cloth.
Let the stain air dry by opening the windows or turning the ventilation or heating on.
How to deal with stubborn hair dye stains on the carpet?
If you have an older hair dye stain on the carpet or one which cannot be removed by the abovementioned method, then you can try treating the stain with ammonia.
Create a cleaning solution using 1 cup of lukewarm water, a tablespoon of ammonia, and dishwashing detergent. Mix them well, and proceed to treat the stain as described above.
Please ensure that you have removed all of the hair dye from the carpet or any other chemical from it before applying the ammonia solution.
If you are not able to remove the stain, you may want to contact a professional carpet cleaner for expert advice and service.
