Cheese Stains
By Steve Gillman
Whether you can completely remove cheese from carpet depends
on the type of cheese and how long the stains have been in the
carpet fibers. Some cheeses use added coloring (cheddar is not
really orange) which can cause more staining. With the hard types,
unless you step on it or otherwise rub it into the fibers, just
picking it up will often be enough.
But let's assume that you are here because the cheese was
rubbed into the carpet. Cheese stains can be removed in most
cases. Here are the steps to take.
Scrape out any dried pieces and chucks using the edge of a
metal spoon or a dull knife.
To get the rest of the cheese, mix up a tablespoon of clear
ammonia with about four ounces of water. Use a spray bottle to
apply this to the spot. The mixture will neutralize the acids,
reduce potential odor problems, and (hopefully) remove the stain.
Blot up the moisture with white paper towels or a white cotton
cloth, and repeat the process until there is no more transfer
of the stain to the cloth.
Try to keep the mixture from soaking down to the bottom of
the carpet. Rinse with water afterward several times blotting
up the water each time.
If there is still some cheese or odor remaining (get your
nose down there to determine this), make a mixture of a few drops
of dish washing detergent (plain blue Dawn is perhaps the safest)
and a cup of water. Apply and blot this up several times until
you see no more stain transfer. Rinse with water as above.
Dry the area with a weighted stack of white paper towels.
Remove these and use a fan or open window to move some air around
to finish the drying.
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