As we all know, Thanksgiving looked a bit different this year, but even with smaller gatherings, spills still happen! So while we hope you had a great Thanksgiving meal, you might now be wondering how to get cranberry sauce, gravy, or other spots out of carpet, upholstery or area rugs. Below we will lay bullet points to make this a quick read and easy guide for you. Of course, you can always contact us with any questions or to schedule a carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning or area rug cleaning if you’re in the Edmonds/greater Seattle area.

• First of all- do not use vinegar! If you look up how to spot clean online, the most common suggestion is vinegar. However, it is so rare that this would ever help that we recommend just staying away from it completely. Another common recommendation is dish soap- if you do this, use only very sparingly, otherwise it will leave a residue in your carpet.

• Second- one of the most important aspects of cleaning is bringing the surface being cleaned to pH neutral. The best spot cleaners will be safe, yet effective pH neutral cleaners (we recommend Folex for anything store bought). If you are one of our clients, we provide a lifetime supply of our free spot cleaner. This is why using vinegar is not helpful and can actually set stains in- because it’s acidic.

• Hydrogen peroxide is your friend! For virtually any organic stain (wine, caffeinated coffee, most food spills), you want to add oxygen to the spot to help remove the stain. We recommend avoiding big name products like Oxiclean, Resolve, etc. as these have damaging ingredients in them. Instead, you can pick up 3% hydrogen peroxide from the drug store, and at this dilution it’s even safe for wool! Put it on the spot, scrub gently with a brush, let sit 5-10 minutes and then aggressively dab with a towel.

• For cranberry sauce, we again recommend hydrogen peroxide. However, you want to be careful with how much you use, and start with a neutral pH spotter first. After using, be sure to speed dry with a fan (even a small household fan would help).

• Lastly, if it seems like an especially tricky spot, call us! Especially if it seems like the spill may have seeped down into the carpet pad or upholstery cushion, it’s very likely that self-spotting it would actually make it worse. Whether you’re a client or not, please feel free to call us so we can help you troubleshoot any difficult spots you may have.

Remember, if you’re in Edmonds, Shoreline, Mountlake Terrace, Seattle, Mukilteo, Bothell, Lynnwood, Everett, or the surrounding areas- we are here to serve you!