So, the wild party is over, and you’re now faced with a messy room and stained carpet? Nobody thinks about the aftermath of a party while they’re dancing and drinking, and that’s alright.
Don’t worry if you find a big stain on your floor because carpets usually have it the worst. In most cases, people spill drinks on your floor without even noticing until the next day.
Your carpet is probably dirty even if you didn’t find any crazy stains, more so if the people didn’t take off their shoes. For this reason, it’s best if you give your carpets some deep cleaning as soon as possible.
How to clean after a wild party? Follow these few steps, and you’ll find your floors clean as if there was no party at all.
1. Inspect the damage
If you didn’t find a large wine stain in the middle of your carpet, that still doesn’t mean you should relax. Instead, take the time to inspect the entire area looking for signs of damage.
Scan your carpet for any stains and spills. Having an exact idea of what you’re dealing with helps you act accordingly.
While your best bet is to just clean the entire carpet, you’ll maybe have to clean some areas a bit better than others.
If the carpet isn’t stained, then you can just deep-clean and call it a day. But if it’s stained, you’ll have to focus on that before you can proceed to clean the rest of the rug.
2. Food stains
Ah, the stains. Almost no party can go without them, so don’t worry if you found a few on your carpet. Most of them have a remedy as long as you act quickly.
The first thing you should do is figure out what it is that stained your rug. Is it wine? Pizza? Try to get to the bottom of this because it can help you figure out a way to clean it.
Use baby wipes to clean small food stains. If it’s a bigger stain from ketchup or chocolate, you should use white vinegar. Dip a clean cloth in white vinegar and dab the stain with it. Repeat this a few times until the stain is gone.
It’s a smart idea to test white vinegar on a discreet part of your carpet just to check if it might damage the coloring.
3. Drink stains
Soft drinks and wine always end up on the carpet during a wild party. It’s important that you act as soon as you notice some traces of it.
First, you should blot the area with a dry cloth or a tissue. You want to absorb as much of the moisture as you can so that it doesn’t go deeper into your rug.
Mix some dishwasher liquid and warm water to gently clean the area with. You can also use two cups of water and a cup of white vinegar if the dishwasher isn’t doing the trick.
Now, if the stain is really persistent, try mixing a cup of water with a tablespoon of ammonia. Apply it onto the area until the stain is gone. Once you removed it, make sure to wash the area with cold water.
If it’s a coffee stain you’re working against, try rubbing a few drops of beer onto it. Repeat it a few times if required.
4. Removing gum
Gum on a carpet is everybody’s worst nightmare. It’s challenging to remove it without damaging the fibers, so you should be careful.
It’s best if you froze the gum with some ice. This will harden the gum so that you can pull it out of the fiber with a spoon or another blunt object. You should blot the area if there’s moisture and let it dry thoroughly.
5. Getting rid of the odor
If the people didn’t take off their shoes, it’s most likely you’re now facing a smelly carpet. The bad odor isn’t so simple to get rid of by simply airing the room, so you might want to do a bit more than that.
Baking soda is one of the best ingredients to help you with this issue. It has a unique power to absorb odors without leaving any other smell.
Sprinkle some onto the carpet in abundant quantities. Let it sit there for a few hours, or even overnight if possible. The next thing you want to do is to vacuum thoroughly in order to remove all the baking soda.
If that didn’t work out, you could make a mixture of baking soda, water, and vinegar to spray the carpet with. You can let this dry naturally since it doesn’t leave any trace, or you can use a wet-dry vac on it.
6. Vacuum carefully
Deep cleaning takes time and effort, so don’t just run your vac across the rug and expect it to look dirty. It’s going to take more than that after a wild party.
Right of the bat, it’s important to note that not every vacuum is suitable for deep-cleaning. You might want to go for one of the vacuums with bags if you’re looking to refresh your rugs after a party.
Bagged vacuums usually have a larger capacity, allowing you to clean more on an initial pass. You don’t have to empty them as often as you’d empty a bagless model, for example. They’re also more powerful, thus suitable to pick up even the most embedded dirt.
7. Use a steamer
A single run-through with a steamer can make all the difference in how your carpets look after a party. This should be the final step in your deep-cleaning routine.
Once you removed all the stains and vacuumed the rugs thoroughly, you should take the time to refresh the floors. If you don’t have a steamer, consider investing in one as it’s a useful appliance that you can use whenever you vacuum.
If you just need one to fix the aftermath of a wild party, you can rent it from a cleaning service.
