Removing Dye from Carpet?

Archive: Removing Dye from Carpet

I laid an accent rug on top of my Berber carpet in my basement for a few months and some of the of the blue carpet dye from the accent rug bled through into the Berber. Any tips on how to remove it?

I have tried warm water and liquid dish washing detergent, as well as Resolve and a Steam Cleaner.

Sean

Answers:

Removing Dye from Carpet

I'd be tempted, if the Berber is white, to use a 1/3 cup bleach, 2/3 cup warm water, and a few drops of liquid "white" dish soap in a hand sprayer, using a lot of paper towels to step on after spraying and letting set only 1 minute. If any dye comes out, repeat until all is out. It's not very hopeful since there are so many tight loops in Berber, but it's synthetic, and might release the dye you don't want there.

Once it seems to release, I'd immediately rinse with a steamer vac several times with cold water and a little vinegar to neutralize any residual bleach-water. Do this "only" if you are able to open the windows, and "only" if you have "no" pets. If you do, leave them with friends for a day until the spot is totally dry.

If the Berber is not white, I'd try straight alcohol sprayed and blotted, even if it takes the whole bottle and a whole roll of paper towels repeated until all up. No need to rinse after alcohol, because it will all evaporate. Be patient, don't give up easily.

God bless and help you. (11/01/2007)

By Lynda

Removing Dye from Carpet

The Berber was not white, so I had to try the alcohol trick. I was quite skeptical honestly, since I had never heard of trying such a thing, but I tried it and slowly but surely it removed most of the blue coloring. I applied it, dabbed/rubbed and let it dry 3 separate times. I can still see a slight tint because I know where it was originally, but when I ask others to try to find a stain on the carpet, they don't see it at all. It was a 1 inch by 3 foot line before, now it's totally gone. Thanks Lynda. (11/10/2007)

By Sean