How to Remove Paint from Carpet
Many people choose to repaint their home interiors on their own to save on money, but some interior redecorating tasks can end up a mess. Carpeting can often be the very first victim of paint spills and streaks, especially if you’re painting a wall or the ceiling of a room. Here are some ways to remove paint from carpet.
Protecting Carpet
The first thing you should do when repainting a carpeted room is to remove the rug or carpet. Wall-to-wall carpeting, however, can be quite difficult to remove especially if it is glued or stapled to the floor. To avoid the inconvenience of removing built-in carpet, you need to protect it with a sheeting material before painting the room.
Newspaper seems like a convenient and easy way to cover and protect carpet, but some paints (especially water-based ones) can permeate through the paper. Instead of using newspaper, you can use plastic sheeting or tarpaulin to cover wall-to-wall carpeting.
Paint Removal Remedies
The first thing you need to do is to determine what your carpet is made of. Carpets made with synthetic fibers tend to withstand chemical treatments and cleaning agents better than ones made with natural fibers. It’s also best to remove paint stains when the paint is half-dry, so that you can avoid spreading the paint around the nap and fibers of the carpeting.
When paint gets spilled on your carpet, try the following stain removal remedies:
Hot soapy water. The hot water helps dissolve some of the hardened paint, and the soap can encapsulate some of the dirt and paint particles to be washed or vacuumed away later on.
Carpet cleaner. Carpet cleaning solutions are readily available on the market, and you can simply follow the package instructions on how to use it.
Paint thinner. Mix two parts of paint thinner to one part of water, and dab on the solution to the semi-dry paint.
Nail polish remover. Apply a small amount of acetone-based nail polish remover on the paint speckles. The remedy works best on small blotches of paint; for spilled paint, you need to use paint thinner or other cleaning remedies.
Spray lubricant. WD-40 or any other metal lubricant is excellent for use on spilled paint. Simply spray a small amount of lubricant on the semi-dry blotch of paint, and scrape it off with a rough cloth.
Splashes and blotches of paint on a carpet can be annoying, but that doesn’t mean another part of your home decor is ruined. With these tips to remove paint stains on your carpet, you can paint those walls and ceilings with confidence and skill.