Spilling peanut butter on a carpet can seem much worse than it actually is, so let’s learn how to get peanut butter out of carpet in the easiest way today.
To put it simply, you first need to scrape away as much peanut butter as possible and then tackle the remaining stain with a cleaning solution. You can then rinse the area thoroughly and allow it to dry, and then use baking soda to absorb any residue that is left behind.
Peanut butter spills are much more common than you would think, so let’s jump straight into the detailed steps so that you can quickly and easily get rid of any peanut butter from your carpet.
Removing Peanut Butter From Carpet in 6 Easy Steps
Before you start there are a couple of items that you need to get which are listed below:
- Dish Soap
- A small container such as a bowl
- Baking Soda
- Clean dishcloths
- Vacuum cleaner
- Putty knife or Tablespoon
- Distilled white vinegar
Once you’ve collected these items you’re ready to tackle the peanut butter.
1. Scrape As Much Peanut Butter Up As Possible
Use a putty knife or tablespoon to gently scrape away as much peanut butter away as possible. This will be easier if there hasn’t been much time since the spill as peanut butter can begin to melt and absorb into the carpet quickly.
Work parallel to carpet fibres and try not to apply much pressure perpendicular to any one particular fibre as this can cause damage which can lead to fuzzing and carpet shedding.
2. Mix The Cleaning Solution
After you have got rid of most of the solid peanut butter you should be left with just a small amount of solid peanut butter as well as oil that has been absorbed into the fibres.
At this stage, mix two cups of warm water, 1 tablespoon of dish soap and 2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar together in the container.
3. Apply The Solution Using A Clean Cloth
Soak a clean dishcloth into the solution and wring it out until damp.
Clean the remaining peanut butter using the damp cloth working from the outside to the center in a circular motion, rinsing the cloth regularly to keep it clean. Don’t worry about leaving soap residue behind at this point, just try and remove as much of the peanut butter as possible.
4. Rinse The Residue Out
Once you’ve removed as much peanut butter as possible use another damp cloth – this time dampened with just water – to rinse the soap residue away.
Follow the same procedure as before and keep rinsing the cloth with water to keep it clean and properly remove the soap residue. The reason for removing the soap residue is that it can still contain small amounts of peanut butter as well as other dirt and debris that can cause stains and marks if left to dry.
5. Allow The Area To Dry
After the soap residue is removed allow the area to air dry fully.
This can take anywhere from a couple of hours to over 24 hours depending on how warm the room is and what type of carpet you have, but you can always lower this time by increasing the temperature of the room.
6. Apply Baking Soda
Once the area has become fully dry sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda over the entire area.
Baking soda works great for removing odors and soaking up any remaining oils that are present, which makes it perfect to finish the job of removing peanut butter from carpet.
All you have to do once the baking soda is applied is leave it for a few hours or ideally overnight to let it do its job. Once that time is over simply vacuum it away and you should notice that any remaining oil or smell has been removed.
What About Old Peanut Butter Stains?
If you have a peanut butter stain that has been left for a long amount of time, we recommend using a solvent-based stain remover to try and remove it.
This is because a solvent-based remover will have a greater chance of removing older stains than the method above.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, we hope you have a better understanding of what to do when you spill peanut butter on your carpet.
If you have any other techniques that you have tried and has success with then please get in touch and let us know.