In case you were wondering, you can get paint out of carpet. I decided to perform this science experiment completely, 100% for the benefit of my readers and NOT because I spilled about a cup’s worth of trim paint onto the floor as I left behind a paint tray liner tipped precariously towards the floor as I moved on to my next project. Nope, I did it just for you, dear reader. Just for you.
In case you find yourself in a similar predicament as you tackle your summer projects, here’s what I recommend.
Step 1: Do a little of this:
Step 2: After you stop running around in circles, thinking “oh, $hit, Randy’s (er, or whoever is your partner in crime…) gonna kill me”, find your nearest WHITE towel-like device. This can be of the paper variety, including toilet if that’s all you’ve got. It can also include a dirty, yet once-was-white cloth rag you’ve been using to paint all the other rooms. Just be careful not to dab with the corner covered in Misty gray or Romance pink. Or use the t-shirt that your husband left in the room after the last time he painted. You are in crisis mode, people. No time to worry that it is (was) his favorite shirt!
Do NOT use your fun, green, paper cocktail napkins that you have leftover from your first housewarming party. They may or may not transfer the green dye on to the carpet and you will unnecessarily panic further.
Step 2b: Receive a breezy text from a friend and get paint all over your phone, yourself, and the surrounding area as you respond with a “can’t talk now, home ownership emergency, code red, CODE RED” text. Because you know she would have panicked had you waited until the emergency was over.
Step 3: Using your towel of choice, gently dab up the excess paint. Do NOT apply any pressure at this point. Be gentle like you were giving a ladybug a bath. Gentle pats, gentle pats.
Step 3b: Call the carpet cleaners who are coming next week to see if this is something they can fix. Don’t be discouraged when they say they can, but that wasn’t in the original Living Social deal. Just set aside another $20 for the “I’m a Sucker” fee.
Step 4: Create a concoction of soapy water using whatever you have on hand. Other internets will tell you you need dish soap. My only options were hand soap or clean-30-years-of-soot-off-the-fireplace soap, so I went the gentle route.
Using a clean end of your towel (or new towel!), soak the towel in the water. Really soak it. Drip the water over the offending spot, soaking the paint further. Then dab off. You can start applying a little pressure, but no rubbing. We don’t want to smear the paint! Speaking of smearing – if you have extra towels, you may want to create a border to the stain, so the paint doesn’t spread to the surrounding areas. Enjoy the extra towels while you have them. You will be using them all.
Step 5: Repeat step 4 for eternity, until the water comes up clear, or you run out of any sort of white towel-like option – whatever comes first.
Step 6: Repeat step 5. Seriously, this goes on forever. I think I spent an hour just dabbing.
Step 7: Run a vacuum over the area once you are convinced that you have the majority of the water/paint out of the carpet. You may want to go over the area, back and forth, a few times, but resist the temptation. This will only spread the paint you don’t think is there anymore further.
Step 7b: Clean out the vacuum which now has paint in the hose. Oops.
Step 8: Catch your breath for the first time in an hour and reminder yourself that you were thinking about putting a couch there anyway.
Here was my end result. What do you think?
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