Whether you prefer a pint of your favorite craft brew or you enjoy kicking it with your friends over some classic cans of Miller High Life, the fact is that many, many people enjoy beer. All types of beer.
The problem is that as good as beer can be, it can also be messy and leave ugly stains on our favorite items, including our carpets.
The good news is with the proper cleaning strategies and the right products; you can get even the most stubborn stains out.
So those with beer carpet stains, never fear, the solutions are here! Continue reading to learn about our favorite effective strategies for cleaning beer out of carpet:
Steps in Getting Beer Out of Carpet
Don’t worry, cleaning beer out of carpet isn’t a complex task. However, if you regularly drink beer, it’ll be best to prepare these tools on hand, so if somebody accidentally trashes beer on your carpet, you’ll be ready.
- White towels (or paper towel)
- Dishwashing soap
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Vacuum cleaner (preferably with a brush roll)
Step 1: Move Fast to Clear Up a Beer Spill
The most crucial point to know about beer stains and spills is that they, like many other types of stains and spills, can most readily be cleaned if you act as quickly as possible.
Don’t allow a beer spill to settle if you can avoid it. The longer it sits on the carpet fibers, the hard it will be to get out effectively.
So, step one, the moment you or a friend tips over a glass of crisp and delicious beer, grab a cloth towel or as many paper towels as you can and throw it/them directly onto the beer spill.
Then, once the cloth towel or paper towel has absorbed sufficient beer, take it off, wring it out or grab some new paper towels and apply it/them directly again to the stain.
The best approach to avoiding these types of spills from staining and spreading is to clean them with a blotting action and not with a smear and wipe movement.
Once you’ve removed as much beer as you can through blotting, then you can try to use cold water to flush out the rest, but in most cases, with severe spills, you’ll need to move on to a cleaning product.
Step 2: Grab the Dishwashing Soap
Dishwashing soap can be a fantastically effective product to use on both fresh and slightly old beer stains.
It’s something that you’ll most likely have at home.
However, it is crucial that when choosing to use dishwashing soap to clean up a beer spill that you only choose a cleanser that is unscented and to use in moderation.
You may want to avoid using scented dishwashing soaps. These products contain a bundle of chemicals that may have an adverse chemical reaction to the beer spill and make it harder to clean. Or worst, cause discoloration and make the odor of stale beer even worse.
Also, avoid using too much dishwashing soap as it can be difficult to flush out.
The proper ratio is using three to five drops of unscented dish soap to one cup of warm water.
Add these two ingredients together in a spray bottle, shake thoroughly, and then spray the mixture directly onto the beer stain.
Clean up the solution and any beer remnants by using the same blotting technique.
Step 3: Try White Vinegar and Baking Soda
If you have a stubborn stain that a dishwashing soap isn’t taking out, then you might try to upgrade to a white vinegar and water mixture.
White vinegar is an excellent stain remover for beer and other spilled liquids since it is highly acidic.
This acidity is exactly what you might need to counteract ugly build-ups and the brinish crust that beer can leave behind.
Meanwhile, baking soda in such a concoction works wonders at neutralizing the acidic odor of both the white vinegar itself as well as the funky beer orders.
It’s important to note that unlike commercial air fresheners that mask odors, baking soda works to absorb and neutralize them, thereby permanently eliminating them from your carpet.
So, if you have just a light, fresh beer spill that you want to clean out, you may get away with using a pure white vinegar and water solution that contains roughly one part vinegar and two parts room temperature water.
Mix these two liquids and spray directly onto the stained area until it is thoroughly damp. Then, blot as before until all liquids are absorbed.
If you have a genuinely stubborn beer stain that has been sitting and percolating in your carpet for a while, then you’re going to want to upgrade from liquid white vinegar solution to white vinegar and baking soda paste solution.
Here, instead of water, mix equal parts white vinegar and baking soda until what you have is a thick paste. Then, use an old toothbrush or a thick cloth to apply the paste to the stain directly.
Now, while a toothbrush is great to use on carpet as it can get into those tiny areas, it is once again important to emphasize that you don’t want to scrub the mixture on the surface.
Vigorous scrubbing or smearing will only act to work the beer stain more deeply into the carpet fibers. Another negative consequence is potential damage to the carpet fibers.
To apply directly, pressing the paste firmly into the carpet fibers but taking care not to smear it. Allow this paste to set and dry before removing it via a water blotting technique.
Step 4: Always Finish With a Vacuum
Regardless if you follow the processes above, or if you use another beer removal method altogether (such as a commercial cleaner or enzyme-based cleaner), the final step should always be the same: Vacuuming.
Vacuuming is an integral part of cleaning beer as it ensures all crusty and icky particles that you weren’t able to blot up is picked up and away from the carpet.
Removing the remnants is important to remove any lingering odors. A good vacuum with enough airflow will be able to tackle this task. Opt for a variant with a motorized brush to ensure that all the residue is picked up.
This will then leave you with a fresh and clean carpet.
How to Get Beer Smell Out of Carpet?
Assuming that you’ve done the steps above and there’s still beer odor, you can try sprinkling baking soda and leave it a least for one hour. Remove the baking soda using a vacuum cleaner. Keep the windows open for circulation, which helps with eliminating the odor.
If baking soda does not work, then you can opt for a more potent odor eliminating products like the NonScents Carpet Odor Eliminator. There are two types – powder and liquid in a spray bottle or concentrate (for large quantities).
Read the instructions on the correct ratio and application procedures. Remember to always finish the process using a vacuum cleaner to remove any residue.
For more extreme odors, running a carpet cleaner might be a good option to remove the odor.
