Slime, crayon, gum and glitter: kids' room carpet in Joppa

Ground rules for every spot

These apply to everything below:

• Take off as much as you can while it's solid. Use a spoon or a dull butter knife and lift, don't grind.
• Test any liquid in a hidden spot first, like the back of a closet. Dab it on, wait a few minutes, then blot with a white cloth and check the cloth for color.
• Blot. Rubbing frays the fibers and spreads the stain.
• Use a little liquid at a time. Soaking pushes the mess down into the backing and pad.
• Remember what you used. Whoever cleans it next will want to know.

Slime

Scrape up the bulk with a spoon, working from the outside in. Most slime is glue held together by an activator, and a little white vinegar on a cloth can help loosen what's left. Test the vinegar first, dab it on, give it a minute and blot.

Then blot with a cloth dampened in warm water and a drop of dish soap, follow with plain water to rinse, and blot dry. Go easy on the soap, since leftover soap leaves a sticky spot that attracts dirt. Colored slime is the tricky kind. If a tint stays in the fibers after the goo is gone, you're looking at a dye stain, and scrubbing won't lift it.

Crayon

Scrape off the chunks, then vacuum. For the waxy smear left behind, you'll see the warm iron and paper towel trick recommended everywhere. It can pull melted wax up into the towel, but heat can also push color deeper, and some synthetic fibers can melt or turn shiny under an iron that's too hot. If you try it, use a low setting, keep the paper towel between the iron and the carpet, and keep the iron moving.

Color that stays in the fibers after the wax is gone usually needs a solvent spotter matched to the carpet fiber. That's a good one to hand off.

Gum

Freeze it. Fill a plastic bag with ice, hold it on the gum until the gum turns hard and brittle, then chip it off with a spoon. Refreeze and repeat as it softens.

If a few strands are stuck to the tips of cut-pile carpet, you can snip just those tips with small scissors. Don't do that on loop carpet like Berber. Cutting or pulling a loop can start a run that takes out a whole line of yarn. Sticky residue left behind needs a gum remover that's safe for your carpet, so test it first or leave it for us.

Nail polish

Nail polish is the one to be most careful with. Blot wet polish right away with a white cloth, lifting it instead of smearing it.

The remover is where things go wrong. Acetone can damage some carpet fibers, dyes and backing adhesives, and pouring any remover on the carpet spreads the color wider. If you want to try, use a non-acetone remover, put a few drops on a white cloth rather than on the carpet, test it in your hidden spot and blot from the outside edge in. If the color starts to spread, stop. Bright polish on light carpet is a good reason to call instead of experimenting.

Glitter

Glitter doesn't really stain. It just refuses to leave. Vacuum slowly in several directions, then press packing tape or a lint roller onto whatever's left. A slightly damp rubber glove dragged across the pile picks up more.

Glitter glue is part glue, so let it dry, pick off what you can and treat the rest like slime with warm water. Expect stragglers. A full cleaning pulls out a lot more, but a few specks may keep surfacing for a while.

Leave these for us

Stop and call if:

• dye from slime, marker or polish is still in the fibers after the solid part is gone
• you've already tried two or three products on the same spot
• the carpet is wool, which reacts badly to many household products
• the area has gone stiff, sticky or crunchy from earlier treatments
• the spot is so big you'd have to soak the carpet to treat it

When Rich or one of our technicians comes out, the most useful thing you can tell us is what the stain is and what's already been on it. That history decides which spotter gets used.

Planning the cleaning

Once the individual spots are sorted, a kids' room is a good candidate for a full cleaning. The stairs and hallway usually carry the same traffic, plus whatever comes home on shoes from Mariner Point Park. Bedrooms are $65 each up to 200 square feet, a staircase is $65 and a hallway is $35. The visit minimum in Joppa is $175, which two bedrooms and the stairs cover at $195. Details are on carpet cleaning in Joppa, and our reviews are worth a look before you book.