How to Dye Carpet for Free

Although you can dye your own carpet by purchasing and applying a dye kit or hire a professional to do the job, there are ways to dye carpet for free using common household items that tend to create stains. Using different stain-producing agents and creating a multicolored carpet is a great way to dye carpet for free and make existing stains on the carpet less noticeable.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• Old clothes
• Warm water
• Bleach
• Old towels, washcloths or sponges
• Wine
• Juice
• Coffee grinds
• Tea leaves
• Powdered drink mixes
• Spray bottle
• Vacuum
• Carpet shampooer

Instructions

1. Examine the existing stains on your carpet. If you know how those stains developed, use similar stain agents to multicolor your carpet and camouflage the stains. Gather together all the solutions in your home that cause stains. Prepare for the job by removing all furniture from the room and donning some old clothes and rubber gloves.

2. Bleach out the carpet in random spots. Mix 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of warm water and apply the bleach water to the carpet with an old rag, towel or sponge. The diluted bleach will pull the colors from the carpet without completely destroying and dissolving the carpet fibers. Do not apply dripping wet towels or sponges; instead blot the bleach water onto the carpet for a textured effect. Allow the bleach spots to dry overnight before continuing your free carpet dyeing.

3. Repeat the blotting method with buckets of wine and juice. Use different colored wines and juices and wring out towels, washcloths and sponges before blotting onto the carpet in alternating spots. Allow the wine and juice stains to dry overnight.

4. Mix powdered drink mixes of various colors, tea leaves and coffee grinds into a container and sprinkle the dry ingredients across the entire carpet. Use a spray bottle to dampen the surface of the carpet after sprinkling on the mixture of staining materials. Allow the carpet to set for a few hours and spray on another application of water to dampen the carpet and cause staining and dyeing by the dry powders, leaves and coffee grinds.

5. Vacuum the dried carpet to remove leaves, grinds and powder residue. Pass the vacuum over the entire carpet 10 or more times to completely lift any debris from deep in the carpet.

6. Shampoo the carpet to lift out any stains that will release freely and prevent the carpet from rubbing off on your clothes and skin later. Allow the carpet to dry after the first shampooing and then shampoo again. Return the furniture to the room after the carpet dries a second time.

Tips & Warnings

• This method of dyeing carpet for free will eventually wear out as colors fade. This method will not harm the carpet and can be covered by a professional or self-applied dye job using purchased carpet dye.

Resources

• A2Z Carpet: Guidelines for Stain and Spot Removal from Carpet and Rugs