How Do I Remove Interior Paint From Carpet?

Painting can be a messy job.

Interior paint is specifically designed for indoor use. This means you open your home up to paint drip, spills and splatters. Interior paint can be difficult to remove from carpet. Interior paint dries rather quickly to carpet fibers and the longer the paint is left on the carpet the harder it is to remove. Fortunately, with a little hard work you can remove the interior paint and restore the look of your carpet.

Things You'll Need

• Butter knife
• Rubbing alcohol
• Small container
• White cloths
• Bucket
• Water
• Liquid dish soap
• Wooden spoon
• Spray bottle
• Paper towels
• Brick or other heavy object
• Hydrogen peroxide

Instructions

1. Scrape the interior paint with the back of a butter knife. Scrape the carpet gently.

2. Pour rubbing alcohol into a small container. Dip a white cloth in the rubbing alcohol and blot the interior paint stain with the cloth. Begin at edge of the paint stain and work towards the center. Continue blotting the carpet--and dampening the cloth in rubbing alcohol whenever needed--until you have removed the paint. If the stain is removed, stop. If not, continue with the rest of the process.

3. Fill a bucket with 1 quart of water and add 1/4 of liquid dish soap. Make sure the soap does not contain bleach. Mix the contents together with a wooden spoon.

4. Saturate a clean, white cloth in the mixture. Blot the area with the cloth until you have removed the interior paint from the carpet.

5. Fill a clean spray bottle with cool water and rinse the area with the water. Blot the carpet with paper towels to remove the excess liquid.

6. Spray the carpet once again with the water. Fold several paper towels and place them on the damp area. Place a brick or other heavy object on top of the paper towels and allow the area to dry.

7. Remove the brick, paper towels and examine the carpet. If there are still traces of the interior paint remaining on the carpet, apply hydrogen peroxide to a clean cloth and blot the area with the cloth. Allow the hydrogen peroxide to sit on the carpet for one hour.

8. Blot the area with the cloth saturated in the hydrogen peroxide until all traces of the interior paint is removed. Allow the carpet to air dry.

References

• University of Illinois Extension Stain Solutions: Paint, Solvent or Water Based
• TipKing: Remove Paint from Carpets
• Mrs. Clean: Paint Stain Removal