We understand that hair dying can be an extremely messy process. Not just for your hair and skin but also for the carpets and counters in the room. While some of us lay plastic bags and other protective materials over the carpet, accidents can still happen.
In this article, we’ll be sharing with you our methods and tips on how to remove hair dye from carpet. So, let’s begin!
DIY Solution to Get Hair Dye Out of Carpet
It’s important to deal with hair dye stains right away. Once you drop the hair dye on your carpet, you should blot the stain immediately. Don’t rub or scrub. Just blot. Blotting is the best technique here as it removes some of the stains without allowing it to spread or penetrate deeper into the carpet. If you don’t have time to deeply clean the stain at the time of the accident, blot the affected area. It’ll make the carpet cleaning process easier for you when you return to that later.
You’ll need the following:
- Water
- Dishwashing soap, such as Dawn
- Vinegar
- Cleaning cloth
- Paper towel
- Sponge
Check out the comprehensive guide on How to Deep Clean Carpet at Home
Step 1: Scrape or Blot
If you don’t blot the hair dye stain right away after spilling it on your carpet, it might form a hard surface on top of the stain. If that’s the case, take a butter knife or a scrapper and scrape off that first layer of the stain. This step will make the rest of the job way easier for you. As for a fresh stain, blot it with a clean, dry cloth or paper towel to get the stain off as much as possible.
Step 2: Make Your Cleaning Mixture
Go to your kitchen and look for white vinegar and dishwashing soap. Mix 1 tbsp of each with 2 cups of water, preferably cold. You don’t need a specific dishwashing soap; any kind will do the job just fine.
Step 3: Clean the Stain
Back to our stain. Work your cleaning mixture into the hair dye stain using a cleaning cloth, sponge, or paper towel, but don’t scrub!
Instead, use a dapping motion to remove the stain. It’ll likely come off immediately if it’s a fresh stain; keep working the mixture into the carpet. On the other hand, if it’s an old stain, dapping might not be the most effective. You can rub the mixture gently into the stain in this case.
You should always start cleaning the outer edges first and then move to the stain’s centre. This technique helps keep the stain from spreading. Besides that, avoid over-wetting the carpet, which can cause the stain to penetrate deeply and spread. Instead, use small amounts of the cleaning mixture with each dap.
Read More: How to Remove Grease Stain from Upholstery
Step 4: Blot and Repeat
Now that you’ve worked the cleaning solution into the stain, you must blot with a clean cloth or paper towel. Then, repeat the cleaning and blotting steps as often as you need. It usually takes only two applications to remove the stain. However, this varies depending on the hair dye colour and the stain’s freshness.
The older the stain, the harder it will be to remove. In addition, some hair dye colours are more stubborn than others, like black and red. If the stain is stubborn and doesn’t come out quickly, pour some of the cleaning mixture on it and let it soak for 10 to 15 minutes. After that, follow the dapping and plotting technique to remove the stubborn stain entirely.
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Step 5: Rinse
Finally, you need to rinse the affected carpet area. Don’t just pour water on the carpet; it’ll make a lot of mess. Instead, use a sponge and rinse with cool water.
When done with sponging, blot the excess water with paper tissues or a clean, dry cloth. Most importantly, give your carpet time to dry to avoid mould or mildew growth.
Check out how to get ink out of carpet guide too.
Tips on Removing Hair Dye Stains From Carpets
Here are some extra tips for better cleaning results in case of hair dye stains on carpets:
Use Ammonia Instead of Vinegar
The above-mentioned method is extremely effective. However, you might be dealing with a more challenging hair dye stain that will still need more effort from you. In this case, ammonia can be helpful. Ammonia is effective at breaking down stubborn stains, including hair dyes. Be careful, though, as it has a pungent smell.
You also need to be careful not to make it touch your hands. So, wear gloves when using it. Remember the DIY cleaning mixture we did earlier? Instead of using vinegar, we’re going to use ammonia this time.
Mix 1 tsp of dishwashing soap, 1 tbsp of ammonia, and 2 cups of warm water. Follow the steps for the previous method, and your carpet should look brand new again. We recommend you test the solution first on a small area before applying it to the whole stain to ensure it won’t affect the colour of your carpet.
Read more about the Best Way to Get Gum out of Carpet
Apply Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol isn’t effective in removing a complete hair dye stain. However, it does well in cleaning any remaining staining after the initial cleaning.
All you need to do here is apply the rubbing alcohol directly onto the stain and gently work it into the carpet with a cloth or maybe even a Q-tip. Afterwards, rinse with cold water.
Use Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a bleach, so you should only use it on white carpets. You can use it on cream or beige carpets as a last resort. You need to press the hydrogen peroxide onto the stain with a cotton swab or a sponge. Leave it for a few minutes, then rinse with cold water.
If the stain is more stubborn, you might need to let it sit longer. You can leave it for a few hours or maybe even a day, depending on the stain’s bad and stubbornness.
Check out our how to remove paint from carpet guide here.
Wrapping Up
If none of the above-mentioned tips worked for you, which is highly unlikely, you could find plenty of commercial cleaning products that clean hair dye stains. One last thing to be aware of is that some stains might not come off. It’s not that you didn’t do the cleaning right or the method doesn’t work. It’s just an “it is what it is” situation. Nothing you can do here except consider buying a new carpet.
