How To Get Hair Dye Out Of Your Carpet: Tips And Tricks

If you dye your hair at home, you’ll know it can be a messy affair. Not only can the dye end up on your hands and clothes, but it can spill onto the floor and carpet.

Can you get a hair dye stain out of your carpet? Whether the hair dye is fresh or it’s dried on the carpet fibers, you can eliminate it.

Best of all, you don’t have to call the cleaning professionals right away. Here are the most effective methods of removing hair dye from your carpet.

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How To Get Hair Dye Out Of Carpet Without Products

Before you try using liquid cleaning solutions on your carpet, you should opt for a less-intensive method.

If you catch the hair dye stain when it’s still fresh, quickly blot it away with a dry cloth or paper towels. For larger messes, a spoon or spatula will work well to scoop up the liquid without making the dye penetrate deeper into the carpet’s fibers.

If you only notice the hair dye long after it’s spilled onto the carpet, you can scrape it away with a dull knife or scraper. Be gentle so you don’t cut or damage the fibers of the carpet.

Whichever method you use, a good tip is to vacuum over the stain on the carpet. This will help to eliminate any hair dye residue.

These methods might be enough. If not, you’ll have to move on to liquid solutions to help you eliminate the hair dye.

How To Get Hair Dye Out Of Carpet With Cleaning Solutions

Use Dish Soap, Rubbing Alcohol, And Vinegar

This is an easy cleaning method to remove hair dye from a carpet because you probably already have the ingredients in your home.

Mix together two cups of warm water, a tablespoon of dish soap, and one tablespoon of white vinegar. Make sure you mix together all the ingredients well.
Take a clean cloth and dip it into the mixture. Wring it out to remove any excess liquid.
Press the damp cloth on the stain – don’t rub it as this can cause the dye to get more embedded into the carpet.
Take a second cloth and make sure it’s clean and dry. Use this to blot the area. This will start to soak up the stain. You might have to press the cleaning liquid into the carpet and then blot it with the dry cloth several times until the stain goes away.
When the stain has been successfully removed, dip a sponge in clean water and dab the area. Then dry it with a dry cloth.
If you can see that the stain is still there, apply a bit of rubbing alcohol to it. You will have to pour some alcohol onto a clean cloth and then blot the stain until it goes away.

Use Clarifying Shampoo

Using a clarifying shampoo on your carpet is another easy DIY method that you should try before moving onto a more intensive cleaning method.

Since a clarifying shampoo is designed to remove hair products from hair, it can work well to remove hair dye from your carpet. Here’s how to use it:

Mix the shampoo with cold water, in a 50-percent solution.
Apply it to the hair dye stain and let it sit for 15 minutes.
Dab away any excess shampoo with a sponge.
Wash the area of the stain with cold water.
Repeat the above steps if required.

Use Hairspray And Astringent

This is considered to be another effective way to remove hair dye. An example of an astringent is white vinegar, but if you don’t have any in the house you can use witch hazel, which also works well for grease-based stains so it’s got many uses around the home.

Spray a few drops of hairspray on the stain.
Allow it to sit for about five minutes.
With a wet sponge, rinse the stain.
Apply some astringent and let it sit for another five minutes.
Dab the stain with a clean cloth to let the hairspray and astringent seep deeper into the carpet’s fibers.
After the stain has been removed, use a sponge to apply water to the stain and dab it dry with a clean cloth.

Use Ammonia

Now, if the stain is more stubborn, you will require the use of chemicals to eliminate it. When using ammonia, make sure you ventilate the room in which you’re working and protect your hands with gloves.

In a bucket, mix together two cups of warm water with one teaspoon of dish soap and one tablespoon of ammonia.
Dip a clean, dry cloth in the ammonia and wring it out to remove any excess.
Dab the ammonia-soaked cloth onto the stain so that you cover it completely.
Leave the solution to work is magic for half an hour.
Once the 30 minutes is up, dip a fresh cloth in the solution and dab it onto the stain. Let it sit for another five minutes.
When you can see the stain has been removed, wet a cloth with water and dab the carpet thoroughly. Then, blot it with a clean cloth. Allow the carpet to dry for 24 hours.

Use Hydrogen Peroxide

This is another cleaning method that can work well, especially if your hair dye stain is really stubborn.

However, you need to be careful as hydrogen peroxide can alter the color of your carpet so it should only be used as a last resort if no other cleaning method has worked.

With the use of an eyedropper, apply hydrogen peroxide to the hair dye stain. Cover it completely.
Once you’ve applied the hydrogen peroxide, let it work for 24 hours.
Then, take a clean sponge and dip it in water. Blot the stain with the water.
Once the stain has lifted, leave the carpet to air dry.

When Should You Call The Carpet Cleaning Professionals?

If you’ve tried various methods to remove hair dye from your expensive carpet but nothing seems to budge the stain, you will have to reel in the pros.

Since professional cleaners will have experience in removing tough and stubborn stains, they will definitely help you to make your carpet look as good as new.

Calling the professionals is also a good idea if your carpet is made out of a delicate material that can be damaged easily, such as wool, silk, or nylon.

If you have managed to remove most of the stain but some of it is still there despite your best efforts, a professional will be able to bleach the stain and dye the carpet for you.

Extra Tips For Getting Hair Dye Out Of Carpets

If you’re worried about using a cleaning solution on your carpet, especially if it’s strong like ammonia, you should test it out on a small area of the carpet, preferably in a spot where it’s not noticeable, before you apply it to the hair dye stain.
You can use OxyClean or other non-peroxide, non-ammonia cleaners on your carpet if you have to remove a hair dye stain. But the problem is that it will bleach the carpet. If you want to lighten the entire carpet, you’ll have to mix OxyClean with your regular carpet-cleaning product to ensure the carpet will have a uniform appearance.

Conclusion

If you’ve spilled some hair dye on your carpet, you’ll naturally fear that your carpet will never look as good as new again. But this is not necessarily the case.

Before you call a professional carpet cleaner, try one of the cleaning methods we’ve featured in this article to make your carpet look lustrous and beautiful again.