It doesn’t matter whether it’s an overexcited child or an adult who’s eaten a slow-cooked chicken that turned out to be a half-cooked chicken – vomit is vomit. And it’s totally gross. But it's a fact of life, and we all puke sometimes. But love is stronger than puke, so of course you’ll take care of the accident that happened to the one you love.
Let us show you how to get sick out of carpet fibres quickly and easily, including how to remove the excess plus tips for stopping the smell in its tracks. You’ve got this. It’s also worth mentioning that whenever you use any new cleaning solution or method on your carpet, do a spot test first in a hidden area. This is to make sure there aren’t any dodgy reactions that’ll mean you don’t just need to know how to clean up vomit from the carpet, you also need to know how to hide the damage that the cleaner’s done too. Agh!
Cleaning up vomit on wool or silk carpets
We need to start with a quick piece of advice if you own silk or wool carpets. They don’t take well to DIY cleaning solutions or shop-bought cleaning products. So when it comes to how to clean up vomit on carpets made from these materials, it’s best to call in the pros.
How to clean up dried vomit
The following advice on how to clean up vomit relates to the fresh stuff. Cleaning up vomit is much easier when it’s still wet – gross, but true. It not only lessens the damage that the puke’s enzymes and acid can do to your carpet, it also reduces the potential for the disgusting smell to set in.
But it’s not always possible to clean it up when it’s fresh, so if you need to know how to clean up dried vomit, we’re here to help. The first step is to dampen the puke with a warm water-soaked kitchen towel. Press it over the stain (don’t rub), making sure you don’t oversaturate the area. That’ll make it easier to remove, but it’ll also intensify the smell – you have been warned! You can then go ahead and follow the instructions below.
How to get sick out of carpet surfaces – the first stage
You’ll want to get as much puke off the surface of the carpet as possible, so pop on some rubber gloves and scrape off all those chunks of breakfast with a blunt object such as a spoon. Just remember to thoroughly disinfect it afterwards, either by washing in the dishwasher, or sitting it in boiling water for five minutes. If you’d prefer to know how to get vomit out of carpet surfaces with something disposable, you can use a strong piece of kitchen towel.
Tip: Use Plenty kitchen towel to clean up excess vomit (and to dampen dried vomit) and it’ll help contain the mess. It’s super-strong even when wet, so it won’t break down or cause any more chaos. Result.
How to get vomit out of carpets – the materials you need
Fortunately, there aren’t many things you need when figuring out how to clean vomit from the carpet. Here’s the list:
- Spoon
- Kitchen towel
- Water
- White vinegar or carpet stain cleaner
- Rubber gloves
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Vacuum cleaner
How to clean vomit from carpet fibres – the step-by-step process
Now you’re ready to learn the method for how to clean up vomit on the carpet thoroughly:
- Pop on your gloves and start by dampening dried vomit (if necessary) and removing the excess vom with a spoon or kitchen towel (as detailed above).
- Now, choose your cleaning solution – either spray on a carpet stain cleaner (following the manufacturer’s instructions) or use a homemade option of equal parts white vinegar and water.
- If using the vinegar solution, dip a piece of strong kitchen towel into it and blot (don’t rub) the stain. You might need to do this several times, using a fresh kitchen towel each time. Keep it contained, as you don’t want to over-soak the area.
- Dip another sheet of kitchen towel into plain, clean water and dab at the stain to help rinse out the vinegar solution. Use dry kitchen towel to blot dry.
- Leave the area to completely air-dry, or soak up the moisture with a light layer of bicarbonate of soda.
- Vacuum up the bicarb once it’s dried to a powder.
This bicarb step is important if you want to know how to clean up vomit and get rid of the smell. Alternatively, you can use a specific carpet deodoriser product to remove any lingering odours.
Now you know how to clean up vomit from carpet surfaces and fibres, you can help your poorly pal recover and show that your love knows no bounds – not even vomit!
