No matter how careful you are when you are painting the walls, the roof or even worse, the skirting board, it seems like getting paint on the carpet or your prized hardwood floors is something that always happens.
My youngest son once stood on the top of a paint can while we were painting his room and I am sure you can guess what happened next! Anyway, today I am sharing with you some tips on how you can remove paint from either carpet or hardwood floors.
How To Remove Paint From Carpet
To start off, let’s have a look at how you can get rid of those annoying paint stains from your carpet.
Treat That Stain First
The first thing I suggest is using something that is actually proven to get rid of paint stains. There is a great product called Goo Gone, but there are many others that do a similar type of thing.
You give it a good spray on the paint-covered area, leave it to sit for what the bottle tells you. After this, use a butter knife or maybe even a paint scraper and get off all that top layer of paint.
Now Get Rid Of The Stain On The Carpet Fibers
Before you start celebrating just yet, let me tell you that there is more work to do now. Now that you have gotten rid of the hard paint that was on the surface, you now can get to work on the actual stain that is left on your carpet fibers.
You can get some actual carpet cleaner that is designed to get rid of deep stains in carpet fibers. However, if you do not have the time to run to the store, just go to the kitchen and use your washing-up liquid.
Make a good mix of the washing-up liquid and warm water. Give the area a light spraying with the mixture.
Use an old white cloth and dab the stain and you will notice that the stain will start to come off the carpet and go onto the towel, this is how you know it is working.
It will take a little while, but eventually, the stain will come away. Make sure you use white rags/towels as colored ones can stain your carpet even more!
Vacuum The Carpet
The very last step is vacuuming the carpet. Now how you go about doing this is all down to you. The first time I got rid of a paint stain, I actually shampooed the carpet to really make sure.
Then once it was fully dry, I gave the carpet a really good vacuuming and it was all gone. You do not have to do the shampoo part if you feel the stain is already 100 percent gone, but if you feel there is a little hint of it left, shampooing the carpet can finish it off.
How To Get Paint Off Hardwood Floors
I know what you are thinking, “if I get paint on my hardwood floor, I will just use a wet cloth or baby wipes to clean it off” I was right there with you with this kind of thinking, until I tried it and I ended up spreading the stain even more! So that is why today I am giving you a few tips on how you can get rid of any paint stains you may have on your wooden floors.
Putty Knife
A putty knife or even a softer bread knife can work wonders in getting rid of smaller paint speckles. Gently flick them off, making sure to not scratch the floor underneath as you do.
Paint Thinner
If that paint is on there extra good, you may need the help of some paint thinner. Apply it to a pad or sponge and use some superhero-level elbow grease to get it off. This is not the easiest way, but for really stubborn paint speckles it can work wonders.
Some people will tell you to use acetone or lacquer thinner if the speckles are really stubborn, but these can damage the wood so I would not recommend this, only as an extreme last resort.
Warm Water
Of course, you do not want a lot of water on your hardwood floors, but if the paint is latex-based a little bit of a dampening with a cloth should soften it up enough so you can use a paint scraper (plastic is best) to gently remove the paint.
A Heat Gun
Ok, so this is a little bit on the extreme side and if you do not know what you are doing it can really mess up your floors and be dangerous. However, you can use a heat gun to blast the paint and then gently remove it with a paint scraper. Once you have got the paint all up, make sure you give the floor a wipe down.
You Can Purchase A Paint Remover
If you go to the hardware store or even your local Walmart or big supermarket, chances are there will be a whole shelf dedicated to paint remover/stain remover products.
Goo Gone, Goof Off, and Krud Kutter are some of the better-known products, but there are a ton of them. If you do not fancy using one of the home remedies, you can always try one of these products, just be warned that they may take a few attempts to completely get rid of a paint stain.
Using A Sander
WHAT!!! Is no doubt what some of you are saying right now and for the average Joe and the DIY novice (which is me by the way) I would never suggest this.
However, if you have a paint disaster on your hands, I am talking about one of the kids or dogs knocking over a whole can all over the floor, a sander may be what you need.
Especially if the paint is really thick. Without a doubt, a sander will get rid of that paint, but if you have never used one before, I would strongly advise against it.
So there you have it, a few ways for you to remove paint from carpet or hardwood floors. Removing paint is never easy, so do not rush it, roll up your sleeves and make sure you are ready to put in the work to get rid of that paint.
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