Spilled primer on dark carpet. Am I SOL?

June 6, 2005 7:10 PM

Arrrrrrgh! Spilled a LOT of primer on dark outdoor carpeting (in the breezeway). Anybody ever successfully cleaned this up, or am I doomed to replace the rug?

I thought I was miserable just having to paint the stupid breezeway, but at least I had a sense of pride going on about how I was enduring the misery and doing such a good job. Then, of course, the paint tray fell off the ladder while I was moving it...and of course, it didn't fall anywhere near the drop cloth. Instant mess 3' in diameter. I guess club soda isn't going to get this out...?

posted by clever sheep to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Best answer: oil or latex? Latex you can sometimes peel off with a putty knife when it dries or rinse out when wet. (Squeegee as much up as you can, then scrub with warm water and a carpet sponge. The danger here is getting the carpet pad under it really wet and creating a mildew issue. For a stain that big, you'll want to position a good floor fan at that spot for a couple of days. (I don't know if outdoor carpet has padding...my experience lies in interior disasters. ;)

Oil will require a solvent. Never apply a solvent directly to the carpet. For instance, mineral spirits on a rag, dabbed (not rubbed) might work. You can delaminate the carpet strands if you use too much solvent though, then the strands get all fuzzy and poofy instead of sticking together in a bundle. So you get a "poodle" spot in the carpet.

Professional carpet installers can usually cut and repair bits of carpet without having to replace the entire carpet, assuming the make/color can be matched.
posted by dejah420 at 7:49 PM on June 6, 2005

If it has dried or is oil based, you will have to replace the carpet.
posted by Specklet at 9:40 AM on June 7, 2005

Response by poster: Thank you both!
posted by clever sheep at 11:50 AM on June 7, 2005

I was unfortunate enough to spill 4 litres of black gloss exterior paint (latex I think but I'm not sure) on a short pile beige carpet. We cleaned as much as we could by scooping/dabbing it up; applied a couple cans of spot cleaner and then two hours later when the stores openned rented a steam cleaner machine and went over the whole carpet front and back a couple dozen times.

The spot is more noticeable from where the beige has bleached to light beige/white but there is also a sort of molted grey tinge where the paint was spilt.
posted by Mitheral at 2:44 PM on June 7, 2005