Help-Bleach Spot on New Carpet! Any Ideas?

Updated on May 24, 2010
A.P. asks from Dayton, OH
21 answers

Hello
I am looking for any help. We have neutral colored, mini-shag carpet and I accidently sprayed cleaner w/bleach on it. The spot is in the middle of the living room and about the size of a grapefruit. Just wondering if there is some secret trick or suggestions out there....besides a rug:) Thanks!

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S.P.

answers from Cleveland on

This is not an"educated response" but just a possibility...
First, call a rug place and ask them what they think

I have been getting together supplies for tie dying and have been learning about the process. With clothes (cotton, which might make a difference) if you want a good dye (not to fade) then you soak in soda ash water 30min. (maybe you could spray it on the area) and that will help the dye adhere to the fibers (increases pH blah blah blah)an dthen use a quality dye (look at an art supply store not crafts) and apply while wet from the soda ash water. If you start with a weaker color than the carpet and get stronger you may be able to patch it...
like I said, I've never done it but if you exhaust all else, what's left to loose...or buy a coffee table.

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S.F.

answers from Fort Wayne on

contact a carpet company. they may be able to suggest a product. You can also cut the square out and paste a new piece there. You may also consider having the carpet company dying the fabric back to the original color.

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S.J.

answers from Dayton on

Dear A.,

A good carpet mechanic can cut a patch from a corner or under a couch and swap the squares. Done right you will never know. To find that talent ask around at church or among your friends for someone who knows how to do that.

God Bless,

S.

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C.R.

answers from Cleveland on

A., your not going to like this, but there's nothing to do about bleach on carpet. We just sold our carpet cleaning company, and MANY people wanted me to "do something" about bleach on their carpets. For most spills, FORTUNATELY carpets are now made of synthetic fibers so they are easier to cleans but UNFORTUNATELY they do not hold a dye when the color has been bleached. Now, if you have an obscure spot in a closet that you don't mind a small hole in, you COULD cut it from the closet and patch it in...assuming that the bleached area is on the smaller side :) If you patch, just make sure that your nap is running in the same direction! Good luck! C.

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T.M.

answers from Dayton on

Hi A.,
I would also suggest cutting the area out and replacing it with the same carpet from either a left over piece, or from a corner in the closet. I'd check with the installers or carpet store,they may be able to seam it in for you so no one would ever know.
Best wishes!

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D.B.

answers from Lafayette on

I'm afraid there is nothing you can do about a bleach spot.

Sorry!

Deb B.

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J.B.

answers from Evansville on

We once had our carpet repaired due to a small burn from the fireplace. The local carpet store recommended him. He came over looked at our carpet and came back another day with a small piece of carpet that matched sooooo closely you had to really, really search to find where he put it in. Cost us less than a hundred dollars! It might be worth calling someone local to see!
J.

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D.C.

answers from Cincinnati on

If the carpet is any color of beige, tan etc, I have heard that you can match it with foundation and rub that into the carpet. I have never tried it, but it beats cutting a hole in the carpet!

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M.D.

answers from Indianapolis on

I do not have the number anymore, but Langenwalter Carpet can fix it without a doubt! We used them where I used to work when the cleaning people bleached the carpet. They re-dyed it and you couldn't even tell. If I remember correctly, it wasn't that expensive either.

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S.P.

answers from Indianapolis on

What do you mean by neutral?
Maybe you could dye it with some weak tea.

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F.R.

answers from Columbus on

A.,

Do you have any remnats of the carpet left from when it was put in? You made need to cut a piece to fit where the stain is. I haven't heard of how to PUT color back into carpet. Good luck.

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A.M.

answers from Lafayette on

I have used tea, tea bags, and coffee to "stain" things back to normal.

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M.B.

answers from Lima on

I have known people to spray dye on their carpet. You'd need to check the color match on a place that doesn't show, but it will look better than the bleach mark even if it's not a perfect match.

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L.G.

answers from Cleveland on

If you are a DIYer, I used to this when I worked for Servepro. If your carpet is not berber, and you have remnant carpet or the same carpet in a small closet, use that to create a "cookie". What you do is cut out a square of the remnant that is a at least twice as large as the spot. Take that cut piece, and center it directly over the spot. With a utility knife, cut a large circle around the area of the spot making sure the circle is a lot larger than the spot itself and that you press down to get through both the remnant and the existing carpet. After you're done cutting, pull out the piece that has the spot on it, and replace with the cutout from the remnant. It is like a puzzle cut-out that matches exactly. Use a nail gun and shoot a few mails to secure the "cookie". Then with a brush, brush the fibers to blend the new piece with the edges of the existing. Voila... all done!

An alternative is carpet dying. My friend was talking about having her white carpets dyed a different color since she has little ones. I suspect that the places that can do that may also be able to camouflage your issue.

Unfortunately, I have no company names or referrals. Contact your home owners insurance company and they may make some recommendations so that you don't have to put in a claim.

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J.S.

answers from Houston on

See The Youtube Video at www.carpetdyesticks.com (Dye Carpet cost) I have been in the carpet dyeing business for 28 years and because there were no good solutions for this problem I invented "carpet dye sticks" I think you will agree, they are simple to use and can cover all sorts of stains on carpet.

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C.P.

answers from Toledo on

We have had this happen to dark gray carpet! Contact the manufacturer, they make dye to match and they will recommend someone who can do it for you, or they will tell you how to do it yourself. Good Luck! C.

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C.B.

answers from Lafayette on

oopsie!! i did that once, but it was much bigger, the entire bottle spilled on my carpet,it was beige colored and right in the middle of the floor was about a 2ft section of solid white. i called my dad & asked him what to do, he said get a box of dye(sold in the laundry section) at walmart & mix it with 1/2 gallon of water & spray it on the area that needs to be colored & then set a fan by it on high & let it dry. he said to be careful not to walk on it until it's dry, something about lifting the color back out...i did it and was really shocked..dad knew what he was talking about....LOL. good luck & god bless.

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C.H.

answers from Cincinnati on

There is really nothing you can do. Carpet is a dyed fiber. Is your carpet a solid color or multi. If solid you can get the same color dye and dye it. If it is multi color I guess its time to replace it.

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K.Z.

answers from Cleveland on

A.,

How about a coffee table--just kidding!

I don't think you can put the color back, unfortunately. did you have the rug installed, or was it already there when you moved in? do you have any scraps left over? you may be able to cut out the spot that is stained and "plug" it with a scrap of the same size. You might want to ask your friendly neighborhood carpet installer about this, they may be good at this if you are reluctant to try. Also, if you had it installed you could call the place where you bought it, they may have a remnant or something of the same stuff left over.

hope this helps.

Good luck!

K. Z.

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S.L.

answers from Columbus on

I have a bizarre suggestion that I discovered by accident several years ago.

Depending on the color of your carpet, you might be able to stain the spot with ~ get ready ~ hair dye! If the carpet is a very pale wheat color, you might want to try the palest ash blonde shade you can find. if at all possible (if you have a scrap of carpeting you can test it on first), reproduce the bleached spot and then mix a small amount of permanent hair color. Apply it to the spot to check for an accurate color match.

Several years ago, I spilled a few drops of bleach on our beige carpet. At the time, I was lightening my dark brown hair to a medium brown by using a medium blonde ash shade. When I got a spot of it on a white towel, I noticed that it matched the color of my carpet. I applied a small amount to the bleached spot on the carpet and then dabbed up the excess right away. It blended in so well, no one can tell where the white spot used to be.

If you try this with Revlon's Colorsilk, it should cost less than $5 for the hair color, and it will be a permanent fix. But, as I said, only try it if you have a sample or scrap to test it on first!

The only other solution would be to find a pretty area rug to cover the spot. :(

Good luck!

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M.M.

answers from Indianapolis on

This happened to me, except ours was the size of 2 grapefruits. :) What we ended up doing was calling the carpet people. They got a free sample of our exact carpet, and did a patch. This way the entire carpet does not have to be replaced. It was much less expensive. You cannot tell at all that there was a patch placed there, no sems or anything. They cut out the bleached portion, and fit in the free sample patch like a puzzle.

Hope this helps!

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