People say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and most women spend thousands of dollars on makeup to make themselves more beautiful to others. It seems that now more than ever there is a multitude of makeup products intended to enhance consumers’ natural beauty. However, with all of these products come new cleaning challenges, especially when they are spilled, dripped or rubbed into carpeting. This article will provide you with some helpful information for removing makeup from your carpeting.

Note: It is important to note that before you attempt cleaning your carpet by following these suggested methods, you consult the manufacturer’s instructions and do a test on a small area in a less noticeable spot.

Cleaning Foundation from Carpeting

Most women agree that it’s inevitable that at some point they will knock over their liquid makeup foundation while they’re busy applying it. When this happens, try the following steps to prevent this disaster from becoming a permanent crisis.

Items that you will need:

  • spoon or butter knife
  • clear liquid dish detergent
  • cold water
  • paper towels or microfiber cloths
  • vacuum cleaner
  1. As soon as the spill occurs, use the spoon or butter knife to scrape up as much of the foundation as possible from the carpet. Doing this immediately will help prevent the foundation from reaching deep into the material, causing a tougher stain.
  2. Put a few drops of the liquid dish detergent into the cold water.
  3. After dampening the paper towel or cloth with the soapy mixture, blot the stain gently and work from the outside towards the middle. Be careful not to rub the carpeting while doing this as it could set the stain more.
  4. Continue to dab the stain until the foundation is removed from the carpet.
  5. Use a clean paper towel or microfiber cloth dipped in just water to wet the area and remove any trace of soap.
  6. Using another dry microfiber cloth, blot the area to help it dry out.
  7. When the carpet is completely dry, vacuum the treated area.

How to Remove Eyeliner from Carpet

An even tougher cleaning challenge is when a bottle of liquid eyeliner is knocked over and lands on your carpeting. First, don’t panic and follow the previous steps for removing foundation. If this doesn’t take care of the problem, try the following stronger method.

Items that you will need:

  • microfiber cloths
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • ½ cup of warm water
  1. Mix the teaspoon of vinegar into the water.
  2. Dab the microfiber cloth into the vinegar water and then blot the stain starting from the outside and working towards the middle.
  3. Continue blotting until you don’t see anymore eyeliner on the carpet.
  4. Dampen another clean microfiber cloth with just water to wet the area and remove any of the vinegar.
  5. With a dry cloth, pat the area to help dry it out.

Getting Eyeshadow out of Carpets

Eyeshadow can be especially challenging to remove from carpeting as some are oil based, which is more difficult to clean.

Items you will need:

  • microfiber cloths
  • hydrogen peroxide
  • water

Note: Keep in mind that hydrogen peroxide is better on lighter carpets as it has bleaching qualities.

  1. Drip a few drops of hydrogen peroxide onto the stain and gently dab at the stain without rubbing the eyeshadow deeper into the carpeting.
  2. Wait one minute to let it take effect.
  3. Use another dry microfiber cloth to blot the area.
  4. Dampen another clean microfiber cloth with just water and remove any of the hydrogen peroxide.
  5. With another dry cloth pat the area to help it dry out.

Tip: You can also use this solution for other oil-based makeup.

How to Remove Mascara from Carpet

Mascara presents another tricky challenge when it’s dropped onto your carpet. It’s not easy to make it disappear, but try the following method as soon as it happens.

Items you will need:

  • microfiber cloths
  • eye makeup remover
  • cold water
  1. Directly apply the eye makeup remover onto the microfiber cloth. This is important because the cleaner should not reach deep into the backside of the carpet.
  2. Blot the stain gently until all traces of the mascara appear gone.
  3. Reapply more eye makeup remover onto another fresh cloth if needed.
  4. Dampen another microfiber cloth with just cold water to remove any leftover makeup remover.
  5. Use another dry microfiber cloth to blot the area to help it dry out.

Since it is challenging to remove makeup products from carpeting, it is best to prevent these occurrences by applying makeup in a carpet free area or by placing a thick towel on the floor near your vanity.

Finally, if the damage is already done and the above cleaning methods fail to solve the situation, you should contact a reputable professional house cleaning service or carpet cleaning service. The professionals will have other more powerful solutions and techniques to resolve the spilled makeup dilemma.

Maid Spotless Cleaning Services offers a full suite of professional house cleaning services in Albany and the Greater Capital Region.

Contact us for a FREE quote today!