It happens to homeowners all too often, a quick and easy painting job turns into a potential disaster as the carpet gets splashed and splotched by errant rollers and unattended brushes. Paint on the carpet can be a real hassle and when it hits new carpet in particular, the struggle to save the day becomes all too real.

Luckily, the problem can be rectified if you act fast and you bring the right tools for paint removal. In most cases, all you really need is some paper towel, some water, and a little dab of dish soap. But it all depends on what you’ve spilled and how much of it hit the carpet.

So if you’ve somehow gotten paint on your floor coverings, it’s going to be okay. Just follow the simple steps below for the type of paint that you’re trying to pick up. Don’t panic, you’ve got this. But remember to be careful and always blot. Never wipe or brush away a stain, that’s only going to ground it further into the fibers of your carpet and make the problem much, much worse.

Here’s what you need to do:

Cleaning Up Water-Based Paint:

If you’ve gotten to the paint in a timely manner and it’s still wet, go get a damp paper towel and blot at the paint to absorb it all from the fibers. But if you’ve discovered it after the initial spill has occurred and the paint is now dry, get some hot water and mix in some dish soap. Then apply your soapy hot water to the stain and let it sit for a bit.

Don’t spill too much of it on the stain as the water may then get absorbed into the carpet and too much moisture underneath can lead to other issues. The hot soapy water should soften the paint again and you can lift it up from the carpet.

Cleaning Up Latex Paint

Much like with the other paint, you want to get at this when it’s still wet. If so, take your paper towel and blot it up gently until you’ve eliminated the mess. But if you’ve discovered the paint spill after it’s dried, you’ll need warm water this time, not hot, and some dish soap. Dip the paper towel in the water and start dabbing at the stain. You’ll want to begin at the outer edges and work slowly inward.

Keep blotting until you’ve removed all of it. If you need more water, don’t hesitate to use more, but don’t drown the carpet in the process. When you’re done, vacuum the area, but wait until it has fully dried first.

Cleaning Up Oil-Based Paint

If wet, it’s the old paper towel and blot like the other paints. But if this has dried, water won’t help. You need a steamer to heat the paint up so you can lift it off the fibers. However, you need to be very careful in pulling the paint up from the carpet. You could damage the material if you apply too much heat or you’re too aggressive with the removal process.

And if none of these steps are completely effective, it’s time to call Phoenix’s Dr. Chem-Dry and have one of our carpet cleaning experts to eradicate the problem.