Blood is probably the worst stain ever, especially if it is coming from your head… or worse… your kid’s head, but tar comes in a close second, especially if it is on your carpet.
Or embedded in your carpet.
Don’t ask me how I know this; just know that because of my financial situation I had to figure out a way to remove said worst stain EVER-—by myself.
Here’s what I discovered:
There isn’t an aisle at Target or Home Depot that carries a commercial cleaner named: “Carpet Tar Stain Remover.” However, there are some other reputable products that you can try to rid your carpet of black tar stains:
WD-40: Simply spray the lubricant on a clean rag and blot at the tar stain. The ingredients in WD-40 help eat away at the stain and you can then wipe the tar off the carpet with the rag.
Mr. Clean: I found a forum on the Internet where more than a dozen people recommended using Mr. Clean Multi-surface spray and baking soda to remove tar stains from carpets. The cleaning recipe involves adding a few teaspoons of Mr. Clean to standard baking soda to create a paste. Then, you just apply the paste to the stained carpet and gently blot until the tar lifts. Finally, wipe the carpet with clean wet cloth and vacuum as usual.
Folex: This commercial stain remover is about as close as you will get to a product that reads: “BUY ME I WILL ERASE TAR STAINS FROM YOUR CARPET.”
Brake Cleaner: Standard aerosol brake cleaner—the kind that you can buy at an auto parts store—actually lifts tar from carpets. Simply spray some on and use a clean rag to blot at the stain. The ingredients in the brake cleaner soften the tar so you can wipe it up with the cloth.
Finally, I also found that regular dishwashing liquid (provided it doesn’t contain lanolin or bleach) mixed with about a quarter teaspoon of water, can also lift tar stains from your carpet, if you rub it in quickly yet gently.