Colorful Drinks: What to do when they  spill…

DO YOU KNOW that the devastation of spilling colorful drinks like grape juice, Kool-Aid and other beverages doesn’t have to be devastating?

So you have kids, grandkids, or other young guests come over, and they want something to drink. They certainly don’t want plain tap water. That’s pretty boring stuff. They want something fruity, sweet, and with lots of color: Such as deep blues, vivid greens, bright yellows or reds. You know, the stuff that can really stain a carpet or piece of furniture.

And the inevitable occurs. The kids enjoy what you give them, but after all, they are kids. So something gets spilled. For some weird reason, this never seems to happens on a hard tile floor. It happens right on the carpet.

What should you do?

Step #1
Don’t panic or freak out. Take a deep breath and realize this isn’t the end of the world.

Step #2
Start blotting. You want to use white cotton, microfiber or paper towels, with no print or dyes, and blot – blot – blot! Most of any spotting or staining substance will come right out because the towel you are using is more absorbent than the carpet the drink was spilled on.

Step #3
It may be appropriate, with some coaching from your carpet cleaning pro, to do some spotting. Use a spotting product, like a mild neutral detergent spotter. Apply a tiny amount to the spot and keep blotting. Never scrub. Scrubbing can damage the carpet fibers and you can’t fix that. Keep blotting.

Step #4
Did we say keep blotting? Keep it up! You may need to apply more approved mild detergent spotter. One thing you do not want to do is apply too much moisture, as that gets into the backing of the carpet and into the padding, creating additional problems.

Step #5
Once the spot is gone, it’s time to dry the carpet. How to do this? Keep blotting, of course! But also aim a fan on the spot and let the air current remove more moisture.

Is the spot still there? It may be a stain, very tough to remove. It is definitely now time to call us!

From livescience.com’s 9 Healthy Habits You Can Do in 1 Minute (Or Less)

That said, we would like to offer you an better alternative for colorful drinks that is healthy and fun. Consider serving fruit flavored water — still or sparkling– garnished with a little fresh fruit. Our kids and their friends really enjoy them and we feel good about serving them.

Please note that spills still need to be dealt with immediately using the five steps above, but the possibility of them causing permanent stains is virtually eliminated.