Rent The RugDoctor® - Steaming Mad at Dirt!®

Removing Carpet Stains

Rug Doctor's line of specialized cleaning products helps you keep your carpets and upholstery spotless. Use the following stain guide to find the best solution for your specific stains.

Download a printable version of this carpet stain removal chart

Rug Doctor's Unique Approach to Stain Removal

Rug Doctor takes a different approach to stain clean-up from all other products claiming "one solution does it all" effectiveness. At Rug Doctor we know one-solution cleaning is impossible, because different stains attach themselves in different ways to carpet fibers and require specific solutions for effective removal.

• For sticky, oily stains, such as motor oil, use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment followed by a cleaning with a Rug Doctor machine.
• For liquid, oily stains, such as salad dressing, use Spot & Stain Remover.
• For bodily fluid stains, use Urine Eliminator.
• For unidentified stains, use Urine Eliminator and/or Spot & Stain Remover.

Type of Stain	Stain or Spot Treatment	Special Instructions
Beer	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Bile yellow/green vomit	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Blood	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Butter or Margarine	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Candle Wax	Spot & Stain Remover	Scrape off as much wax as possible with a spatula or spoon. If wax is deeply embedded, cover with a white cloth and apply iron on low setting to cloth. Wax will transfer to cloth. Any remaining residue can be removed using Spot & Stain Remover.
Catsup	Spot & Stain Remover
Chocolate	Spot & Stain Remover
Clay	Spot & Stain Remover
Cocktails	Spot & Stain Remover
Coffee	Spot & Stain Remover
Cough Syrup	Spot & Stain Remover
Crayon	Spot & Stain Remover
Dirt/Mud/Grass	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Feces (non-urine)	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Food Coloring	Spot & Stain Remover
Food Grease	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Fruit Juice, Berries, or Kool-Aid®	Spot & Stain Remover	Some red dyes in food and juices are difficult to remove.
Gravy	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Ice Cream	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Ink	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Jelly/Jam	Spot & Stain Remover
Lipstick	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Makeup	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Mildew	Odor Remover	Odor Remover destroys the mildew source. After treatment blot well and keep area dry. A follow-up cleaning should eliminate the stain.
Milk	Spot & Stain Remover
Motor Grease/Oil	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Mustard	Alternate with Spot & Stain Remover and full strength white vinegar	A near permanent stain. Use Spot & Stain Remover followed by vinegar. Yellow dye stains from mustard may not be removable depending on your carpet or fabric type.
Paint (water-based)	Spot & Stain Remover	Old or dried spots may need to soak for an hour or two.
Permanent Marker	Spot & Stain Remover
Perspiration	Urine Eliminator
Salad Dressing	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Shoe Polish	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Soft Drinks	Spot & Stain Remover
Tea	Spot & Stain Remover
Tobacco	Spot & Stain Remover or Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Tomato Sauce	Spot & Stain Remover
Toothpaste	Spot & Stain Remover
Urine	Urine Eliminator	Act quickly! Urine is highly acidic and will bleach some carpets which cannot be corrected with stain removing products.
Varnish/Wood Stain	Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment	Use Hi-Traffic Pre-Treatment only prior to machine cleaning.
Vegetable Oil	Spot & Stain Remover
Vomit	Urine Eliminator or Spot & Stain Remover
Water Colors	Spot & Stain Remover
Wine	Spot & Stain Remover

If you need additional assistance, please contact our Consumer Support Specialists