Every season has its own special flavor, its own scents, sights and sounds… and stains. Fall is no different. As temperatures drop and parties move from the backyard into the home, stains are a lot more likely to happen – and a lot more likely to be noticed. And with the holidays just around the corner, you have a lot of guests and get-togethers to look forward to. With all that in mind, I took a crack at cleaning up some of Fall’s most-likely and least-wanted stains, including caramel, apple juice, pumpkin ale beer, and more. (Apples were definitely my favorite. Yum!) The good news is, with some elbow grease and a little help from Rug Doctor, you can greatly diminish or even eliminate these stains. Here’s how to get stains out of carpet this fall.

1. Get a spatula or knife. First up, if your stain isn’t purely liquid, you’ll want to get a carefully lift off as much of the staining substance as you can in small batches. If you’re careful about it, you can lessen the staining substance without driving more of it down into the carpet.

2. Blot with cloth. Use a clean white cloth or towel and blot the stain gently to lift off the excess. Use as many towels as you need. It’s worth the extra effort to get it right the first time!

3. Spray it down. Here’s where Rug Doctor comes in. Apply the Rug Doctor Platinum Spot and Stain to the affected area. Make sure you cover the entire stained area with the spray. A good half-dozen trigger pulls ought to do it.

4. Blot, blot, blot again. Yep, we’re back to our pal, the clean white cloth (or towel). After you’ve applied the Rug Doctor spray, you’ll want to rub the stained area in a crisscross manner in all directions. This loosens up and lifts the stain without driving it deeper into the carpet’s fibers. As above, use all the towels you need to.

5. Repeat as needed. Can you still see the stain? Spray on some more Rug Doctor Platinum Spot and Stain and rub in a crisscross pattern again, repeating as you need to until the stain has disappeared to your satisfaction.

How to Get Stains Out of Carpet With Rug Doctor

Keep in mind that not everything will go away entirely, even if you get to the stain right away. But if you’re quick on your feet and have Rug Doctor handy, most stains will fade almost completely or disappear outright. That means less worrying and more Fall fun. Cool, right?