If you have ever tried to remove ice cream from a carpet or upholstery then we apologise in advance for the trouble it has caused you.
This sticky substance isn’t like your normal contaminant that finds its way into the fibres of your carpets, ice cream can be quite tricky to get out when it has been left for too long. Removing ice cream from our carpet is slightly different from removing sticky candy, even though it has similar properties.
Steps for removing ice cream from your carpet or upholstery
Remove the bulk of it
Use a sponge and warm water
Degreaser and a microfiber cloth
Dry the area
Do you have a steam cleaner?
Prefer to use a dedicated product?
What you need
Kitchen roll or tissue
Sponge
Warm water with washing detergent
A degreaser product
Microfiber cloths (at least 2)
Towel or fan to dry
Good to have
Steam cleaner – with a steamer you can skip many of the steps required while also deodorising the area ensuring no smell comes back.
Wet and dry vacuum – this will mean that you can use more product to deep clean the fibres and drying the area is much faster.
Carpet brush – with a brush you can reach deeper into the carpet fibres faster, agitating the ice cream stain further bringing it out faster and more effectively.
Remove the bulk of it
Your first step should be to get rid of any ice cream and cone that hasn’t seeped into the carpeting yet.
The best way to do this without rubbing it in would be with some kitchen roll. Be careful not to press onto the roll when removing the ice cream as this will simply work it into the carpets more.
Do not use your vacuum to remove the I’ve cream. It could clog up the hose and get into the motor, even with a wet and dry.
Once the bulk of the ice cream has gone, you will be left with a blotchy sticky stain to remove. Onto the next step!
Use a sponge and warm water
Remember that the aim here is not to remove all of the ice cream yet. You are getting rid of the top layer and loosening the deeper fibres on this stage.
With that in mind, get your sponge with warm water and dab it into the ice cream stain.
Allow it to penetrate the stain, the warm water will loosen everything, then get your first microfiber cloth and soak up some of the water. This will remove the first later and make the next step a lot easier.
Degreaser and a cloth
Now that the top layer has been lifted, you can focus your efforts on removing the rest.
Grab your degreaser and spray generously onto the remaining stain. If you have a carpet brush now would be the ideal time to use it. If not then you will probably need to do a few passes with the microfiber cloth.
Use the cloth to soak up the remaining stain using as much pressure as your arm allows. After a few passes, the stain should be lifted.
Dry the area
The final stage is simple yet very important. You want to dry the area to ensure that the smell has gone. Once it’s dry is the only way to know if the smell of ice cream has been fully removed from your carpet.
If an odour persists then it means that you still have some ice cream left in the carpet. Repeat the degreaser and microfiber step.
Do you have a steam cleaner?
Owning a steam cleaner makes almost any stain much easier to deal with. With it, you can skip many of the steps here and make light work of the ice cream stain.
A decent one will cost you around £100 but once you have it, the time saved is noteworthy, especially if you have kids and/or pets.
Prefer to use a dedicated product?
You can buy products that make your job a whole lot easier when it comes to dealing with stains. What’s more is that you can skip the higher cost of purchasing a steam cleaner too.
We really like vanish oxi action for consumers for removing ice cream and other difficult to remove sticky stains. Not only does it remove the stain easily, it also deodorises the area removing any smells that would need separate treatment.
