How to Get Milk Out of Carpet

Did you spill a glass of milk on the floor, and now your carpet smells like sour milk? While cleaning a fresh milk spill is relatively easy, an old stain is more challenging. Find out how to get milk out of carpet, whether it’s white or chocolate milk.

The best way to prevent a stain is to clean milk off the rug as soon as you discover it. Blotting keeps most of the liquid from seeping into the carpet fibers and pad, making cleaning easier.

Unfortunately, a dried milk stain is less noticeable than a new spill. That is, until your carpet begins to smell like spoiled milk. At this point, it is necessary to use a stain and odor remover.

Rug cleaning is tedious, especially if you don’t have a carpet cleaner. You have to decide which type of cleaner to use for stain removal, and sometimes that doesn’t even work. Thankfully, many items around your home are great for removing spilled milk and carpet stains.

Ways to Remove Milk Stains From Carpeting

No one wants to call a carpet cleaning service over spilt milk. Discover ways to remove a white or chocolate milk stain from a rug with everything from soap and ammonia to hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar.

Why Does Milk Cause Stinky Stains on Rugs?

You use a paper towel to blot up a milk spill as soon as it happens, only to notice later that the rug has a nasty odor. Why does milk leave the carpet smelling sour, even after you clean it?

Milk Stain Odor

Fresh milk has little to no odor, yet spoiled milk smells rancid. When you spill milk on the rug, bacteria from the carpet fibers feast on the milk, causing them to multiply and break down lactose. This chemical reaction gives off a nasty smell in the milk stain, eventually turning yellow.

How to Clean Spilled Milk on Carpet

Removing as much of the liquid as possible is the first step for getting milk out of carpet. Otherwise, the milk seeps through the fibers into the carpet pad, making cleaning more difficult.

Fresh Milk Stain Removal

Press paper towels or an absorbent towel on the spilled milk. Try to absorb as much of the stain as possible without spreading it further. Start by lightly blotting the area to keep from pushing the liquid further into the carpet pad. Use fresh towels as needed until you pull up most of the moisture.

Getting Milk Out of Carpet With Soapy Water

Sometimes, the most basic method is all you need to remove a carpet stain. The simplest way to clean a new milk stain from carpeting is with soapy water. Learn how to clean spilled milk on carpet with dish soap and water.

Fill a bottle sprayer with two cups of warm water and add one tablespoon of detergent. Close the container and shake it gently without creating too many soap suds.

Spray the soapy water on the milk stain and let it sit for one minute. Don’t apply too much cleaner all at once since the excess water only seeps below the rug. Rub the spot with a sponge and spray more soapy water as needed until you remove the milk.

How to Get Milk Out of Carpet With Ammonia

Ammonia is excellent for cleaning spilled milk on carpet. It lifts the stain from the rug and removes the sour milk smell. However, ammonia is a strong household cleaner; diluting it with water is essential before cleaning the carpet.

Pour a cup of warm water into a small container and add a half tablespoon of ammonia. Dunk a soft brush into the mixture and scrub the stain in a circle. Continue cleaning the area until the milk is gone, and wipe it with a damp sponge to remove residue. Once the rug is clean, dry it thoroughly with a towel.

Use Vinegar to Remove Milk From the Carpet

The acidity of vinegar makes it perfect for removing tough stains since it neutralizes odors. It’s a natural and inexpensive liquid; you probably already have a jug in the kitchen. Find out how to clean spilled milk on carpet with a vinegar solution.

Pour white vinegar into a sprayer bottle for easy application and spray the liquid directly on the carpet stain. Blot the area with a cloth to soak up the milk and vinegar, and repeat the steps until the milk stain is gone.

Remove Stubborn Milk Stains With Vinegar and Baking Soda

If white vinegar isn’t enough to remove the milk stain from the carpet, try mixing it with baking soda. Vinegar and sodium bicarbonate react with each other by creating a bubbling cleaner that lifts and dissolves many types of stains.

If the milk stain is still wet, sprinkle baking soda over the top first to soak the moisture. Pour white vinegar over the powder and wait until the ingredients stop fizzing. Use a damp sponge to wipe away the residue and dry the rug with a towel.

For old, dry milk stains, pour a small amount of white vinegar over the spot to wet it and cover it with baking soda. Let it sit until it stops foaming, and clean the area with a damp sponge. Finish by drying the carpet with a towel.

Clean Milk Stains From a Rug With Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is perfect for getting milk out of carpet. Milk stains leave odor-causing bacteria on the rug. Peroxide has antibacterial properties that break up stains and eliminate bad smells.

Peroxide Milk Stain Remover

Because it’s easy to accidentally pour too much hydrogen peroxide on the rug straight from the bottle, we prefer to transfer it to a spray bottle for simple application. Spray the peroxide directly on the milk spot and leave it for a few minutes. Blot the liquid with a dry cloth, check if the stain is gone, and repeat if necessary.

Remove a Milk Stain From Carpeting With Alcohol

Another way to remove milk stains from a rug is with rubbing alcohol. We use this liquid as a solvent, astringent, and disinfectant, and it’s also a great stain remover. Learn how to prepare a quick milk stain remover with rubbing alcohol.

Rubbing alcohol may cause color fading or discoloration, so test it on an inconspicuous area before removing the stain. Pour alcohol on a cotton pad and dab it on the milk stain.

Less is better when cleaning with rubbing alcohol since you can always apply more. Continue cleaning the stain with new pads and alcohol until the milk spot is gone, and wipe the rug clean with cold water and a sponge.

Use an Enzymatic Cleaner to Remove Milk From a Rug

An enzyme cleaner is ideal for scrubbing dried milk off carpet. Enzymatic cleaners use biological methods to digest food and beverage stains, leaving the carpet clean and fresh. There are many types to pick from, and they’re widely available at most stores.

Enzymatic Milk Stain Cleaning

Follow the instructions for your enzyme cleaning product. Spray the cleaner over the stain and let it sit for 15 minutes or the recommended time. Scrub the rug with a soft brush and clean away the residue with a damp cloth. Ensure the stain is gone, and dry the carpet with a towel.

Scrub a Milk Stain off Carpeting With Laundry Detergent

An ideal way to get hot chocolate out of carpet is to treat the stain with powdered detergent. While this technique does require a bit of elbow grease, it’s effective at removing white and chocolate milk stains without chemicals.

Shake a small amount of powdered laundry detergent over the wet chocolate milk stain and leave it for a few minutes. Scrub the spot with an old toothbrush without spreading it to clean rug sections.

Rinse the brush with clean water and keep scrubbing the stain until it’s gone. Wipe away the soap with a damp sponge and pat the rug dry.

Carpet Cleaning to Remove Milk Stains

You may notice leftover residue after removing chocolate milk stains on carpet. This is normal; sometimes, you must clean the carpeting with a carpet or steam cleaner.

Carpet Cleaning Milk Stains

Fill your steam cleaner with the recommended hot water and enzyme cleaning solution ratio. Use the hose attachment to clean the affected carpet area by going back and forth with overlapping passes. Clean the rug in both directions and let it dry completely before allowing foot traffic. This method is also perfect for upholstery cleaning to remove spilled milk.

Use Baking Soda to Eliminate a Milk Smell

Milk not only stains carpeting, but it gives the rug fibers an unpleasant smell. Sodium bicarbonate is excellent at absorbing a sour odor and is safe for use on all types of carpets. Use baking soda to give your rug a fresh scent.

Sodium Bicarbonate Odor Remover

Open a box of baking soda and shake the powder directly on the smelly milk stain. Cover it entirely for best results and let it sit overnight. In the morning, use your vacuum to suck up the odor-absorbed powder and do a sniff test to ensure the odor is gone. Repeat the steps once more if the carpet still smells.

Get Rid of a Smelly Milk Stain With Coffee Ground

Who doesn’t love the aroma of brewed coffee? Treat the rug with coffee grounds if your carpet still smells after cleaning a milk spot with soap, vinegar, or another stain remover. The coffee soaks up the sour odor and leaves the rug with a pleasing scent.

Sprinkle a handful of fresh, dry coffee grounds over the milk stain. Never use damp grounds or apply them to a wet spot, as this will leave the carpet with a coffee stain. Wait for a few hours, then carefully use a broom to sweep up the grounds and a vacuum to remove coffee dust.

Eliminate Milk Stain Smells With Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is the go-to for eliminating the most stubborn smells. It isn’t as fast-acting as baking soda or coffee grounds. Still, it is long-lasting and ideal for permanently removing the worst odors.

Activated Charcoal Odor Remover

Activated charcoal generally comes in loose form or sachets. Set a charcoal sachet on the smelly milk stain to soak up the odor, or place loose charcoal pieces in a shallow container and put it in the room with the stinky carpet. You should notice the milk odor dissipate in a few hours.

Things to Avoid When Removing Milk Stains From Carpeting

We’ve all been there. You panic after spilling something on the floor and react by grabbing the first cleaning product you see. Nevertheless, not all cleaning products and methods are safe for carpet cleaning.

Carpet Cleaning No-No’s

Never clean your carpet with chlorine bleach or harsh chemicals; always test new cleaners on inconspicuous areas beforehand. Cold water is always best for removing stains, as heat causes stain setting. Avoid applying too much cleaner to the carpet. Always dry the rug entirely with a towel or fan.

While we’ve all heard of the saying, there’s no use crying over spilled milk, chocolate milk stains on the carpet are cause for concern. Milk leaves the rug with an unsightly stain and a sour milk smell, and special cleaners are necessary to remove it.

The good news is that many items around your home effectively remove milk stains from carpeting. For example, paper towels and soapy water clean new stains, and white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide remove stubborn stains.

We hope that learning how to get milk out of carpet keeps your rugs free from stains and foul smells, and we’d love it if you’d share our milk stain removal and carpet cleaning tips with all your friends on Facebook and Pinterest.