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Home / Cleaning Guides / Floor & Carpet / Carpets and Rugs / How to Remove a Hair Dye Stain from Carpet

How to Remove a Hair Dye Stain from Carpet

Melanie asked, “What do you do when you have spilt an entire bottle of brown hair dye on a cream carpet & you don’t want your housemate to find out?”

Table of Contents:
  1. Removing Fresh Hair Dye Stains
  2. Removing Old Hair Dye Stains
  3. Additional Tips and Advice
  4. Sources

Spilled the hair dye on the carpet? Well, you could change the color of your hair really quick and blame it on the other housemate! Hair dye is one of the tougher stains to remove.¹ Your best hope is to act quickly, using the tips below. Always test a cleaning solution in an out-of-the-way spot to determine if it will damage the carpet.

Removing Fresh Hair Dye Stains

You Will Need:

  • Water
  • Dish liquid
  • White vinegar
  • Several clean white cloths
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Ammonia

Steps to Remove the Fresh Hair Dye Stain:

  1. Use a clean cloth or towel to blot up all the dye that you can, turning the cloth as needed.¹ Only blot; don’t rub.
  2. Pour two cups of lukewarm water; add 1 tablespoon dish liquid and 1 tablespoon white vinegar.² If you don’t have any white vinegar, you can use just the dish liquid and water.¹
  3. Dip a clean cloth in the mixture and dab the stain. Alternate using the wet cloth and a dry cloth until the stain has been removed.²
  4. Rinse the area with cold water.²
  5. Using a clean cloth, sponge the area until the liquid is soaked up.²
  6. Dip a cloth into a small amount of rubbing alcohol and dab the spot until the stain is gone.²
  7. Rinse the area with cold water.²
  8. For a stubborn stain, pour two cups of warm water, and add 1 teaspoon dish liquid and 1 tablespoon ammonia. Dab the area to wet the stain and allow it to sit for approximately 30 minutes. Dab more of the solution on every five minutes with a new cloth.² Note: Do not use ammonia on a wool carpet as it can damage the fibers.
  9. Rinse the area with cold water.²
  10. When the stain has been removed, use a cloth to soak up any remaining liquid. When the area is totally, dry vacuum to revive the carpet fibers.

Removing Old Hair Dye Stains

Hair dye stains that have dried are likely to be more difficult to remove than a fresh stain. While the tips above may also work on dried hair dye, these tips are specifically recommended for dried hair dye stains. Don’t forget to test these solutions on an out-of-the-way area first.

You Will Need:

  • Alberto V05 Hair Spray
  • Sea Breeze Astringent
  • Johnson’s Baby Shampoo

Steps to Remove the Dried Hair Dye Stain:

  1. Spray Alberto V05 Hair Spray on the stain, wetting it completely. Allow the hair spray to stay on the stain for five minutes. Rinse with cold water Note: The acetone in the hair spray can change the color of the carpet so be sure to test this solution first.³
  2. Squirt some Sea Breeze Astringent on the stain to wet the area. Allow the astringent to soak in for five minutes. Dab the area, rinse with cold water and repeat until the stain is gone. Note: The astringent may bleach the color of the carpet so be sure to test this solution first.³
  3. If you know that the dye you used was water soluble, you might have luck with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Apply water to the stain and dab a couple of drops of the shampoo on the stain, gently rubbing in. Dab the area, rinse with cold water and repeat until the stain is gone.³

Additional Tips and Advice

  • One last ditch effort that is a bit extreme is to dip a cotton swab in hydrogen peroxide and sponge the stain. This will bleach all of the color out of the carpet. With a felt-tip pen the same color as the carpet, you can then color in the bleached area.¹
  • Proceed with caution when cleaning oriental rugs. Antique, silk or even partial silk rugs should be taken to a professional for handling.
  • Before tackling the stain removal, check out our guide How to Clean Carpet to determine the type of carpet you have and any special cleaning recommendations for your carpet type.
  • Use a bit of caution with ammonia, such as by ventilating the area. See Wikipedia for more safety information.

Sources

  1. Stain Removal by Stephanie Zia
  2. Stain Rescue by Anne Marie Soto
  3. Joey Green’s Cleaning Magic

 

Carpets and Rugs, Cleaning Guides, Floor & Carpet

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About the Author

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Melanie

Hi! I am a seasoned writer-researcher who prides myself on quality and accuracy. I always vet my sources and test the cleaning methods I prescribe! I hope my cleaning guides can help you out! :)

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Comments

  1. Kerri B says

    January 29, 2015 at 11:31 pm

    I dyed my hair while staying in a hotel; I dripped it all over the carpet and tried everything: ammonia, vinegar, dish soap, peroxide. Nothing did anything. I bought the cheapest bottle of hair dye remover from Walgreens and the stain disappeared in literally two minutes. Saved me big time.

    Reply
    • Yvette says

      November 23, 2017 at 11:04 pm

      This tip saved me! I too spilled hair dye on a hotel carpet. Bought Oops hair dye remover and the stain disappeared like magic!

      Reply
  2. Lena says

    December 5, 2015 at 8:42 am

    How do you remove hair color from carpet that has set for more than a week?

    Reply
    • Avatar photoMelanie says

      December 7, 2015 at 2:27 am

      Lena,
      Use the methods in the section, Removing Old Hair Dye Stains.

      Reply

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