A glass goes over, and every instinct in the room says scrub. This is the page to save for that moment: what to do in the first 60 seconds, what to leave in the cupboard, and honest first aid for the five spills we get asked about most.
Blot, never rub. Outside in, press down, swap to a dry cloth, plain cold water only if needed.
Sixty seconds of calm blotting saves more carpets than any spray on any shelf. The rest of this page is the drill.
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The golden rule: blot, never rub The 60-second drill What not to reach for Spill-by-spill first aid When to stop and call The carpet that forgives spills The Golden GuaranteeThe Golden Rule: Blot, Never Rub
If you only remember one thing from this page, make it this. Rubbing pushes the spill outward into clean fibre, grinds it deeper toward the backing, and frays the pile as it goes. In our experience the fuzzy, roughed-up patch a scrubbing brush leaves behind is often more visible than the stain would ever have been, and unlike the stain, it's permanent.
Blotting does the opposite. You press a clean cloth onto the spill, hold it for a moment, and lift, so the liquid moves up into the cloth instead of out into the carpet. It feels slower. It's actually faster, because it works the first time.
The 60-Second Drill, Step by Step
Four steps, in order, calmly. You have more time than it feels like you do.
The aim isn't to remove a stain. It's to get the liquid out of the fibre before it ever becomes one. Fresh spills sit in the top of the pile for a surprisingly long time, and a cloth can take most of it back out, if you let it.
You're done when the cloth comes away clean and the area feels barely damp. Whatever faint shadow is left, leave it alone and let it dry before you judge it. A mark on damp carpet often disappears completely as it dries.
I'd have gone straight in with a brush. Blotting from the outside in got the wine out before it ever became a stain.
What Not to Reach For
None of this is meant to scare you. Most spills come out completely with the drill above and nothing else. But a handful of habits regularly turn a liftable spill into a permanent mark, and we'd rather you knew about them before the next glass goes over.
Leave These In The Cupboard
Each of these has cost someone a carpet. Worth a read now, so they're not the reflex later.
- Supermarket foams and sprays: many are made to be left in the fibre, and in our experience they can set the stain and leave a residue that attracts dirt
- Hot water on protein spills: heat sets milk, egg, blood and pet accidents into the fibre
- Coloured or printed cloths: damp carpet happily picks up their dye
- Scrubbing brushes and rough sponges: they fray the pile for good
- Salt or white wine on red wine: folk remedies that, in our experience, make proper extraction harder later
- Pouring water over the spot: soaking drives the spill down into the backing
So what does the right first aid look like, spill by spill? Here are the five we get called about most.
First Aid for the Five Big Spills
A few sentences each. This is our honest, from-the-jobs view of what works, and when to stop.
Red Wine
Blot straight away, outside in, swapping to a dry cloth as it takes up the colour. Once the transfer slows, a little plain cold water and keep blotting. Skip the salt and the white wine. Wine that has dried into the fibre usually needs professional heat and extraction.
Dried in? That's an extraction jobCoffee & Tea
Speed matters here: tea and coffee tint the fibre as they dry. Blot, cold water, blot again. Milky drinks also leave a residue that often reappears as a dull patch a week later, and in our experience those need rinsing and extracting properly to stay gone.
Milky drinks tend to come backPet Accidents
Blot up as much as you can with a dry cloth, then a little cold water and blot again. Never heat. The patch you can see is usually the smallest part, because urine spreads below the surface. If the smell lingers, it has gone deeper than a cloth can reach, and our UV check shows the full extent.
Lingering smell? It's gone deeperFood & Grease
Lift the solids first with a spoon, scraping toward the middle, then blot. Cold water won't move grease, so don't soak it. Oil needs the right product, correctly diluted and rinsed back out, which is why anything beyond a small mark is a professional job.
Oil doesn't respond to waterInk & Makeup
The one to leave alone. Blot dry only, no water and no rubbing: both can spread ink and foundation into clean fibre. Lift what comes away easily, then stop. These are the spills where calling early makes the biggest difference to the result.
Stop early, call it inWhen to Stop and Call
There's a point in every spill where more blotting stops helping, and it arrives sooner than most people expect. If the mark is still showing after a few minutes of calm work, stop. Keeping on attacking it doesn't shift the stain, it distresses the fibres, and it's often the difference between a mark that extracts out completely and one we can only improve.
A spill that has beaten the drill needs heat and extraction, which pulls it up from the base of the fibre where no cloth can reach. That's what our emergency treatment is for, and we spot test a hidden area first, so you see it's safe before we start on the mark itself.
Blot it, work from the outside in, and stop while it's still damp if it isn't shifting. Most spills handled this way come out completely, and the ones that don't are exactly what the spot test and proper extraction are for.
A Mark That Won't Shift?
Tell us what spilled and when. We'll tell you straight whether it will come out, and you'll see the spot test result before any work begins.
Speak To UsThe Carpet That Forgives Spills
One honest extra worth knowing about, and the only one on this page. Carpets protected with Gold Guard give you more time: a spill beads on the surface for a moment instead of soaking straight in, so the 60-second drill becomes far more forgiving. We apply it after a clean, and the protection lasts 6 to 12 months. If you'd like it on your next clean, just mention it when you book.
Why Prestige Refresh
When customers tell us why they chose us, the same four reasons come up. They're the standard we hold every job to, spill emergencies included.
What Customers Say
We could tell you we're honest about stains. It means more coming from the people we've actually cleaned for. We're rated 5.0 from 338 Google reviews, and these come straight from them, unedited.
Our Golden Guarantee
The Golden Guarantee
Whether it's an emergency spill or a full clean, the same promise applies, in writing.
Quick Answers
Should I rub a carpet stain to get it out?
No. Rubbing pushes the spill outward into clean fibre, grinds it deeper, and frays the pile. Blot instead: press a clean white cloth onto the spill, hold, lift, and swap to a dry section each time, working from the outside of the spill toward the middle.
Should I use hot or cold water on a carpet spill?
Cold, always. Hot water sets protein spills such as milk, egg, blood and pet accidents into the fibre. Use small amounts of plain cold water on a clean cloth, keep blotting, and finish with a dry cloth.
Do supermarket carpet sprays and foams work?
In our experience they cause more damage than they fix. Many are designed to be left in the fibre, and they can set the stain and leave a sticky residue that attracts dirt, so the patch looks grubby again sooner. A clean white cloth and plain cold water are the safer first response.
When should I call a professional about a spill?
If the mark is still showing after a few minutes of calm blotting, stop. Attacking it further distresses the fibres. A stain that has beaten the blotting drill needs heat and extraction, and we spot test a hidden area first so you can see it's safe before any work begins.