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?”

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.

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

• 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.

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