Question Here's a new one. My dog ate a large amount of used cooking oil and threw up on the carpet. I tried cleaning with soap, carpet cleaner and it is still a oily mess. Help?
Answer Rene,
You have a couple things going on. Vomit is water based and usually very acetic. Oil is obviously oil based. The first thing to do is rinse the spot out with a water and vinegar mixture. The most effective way is to put about 2 ounces of vinegar in a 16 ounce spray bottle and fill the rest with water. If you have a wet vac, spray the area and lightly agitate and then vacuum with the wet vac. If you don't have a wet vac, do the same thing but step on a towel to dry the spot. This will rinse the vomit out. Then you need to work on the oil. Only solvents will dissolve oil. You can either try to find a carpet cleaner in the store that is specifically for oil based spots or you may have to find a janitorial or carpet cleaning supplier and buy a quart of dry solvent. This isn't an easy spot to get out yourself. If you go this route, put the solvent in a spray bottle and spray the area, then blot with a towel. You have to be careful with solvents. Start by using as little as possible and make sure you step on a towel and dry the area each time you spray the spot. You don't want to let the solvent sit too long, it can damage the carpet.
If you're not comfortable doing this yourself, you may want to call a professional.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask again,
