How To Get Dried Acrylic Paint Out Of Carpet

If you've stumbled across this tutorial I'm guessing that you have a lovely acrylic paint stain on your carpet.  I know, it's frustrating but no need to worry.  You can get both wet and dried paint out of carpet.  It just takes some patience and a little elbow grease.  Here's how to get acrylic paint out of carpet the easy way.

How to Get Acrylic Paint Out of Carpet

Acrylic paint is a chemical based paint that is often used for arts and crafts.  They are fast drying which makes them great for art but not so much for carpet stains.  In the wet state, acrylic paint is water soluble.  When it dries it becomes somewhat water resistant which is why it is more difficult to clean up a dried acrylic paint stain than a wet paint stain in carpet.

How to get wet acrylic paint out of carpet

If you noticed the stain when it is fresh and still wet it will be easier to clean up.  Since acrylic paint is water soluble, a water based cleaner should do the trick.  I would recommend using Folex since it's a great all around carpet cleaner.  It is safe for any colorfast carpet or upholstery that can be dampened with water.  It's also non toxic and odor free so you won't have to deal with any irritants when you're using it.

If you don't have any Folex on hand, you could try some of the alternative methods that I list at the end of this post.  I'd recommend stocking up on a bottle for future use though.  If you have carpet in your home, Folex really is the easiest and best stain remover in my opinion.

This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will make a commission if you click through and make a purchase

Supplies:

Folex

Paper towels

Step 1 – Blot the excess paint with a clean dry paper towel

Use a clean, dry paper towel to blot the excess paint up.  Be sure not to rub the paint in.  The goal is to let the paper towel soak up excess paint, not spread it around and make the stain even bigger.  Come in with the paper towel from directly above the stain and then use a clean spot of the paper towel to continue blotting until you've removed as much of the excess paint as possible.

Step 2 – Apply a generous amount of Folex

Spray a generous amount of Folex onto the stain and then use your fingers to gently push the folex around the strands of carpet that are covered in paint.  Work from the outside of the stain inward so that you don't risk making the stain even bigger.

Step 3 – Blot with a clean and dry paper towel

Similar to step 1, use a clean, dry paper towel to blot the stain and pull up the paint.

Step 4 – Repeat steps 2 and 3

You'll want to add more folex and blot with a paper towel until you no longer pull up any more color.  If your paper towel stays white and you can no longer see the stain, you're done!  For me this took about 5 minutes and probably about 15-20 paper towels so make sure that you have plenty of them!

Step 5 – Rinse with water

While the bottle of Folex says that you don't need to rinse with water, with the amount that you'll likely need to use, I would recommend rinsing the spot with water and blotting up the excess water with a clean rag or paper towel.

Below is a picture of my carpet after I cleaned the spot with Folex.  It worked perfectly!

How to Get Dried Acrylic Paint Out of Carpet

When it comes to dried acrylic paint you'll probably need a little more elbow grease and patience to clean it up from the carpet.  Don't worry though, it's still totally possible.

Supplies:

Rubbing Alcohol

Folex

Q-tips

Paper towels

Step 1 – Scrap or cut off the excess dried paint

If you have a large glob of dried paint, use a razor blade or knife to cut it away from the carpet.  As you can see in the picture below, I didn't have any excess dried paint to cut off in my situation.

Step 2 – Loosen the paint with rubbing alcohol

I first tried going at the dried paint stain with the Folex however it wasn't doing a good job loosening the dried paint.  So I grabbed my bottle of rubbing alcohol and that did the trick.  I carefully poured the rubbing alcohol over the stain and used a q-tip to work it into the individual stands of carpet.

After you've loosened the paint and returned it to it's wet state, you can follow the same process as cleaning wet acrylic paint from carpet.

Step 3 – Blot the excess paint with a clean dry paper towel

Use a clean, dry paper towel to blot the excess paint up.  Be sure not to rub the paint in.  Work from the outside of the stain to the inside to avoid making the stain any larger.

Step 4 – Apply a generous amount of Folex

Spray a generous amount of Folex onto the stain and then use your fingers to gently push the folex around the strands of carpet that are covered in paint.

Step 5 – Blot with a clean and dry paper towel

Similar to step 1, use a clean, dry paper towel to blot the stain and pull up the paint.

Step 6 – Repeat steps 4 and 5 as needed

You'll want to add more Folex and blot with a paper towel until you no longer pull up any more color.  If your paper towel stays white and you can no longer see the stain, you're done!

Other Methods to Get Acrylic Paint out of Carpet

Soap and Water

Warm water and a mild liquid soap can be used to get acrylic paint out of carpet.  You would just need to mix about a teaspoon of the liquid soap (such as dish soap, laundry soap or hand soap) with a cup of warm water.  I have found that this method can be effective when a paint stain is very fresh but it definitely takes more effort to get the stain out than when I've used Folex.

Vinegar

You could also mix up a solution of 1 part white distilled vinegar to 10 parts water.  It should work to loosen and lift the paint stain but the downside is that your carpet may smell like vinegar when it's all finished.

Acetone

Acetone may be necessary to remove dried acrylic paint from carpet if you're struggling to loosen the paint with rubbing alcohol.  Saturate the stain with a concentrated acetone and then let it sit for 10-15 minutes.  From there you should be able to blot the stain with a clean paper towel until it is fully removed.

Warning: acetone can damage certain fibers so be sure to test in a small inconspicuous area before using acetone on a highly visible area!

If this post got you in the cleaning mood, you may be interested in some of my recent cleaning tutorials!

• How to remove hard water stains from marble
• 5 steps to increase vacuum cleaner suction
• How to clean a Dishwasher
• How to keep shower glass clean

How To Get Dried Acrylic Paint Out Of Carpet

Source: https://www.handmadeweekly.com/how-to-get-acrylic-paint-out-of-carpet/

Posted by: cuthbertsonsheast.blogspot.com

Share this post