How to get makeup out of carpet
Foundation, lipstick and mascara each answer to a different product you already own. Scrape first, then match the method to the makeup.
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Makeup stains come with their own solvent already in your bathroom. Micellar water exists to dissolve mascara and eyeliner, and it does the same job on carpet as on skin. Foundation and lipstick are oil-based, which is washing-up liquid territory. The mistake people make is grabbing a makeup wipe, which carries oils of its own and pays for one stain by leaving another. Scrape first, hoover what is dry, then match the product to the makeup.
Takes about 20 minutes.
What you need
- A spoon or bank card
- Washing-up liquid
- Micellar water
- White cloths, cold water
The steps
- Scrape before you wet anything. Foundation, lipstick and mascara sit on the pile at first. Lift what you can with a card or spoon edge. Dry powder makeup often hoovers straight out, so try that before any liquid.
- Match the method to the makeup. Foundation and lipstick are oil-based: work a single drop of neat washing-up liquid into the mark with a damp cloth. Mascara and eyeliner respond to micellar water dabbed on with a cloth; it is designed to dissolve exactly this.
- Blot in cycles. Dab, check the cloth, move to a clean section. The colour should keep transferring. Stop and re-apply rather than pressing harder.
- Rinse and dry. Sponge with plain cold water until no suds or product remain, blot firmly, dry cloth and weight overnight.
What never to do
- Makeup wipes: most carry oils that add a second stain
- Hot water on foundation
- Rubbing lipstick, which smears like crayon
- Bleach for bold colours
And the rule that outranks every stain: never mix cleaning products. Bleach combined with ammonia, or with vinegar or other acids, releases toxic gas. One product at a time, rinsing between.
Long-pile carpet holds lipstick the way it holds glitter, which is to say forever, at least to home methods. If the colour is deep in a shag or wool pile, extraction gets it without the overworking that home attempts end in.
When the stain wins
Hot-water extraction rinses the pile and the backing rather than scrubbing the surface, which is why it beats home methods on set-in stains. Carpet cleaning from £36 for a bedroom, with the same crews that handle 300+ letting agents’ check-outs.
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