How to Get Vomit Out of the Carpet

Carpets are subjected to all manners of dirt on a daily basis. All kinds of things can end up on the carpet, from wine and coffee to urine and sick!

Not only does vomit bury itself deep into the carpet’s fibres and stain it in the process, the stench that comes off a pile of sick can literally make your stomach churn.

You can’t really leave the mess lying around, so there’s only one thing for it… you’ve got to clean the carpet!

Although I can’t promise that you won’t feel unwell when you remove the sick off your carpet, I can make the cleaning job a touch easier by explaining to you how to get rid of the vomit.

So, hopefully the process will be as straightforward as possible for you!

 

Things to Consider Before Cleaning Vomit from a Carpet

• Test out your chosen cleaning method first – Find a discreet patch of carpet and test the solution you plan on using there. If you see any discoloration or damage, you should stop using the product immediately. You should then go and find a more suitable alternative.
• It’s easier to remove fresh vomit, rather than dried sick, so act as quickly as you can to remove the mess from your carpet.
• Make sure your carpet is completely vomit-free before you allow it to dry.
• Wear a mask and gloves when cleaning the sick off the carpet. You don’t want to make yourself ill.
• Open plenty of windows to allow lots of fresh air into the room – sick can be extremely whiffy and you don’t want to be sick while you clean!
• Just blot at the vomit patch, don’t scrub it. Scrubbing will only drive the sick deeper into the carpet’s fibres, and this’ll make it harder to remove.
• Keep kids and pets out of the room when you are cleaning up the vomit and treating the carpet. 
• Don’t walk over the sicky patch until the carpet has been cleaned, treated and has dried thoroughly.

 

How to Get Vomit Out of the Carpet

Tools you’ll need:

• Spoon or spatula
• Cleaning gloves
• Small tub or carrier bag
• Paper towels
• Bicarbonate of soda
• Vacuum cleaner
• Spray bottle
• White vinegar
• Washing up liquid & water
• Cotton cloths
• Enzymatic cleaner (optional)
• Carpet shampoo (optional)

 

Steps to follow:

1. Open the window(s).
2. Put some cleaning gloves on.
3. Grab an old spoon/spatula and try to scoop up as much vomit off the carpet as you can – spoon the sick into an old tub/carrier bag.
4. Repeat Step 3 multiple times.
5. Pop some paper towels over the sick stain and press down gently, so the towels soak up the liquid and vomit.
6. Place the sick-filled paper towels into a carrier bag.
7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you’ve gathered up the sick.
8. Cover the entire vomit patch with bicarbonate of soda. The bicarb will absorb the rest of the sick, and should help to neutralise the stain and smell.
9. Wait about 15-20 minutes.
10. Hoover the carpet.
11. Repeat Steps 8, 9 and 10.
12. In a spray bottle mix half a teaspoon of washing up liquid with a cup of water, and a tablespoon of white vinegar. This will be used to remove even more of the vomit smell.
13. Shake the mixture, then spray the carpet with the solution. Try not to wet the carpet too much because it’ll take an age to dry.
14. Blot the solution into the sicky area using a clean cotton cloth.
15. When you’re done, use a new damp cloth to blot any excess product.
16. If the odour persists, you can use an enzymatic cleaner to neutralise the vomit stain even more. Follow the instructions on the enzymatic cleaner’s bottle.
17. Allow the area to dry properly before you walk over it.
18. Fluff the carpet with your fingers, so it gets its normal texture back.
19. Bin the tools you’ve used throughout this method. Or make sure you wash the tools properly in boiling water and with washing up liquid.
20. Clean your hands and arms when you’re done, so you don’t contaminate yourself.
21. Optional: If you feel like your carpet needs a little clean after you’re done, you can shampoo it. Leave enough time between your treatment and your cleaning though. Use something like Vanish Carpet Cleaner & Upholstery Foam Shampoo to do this. Follow the instructions on the packaging.

 

Alternative method

Another way to remove sick stains from a carpet is to purchase a ready-made stain remover for carpets.

Something like Vanish Oxi Action Professional Carpet and Upholstery Stain Remover Spray could be used to remove the sicky patch. The solution gets to work in mere minutes, and is very simple to use.

In addition to this, if you don’t have bicarbonate of soda at home, you can swap it for cornflour. Cornflour will also absorb the vomit from the carpet.

 

How to Get Dried Vomit Out of a Carpet

Dried vomit can be a tad harder to remove from carpet. But it’s not impossible. All you need to do is wet the sick stain, and then carry out the method outlined above.

You’ll likely have to repeat the method above multiple times when you’re treating aged and toughened vomit.

 

How to Get Rid of a Vomit Smell

If you follow the method above you stand the best chance of removing the vomit from the carpet, and neutralising the smell.

However, if the odour is still lingering, try these options:

• Try sprinkling the area again with bicarbonate of soda and hoovering it.
• Apply more vinegar to the stain and blot it dry.
• Use an enzymatic cleaner to draw out the odour again.
• Shampoo your carpet.
• Rent a steam cleaner or carpet cleaner, and use it to remove dirt and smells from your carpet.

 

FAQs on Removing Vomit from Carpets

Is vomit hard to get out of a carpet?

Removing vomit from a carpet can be a straightforward task if you act fast and clean the mess up correctly. It does, however, take time to remove sick from a carpet. So, you must be patient.

Sick can be removed from a carpet, but you’ve got to make sure that you pick the vomit up properly, remove the stain and neutralise the vomit odour.

If you don’t do these three things, the stain and smell will linger and it will get worse with time.

If you don’t clean the vomit up and it goes dry, it can be harder to remove. But it isn’t the end of the world, you can still remove such a mess. It’ll just take you more time to work out the stain, and to get rid of the odour from the carpet.

 

Can vomit permanently stain a carpet?

If you don’t clean vomit off your carpet, there is a chance that the sick could permanently stain the floor covering.

The longer you leave vomit on a carpet, the more time the gastric acid has to seep deeper and deeper into the carpet’s fibres. In turn, the sick, which is usually yellow-green in colour, will dry and cling onto the fibres, and will become extremely difficult to remove.

Both the colour and smell will linger for ages, and the vomit could permanently mark the carpet. 

It’s really important to remove sick as soon as you can. Not just because it looks horrible, but because the smell will permeate throughout the whole house. Yucky!