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I just moved into a place and underneath my bed there's a weird spill. I'm Not sure what it is: it's dark red and thick and dry. Is there any way to clean it or if not cover it up so it doesn't spread germs to the rest of the room? I typically use the space beneath my bed for storing things. If I had to guess it's probably food or vomit or blood.

Here's a picture after treating it a couple times with white vinegar. It's much better! The lighting is poor because it's under my bed so I used an LED head lamp to shine light on it. stain

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  • Hi! Any photos available?
    – yo'
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 14:12
  • @tohecz good point, I'll post them asap!
    – Celeritas
    Commented May 15, 2013 at 16:54

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If your carpet is a light color then try white vinegar on it first. I use this for pet stains and its light years beyond any product specifically formulated for stains and 1/20th the cost. It kills germs/bacteria/mold. I pour the vinegar straight from the bottle onto the stain, thoroughly soaking the carpet. It will begin to react with the stain and start fizzing. Once the fizzing stops you can soak it up with a paper towel but its best if you use a steam cleaner with just water in the tank to remove as much of the vinegar and the residual odor as possible. It will have a strong odor that will completely dissipate after two days assuming you sucked enough of it up after application.

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  • Does it matter what the percent of acetic acid in the vinegar is? At the store that had a vinegar for cleaning which was 10% acetic acid (vs the normal vinegar which was 5%) but it cost way more.
    – Celeritas
    Commented May 1, 2013 at 19:51
  • I always use 5% stuff that comes in a gallon. Not sure what 10% will do to the carpet's color but you can always test it in a corner of a closet to see.
    – TugboatCaptain
    Commented May 1, 2013 at 22:30
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Take a damp white rag or stack of paper towels and place it directly on the stain with something heavy (can you fit a few books there?) on top. This will draw the stain out of the carpet and into the towel. Replace the towels every few hours. Source

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  • And destroy the book(s). Perhaps you should suggest using something as a weight that won't be harmed if it gets wet.
    – Makyen
    Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 20:52
  • Hi Emma, I had difficulties to find your answer on the provided link.
    – bummi
    Commented Nov 20, 2018 at 21:54

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