How To Get Mud Stains Out of Your Carpet

Between dirty football boots, messy puppies, and even messier little ones, it’s quite easy for mud stains to appear on your carpet. But there’s no need to panic when they do.

While mud stain removal can be a bit of a pain, especially when you just want to spend your weekend relaxing, we’ve got some tips to make it super quick and easy. With these simple steps, you’ll be able to clean the mud off your carpet in no time at all!

Ready to begin? Just follow our five simple mud stain removal steps, below.

To make the mud stain removal process as easy as possible, it’s useful to know what tools you’ll need to do it properly.

Most of the items you’ll likely already have knocking around your cupboards, drawers, or storage closets already. But if you don’t, you can find them all readily available in local supermarkets or even corner stores.

To get mud off the carpet with ease, you’ll need the following items to hand:

• Kitchen towel
• Vacuum
• Spray bottle
• Washing up liquid or washing detergent
• White vinegar
• Water
• Cloth

Got your mud stain tools prepped? Well, then stick on that cleaning playlist, and let’s get to cleaning your carpet!

Getting rid of mud stains is much easier when the mud is dry, so if the mud is fresh, it’s best to let it air dry before we begin removing it.

During the wetter winter months, it can be easy for very wet dirt to be trodden into the house. If this is the case here, then you can use a little bit of kitchen towel to gently blot the excess liquid, as this will make it dry that bit faster.

However, be careful not to press down too heavily on the mud, as this can push the stain further into your delicate carpet fibres! If the mud settles too deep into the carpet, it can become a stain.

Now the mud is dry, we can start to clean the mud off the carpet. But where to begin? Well, it all starts with the vacuum!

Loose, dry mud can be easily dealt with by running your vacuum over the area. While you might typically only spend a minute or two on one area of the carpet, when it comes to mud stain removal, you’ll want to spend a few minutes going over the same spot to be sure it’s all gone.

Try to go over the stained area at least 16 times, going back and forth and side to side, as this will ensure you get the best stain removal for mud possible. Remember, the more mud you remove now, the easier the rest of the steps will be!

The next step is to mix a cleaning solution. You can find pre-made mixes in supermarkets, but if you’re in a pinch, then they’re just as easy to make.

Believe it or not, white vinegar will remove mud stains! But we know you’re probably not keen on your carpet smelling like it. So, we’re going to use some clear washing up liquid or fabric detergent in our cleaning solution to take that harsh smell away – our secret cleaning hack!

To create your mud stain removal solution, mix together two tablespoons of vinegar and two tablespoons of washing up liquid or fabric detergent into a spray bottle of water. Give it a shake and you’re good to go.

Cleaning solution made, it’s time to spritz the stained area with the mix and let the mud stain removal magic begin!

But before we do, let’s give the mix a test spray first, to be sure it’s safe to use on your carpet. To do this, simply spritz a small amount onto a hidden part of your carpet – a corner or under the sofa is best. Leave it for 5 minutes and watch for any signs of colour run or damage. 

No sign of damage? Well, then let’s get to cleaning! Spritz the mud stain with your mixture, making sure to cover the whole area with the spray. To get the best results, you’ll want to leave it to soak for at least 20 minutes, before we move onto the fifth and final step.

Mud stain removal nearly done! But before you step back to admire your handy work, let’s take care of that left over solution first.

After you’ve let the mixture soak for the necessary amount of time, take a clean cloth and dampen it with some water. Dab around the area the mixture was sprayed, again making sure to be light handed as you go.

Once all the solution is cleaned up, you should now see a clean carpet, free of stains – mud stain removal complete. All that’s left to do is wait for the area to dry, and your floor will look as good as new!

Et voila! You should now have a sparkly clean carpet to step back and admire. If you’re on the lookout for more stain removal tips and tricks, you can find out how to remove red wine, makeup, and coffee stains from your carpet over on our blog!