Maybe you cultivated the habit of providing your own hair care during the pandemic, or maybe your teen decided to dye their hair neon pink for a Halloween costume. Perhaps a little less than the advised amount of caution was taken, and now you have hair dye stains on your carpet. So now you’re asking yourself:  is it even possible to get hair dye out of carpet?

It may seem as though hair dye stains would be impossible to remove from carpet fibers, since the dye is designed to be, well, permanent. But the truth is that most types of carpet stains can be cleaned, no matter the strength of the stain-causing substance or the severity of the stain. You just have to apply a little creativity, patience, and elbow-grease. And, chances are, you already have everything you’ll need on hand.

Different hair dyes contain different chemicals and pigments, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to getting hair dye stains out of carpet. But there are a few simple household cleaners that you can try, and at least one of them is likely to work. Check out the list below for easy and non-toxic solutions to try.

Household Cleaning Agents to Try on Hair Dye Stains:

• White vinegar
• Dish soap
• Clarifying shampoo
• Rubbing (or isopropyl) alcohol
• 3% Hydrogen peroxide

Method

 For each of the cleaning agents listed above, try the following method.

• Saturate the stained carpet area with the cleaning agent (for dish soap and clarifying shampoo, add a little warm water and work up some suds.)
• Let the product sit on the stain for 5-10 minutes.
• Dab with a clean cloth or paper towel, rinse with warm water, and dab again until the cleaning agent is removed.
• Blot dry.

If the stain is reduced, but still present, repeat this method with the same cleaner. If the stain has not improved at all, move on to the next cleaning agent and repeat the method.