How to remove dry paint from carpet?

It is inevitable that when you paint a room no matter how careful you are painting always seems to get on the floor. So, what happens when you’ve managed to get paint on the floor and you don’t find out about it until it’s already dried? My Arlington Painter paints interior rooms, exterior homes, commercial and residential areas so we have seen our share of dried paint in areas where it shouldn’t be. We will walk you through how to get dried paint off the carpet, tile, and wood flooring.

Carpet

This seems to be one of the most dreaded places for paint to dry because if not done properly it can discolor your carpet permanently. There are two different types of paint that we will go over. One is the water soluble and the other acrylic.

• Water Soluble Paint – This type of paint is easier to get off when dry. The first step that you’re going to want to do is scrape off as much of the dry paint with a putty knife or the like. After you’ve scraped as much paint off that you can, make sure to give a good vacuum to clean up any of those paint particles that you have chipped away at. After doing so, you’re going to want to get some hot water and with a bit of mild detergent and apply it to the stain for the rest of the paint to soften. Make sure to let it sit for a couple of minutes then start the process again. If you’re not able to get it out still, then you might want to try putting a towel down and put your iron down on it on the steam setting.
• Acrylic Paint – You’ll want to start it the same way by scraping off as much of the dried paint as possible. You can even take pliers to try and get off what you can. If you’re having trouble breaking it up, then its worth trying to use Goo Gone to help break it loose. After you’ve done as much as you can with scraping then you’ll want to move onto saturating it with a solution of 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap and then give it a brisk scrub in a way that won’t push it down further into the carpet fibers. Once you’ve done this you’ll want to dab it with a cloth and go over it with the vacuum tool. Next, you’re going to want to make another solution with one part white vinegar and ten parts water and dab it on the carpet with a sponge. Afterwards, press an absorbent towel on it. The final step is to put cold water on it and then blot it dry. With each solution, the paint should be dissipating.

Wood and Tile

Often these can be cleaned the same way when there is dry paint on them. Taking a blade tool that you can use with precision, gently scrape off as much as you can when it’s on wood. If you’re worried that you’re going to ruin the wood with a metal blade, then you can always give it a go with a plastic putty knife or edge of a credit card. Make sure that you go with the grain and not against the grain. Then with the remaining paint, you can try and take it off with soap and water on a rag. This will work if it’s a water-soluble paint. You’ll have to use a different solution if it is an acrylic based paint. When it’s on the tile you can aggressively scrape off the paint if you’d like.

My painter knows how to get paint off of just about any surface. We are always careful to put a tarp down and make sure to only get paint on the surface we are working on. Call us today if you’d like a free estimate!

By My Arlington Painter 8-31-2018