removing salt stains from carpets

After managing to forget about the scrap fo carpet I have in the basement for parking my dirtiest bike on, the carpeting in my basement where I park my winter bike has some rather obvious salt stains on it that are proving tough to get out. Any of y'all have any suggestions for a cleaning method that will work?

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Permalink Reply by Laura on March 13, 2014 at 3:58pm

I used Woolite Heavy Traffic. I have applied it a few times and there is still some salt, but it made a huge difference. I think if I do it a few more times it will be clean.

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Permalink Reply by Reboot Oxnard on March 14, 2014 at 12:05am

Salt crystals don't dissolve quickly in water - it takes time, you gotta let it soak a bit. Sometimes more than a bit: once the salt solution saturates no more crystals will dissolve so you need to keep changing the water. Using a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar will help accelerate the process, if you can stand the carpet smelling like a salad. Soak with the mix, let it stand for a few minutes and blot dry. Just like shampooing your hair, lather, rinse, repeat. End with a rinse of clean, warm water and blot dry again. You might have to take an old toothbrush to gently scrub the fibers.

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Permalink Reply by David P. on March 14, 2014 at 4:12am

Thanks, Laura & 'Reboot'

I'll try some of the Woolite product. The carpeting is not plush living-room kind of stuff, but industrial-type carpeting with a tight and dense weave (the finished basement has the laundry, storage areas, etc. I think it might be better to use my shop vac to pull out each soaking of vinegar solution....