How to Remove Chocolate Topping from Carpet

So you’re getting ready for a relaxing night in, eating ice cream and watching a movie with the family, and then, disaster! Someone spilt chocolate topping on the carpet!

Removing Chocolate Sauce Stains

Well don’t panic, I’ve recreated this very scenario in the Electrodry lab, and formulated a process for removing chocolate sauce stains using a handful of items you’ll find in your kitchen. You want to work to remove the stain immediately, as stains always become harder to remove over time.

Because chocolate topping is acidic, we need an acid to remove the stain. Lemon juice and white vinegar both work well, although in my experiments the vinegar was slightly more effective. Here are the steps:

Supplies:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Lemon juice

Cut a lemon and squeeze into a small container. Pour some lemon juice onto a section of a white or colourfast towel (not directly onto the carpet). Use the towel to dab at the stain, using a rolling motion. Be careful not to use a rubbing or scrubbing motion, as this will just spread the stain! Frequently move to a clean part of the cloth and apply more lemon juice. Keep going until there is no more transfer of chocolate onto the cloth. Be patient! This method is very effective but can take a while.

With Vinegar

Step 4

To rinse the lemon juice or vinegar from the carpet, simply mix warm water with a little dishwashing liquid, and apply to the carpet with a clean cloth. Then, fold a dry towel in half and lay it over the area. Apply pressure by standing on it, soaking up the lemon juice/vinegar and water. If the carpet still smells like the acid, repeat.