How to get hair dye out of carpet
To get hair dye out of carpet, blot it immediately with white cloths, then dab on a solution of ¼ teaspoon clear dish soap in a cup of lukewarm water, blot, and follow with 1 cup of white vinegar in 2 cups of water. Rinse with plain water and blot dry. Permanent hair dye keeps developing color after it's mixed, and carpet fibers take it up the way hair does, so the first few minutes decide how much comes out. Dried hair dye is often a job for a professional.
- Best method
- Blot fast, dish-detergent and vinegar solutions, rinse
- Time
- 20 to 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Stain type
- Dye
You will need
- Disposable gloves
- White cloths or paper towels
- Clear liquid dish soap
- White vinegar
- A spray bottle of plain water
How to remove hair dye from carpet
- 1
Put on gloves and blot right away
Wearing gloves, scoop up any blob of dye cream with a spoon, then press dry white cloths onto the spot, starting at the edge. Switch to a clean area of cloth each time and don't rub.
Why: Mixed hair dye is still reacting, and every bit lifted now is color that never forms in the carpet fibers. Gloves protect your skin from dye allergens.
- 2
Test, then apply dish-detergent solution
Mix ¼ teaspoon of clear dish soap into a cup of lukewarm water. Test on a hidden patch, then dab it on with a white cloth from the outer edge toward the center, wait a few minutes, and blot. Repeat while color keeps transferring.
Why: This is the Carpet and Rug Institute's first step for hair dye. It lifts the cream base and loose dye without spreading it.
- 3
Follow with a vinegar solution
Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of water and blot it on the same way.
Why: The vinegar solution is the institute's next step. Hair color mixes usually contain ammonia, and the mild acid counters that alkalinity and helps release more dye.
- 4
Rinse with plain water
Mist the spot lightly with warm water and blot, several times.
Why: Detergent and vinegar left in the pile attract soil.
- 5
Dry under a weighted pad
Lay a thick pad of white paper towels on the spot, weight it down, and replace the towels as they absorb moisture and color.
Why: The pad draws up moisture and any dye still in the base of the pile, instead of letting it wick back to the surface.
Why hair dye is one of the hardest carpet stains
Permanent hair color is an oxidative dye. Colorless precursors are mixed with a hydrogen peroxide developer, usually with ammonia, and the reaction forms large colored molecules inside the hair. The same reaction can happen inside carpet fibers, so a hair dye spill behaves like a real dye job rather than surface dirt. It's a dye stain, the same chemistry as hair dye on clothes, and the color keeps developing for a while after the spill.
Wool carpet is a protein fiber, like hair itself. Henna is a particular problem on wool: its dye reacts with protein, so it binds strongly. That's why speed matters so much and why fully set hair dye on carpet often won't come out at home.
By situation
Dried or set hair dye
Try the detergent and vinegar steps a few times, with a few minutes of contact each round. If color doesn't transfer to the cloth, the dye has formed in the fiber and a professional is the realistic next step.
Semi-permanent and temporary color
These dyes don't go through the oxidation reaction, so they tend to sit closer to the surface. Blot fast and work through the same steps; they may lift more easily than permanent color.
Wool carpet or rugs
Wool takes up hair dye and henna readily. Blot and use only the detergent solution sparingly, then call a professional. Don't use ammonia or chlorine bleach on wool.
Light-colored carpet
Even a faint mark will show. After the institute's sequence, a small amount of 3% hydrogen peroxide on a cloth can lighten leftover dye on light synthetic carpet, but test it first: it can also lighten the carpet's own color.
What not to do
- Don't rub or scrub the dye. It pushes developing dye deeper into more fibers and frays the pile.
- Don't pour chlorine bleach on carpet. It removes carpet dye and leaves a pale or discolored spot that's often worse than the stain.
- Don't mix vinegar or ammonia with chlorine bleach. Both combinations release toxic gases.
- Don't wait to start. Oxidative dye keeps developing color, so a spill left to dry becomes much harder to remove.
Other methods that work
Carpet spot kit
A commercial kit is the step after the vinegar solution and warm-water rinse in the Carpet and Rug Institute's hair dye sequence.
Caution: Follow its directions exactly, and don't apply any stain-resist solution until the dye is gone.
Rubbing alcohol
Sometimes used to lift fresh dye. It isn't in the carpet or extension sources for hair dye, so treat it as traditional, with weak evidence.
Caution: Test first; it can lift carpet dye. Apply on a cloth, never poured.
Stain still there?
Color stopped coming up on the cloth
The dye has set in the fibers. Further home treatment risks damaging the carpet; a professional cleaner is the next step.
The stain changed color during cleaning
Oxidative dyes can shift tone as they react. Rinse with plain water, blot dry and reassess before trying anything stronger.
Safety
- Wear gloves: hair dye ingredients such as p-phenylenediamine can cause skin allergies.
- Never mix vinegar or ammonia with chlorine bleach.
Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.
Questions
Can you get hair dye out of carpet?
Fresh spills often come out partly or fully if blotted right away and treated with dish-detergent and vinegar solutions. Dried permanent dye usually needs a professional and may not come out completely.
Does vinegar remove hair dye from carpet?
A vinegar solution (1 cup to 2 cups water) is the Carpet and Rug Institute's second step for hair dye, after a dish-detergent solution.
Will hydrogen peroxide take hair dye out of carpet?
It can lighten leftover dye on light synthetic carpet, but it can also lighten the carpet itself. Test on a hidden spot and use only 3%.
Hair dye on other surfaces
Other stains on carpet
Sources
- Spot Solver: Hair Dye, The Carpet and Rug Institute
- Carpet Stains 4-1-1: Best Practices for Removing Stains, The Carpet and Rug Institute
- Hair coloring, Wikipedia
- Lawsone, Wikipedia
- The Carpet Primer, The Carpet and Rug Institute
- Chlorine gas: What happens if you mix bleach and other cleaners, National Capital Poison Center (Poison Control)
Last updated . Methods are drawn from the sources above; how we research and check our guides.