How to Get Hot Sauce Out of Carpet

Whether hot sauce drips from the bottle or a plate of wings falls on the floor, don't let a hot sauce stain on the carpet leave you hot under the collar. Dealing with the spill while it's still wet makes cleanup much easier to handle. When using liquids to lift the hot sauce from the carpet, test them in an inconspicuous area first to ensure they don't discolor the floor covering.

As soon as the spill happens, grab plain white paper towels or an absorbent white cloth. If the spill looks like a significant amount of sauce, such as when a plate of hot wings falls, scoop up as much sauce as possible with a spoon, depositing it into a bowl or small trash can right away. Once you've scooped as much as possible, fold the paper towels or cloth and blot the spots, lifting and rotating to a clean area of the paper or cloth as the sauce comes up. After you've lifted a good deal of the hot sauce by dabbing, press a fresh folded paper towel or cloth over the spot and stand on it to reach some of the liquid that traveled deeper into the carpet. Continue with fresh paper or cloth until no more hot sauce lifts from the carpet.

Corn starch helps absorb what remains of a hot sauce stain spill after you've scooped or blotted up as much as possible. Sprinkle corn starch on any remaining saucy areas and allow it to sit for at least 20 minutes before vacuuming. Repeat the process if the area still seems wet with sauce.

Diluted white vinegar lifts what remains of the hot sauce stain after you've blotted and absorbed as much as possible. Mix equal parts water and vinegar in a spray bottle and spritz the stained area liberally. Press an absorbent white cloth over the wet area and press down to absorb the hot sauce-and-vinegar solution. Switch to a fresh area of the cloth as it begins to absorb the stain. Continue blotting until no more of the hot sauce color comes up. If the sauce is still visible on the carpet, spritz it with the vinegar solution again, blotting with a fresh white cloth. It may take several attempts to remove the stain completely.

Soapy water helps lift what remains of the hot sauce stain while cleaning the affected area. Mix a squirt of liquid dish soap into a cup of warm water. Use a non-detergent soap, as detergents commonly leave behind traces of residue that cause the carpet fibers to re-soil quickly. Dip an absorbent white cloth into the soapy water; then press it down over the remaining stain. Blot repeatedly, checking the cloth and rotating it as needed to prevent pressing hot sauce back into the carpet. Once the stain disappears, wipe the area again with a damp white cloth, then blot it dry with a fresh white cloth.