Ever had your child squeezed out a whole tube of diaper rash cream onto your favorite carpet? Before throwing the carpet out, you can try these stain removal methods to get diaper cream out of the carpet.
A disclaimer is that your chances of restoring the carpet are almost nothing, given most problems happen are big (imagine a whole tube of diaper cream on the carpet) and the diaper cream had already chemically reacted with the carpet for some time.
Nevertheless, we found some useful tips from online and Jolie Kerr, a cleaning expert, and author of the New York Times bestselling book shared her expertise for clothes, which would work for the carpet too.
Step 1: Wipe Off As Much As Possible
You must try to wipe up as much of the diaper cream using dry paper towels or rags as soon as possible and as much as possible. The zinc oxide in most diaper cream will bleach your carpet.
If your carpet is already bleached by the zinc oxide by a long time, chances are low to restore the carpet.
Also do not use the dryer as diaper cream stains are oil-based and leave a lingering grease stain if heated.
After the dry wipes, don't bother with wet wipes as the grease and zinc oxide from diaper cream is meant to stay on skins and create a protective layer, in this case for the carpet.
Step 2: Degreasers like Goo Gone, De-Solv-It or CitraSolv
The grease from diaper cream is due to the presence of petrolatum or mineral oils. Jolie shared that she read a positive testimonial from a mom who used Goo Gone to remove diaper cream stains from fabric.
If you don't have any of them, you can try a dish soap or soapy water to remove as much of the grease as possible.
Step 3: Baking Soda or Cornstarch
For a non-toxic cleaning, you can try the baking soda or cornstarch to soak the grease stain.
Cover the stains with baking soda or cornstarch to absorb any grease and let it sit for an hour. After that, you can use dish soap to create a soapy effect. You can let it soak in cool water for 30 minutes cleaning up the mess.
Step 4: Baking Soda with Alcohol Spray
Besides the grease, zinc oxide used in most of Desitin diaper cream can be separated from the carpet by using alcohol cleaner. Similar to Step 3, instead of using soapy water, use alcohol to wipe and separate the zinc oxide away.
Step 5: Use Vinegar
We didn't recommend this as there are mixed reviews on using acid on zinc oxide. Acid does react with zinc oxide but the reaction might end up with a worse stain onto your carpet. Nevertheless, you can consider this if you are ok with throwing the carpet eventually. If not, skip this step and go to the last resort.
Last resort: get a professional carpet cleaner
Someone asked Desitin and got this answer to find a professional. If all else failed and the carpet is your favorite one, you can consider getting a professional carpet cleaner for a quote.