How to Clean Paint Off of Carpet or Fabric

Paint spill on the carpet? Daubs on your divan?

Find out the best way to clean paint from carpet and fabric. After almost thirty years in the painting biz I've become pretty crafty about ways to remove dried paint from various interior surfaces and fabric. (Shhhh, don't tell. Nobody is perfect all the time!)　

Cleaning LOTS of wet paint out of carpet.

Oops! How much did you spill? If you just dumped several gallons all over the Berber, a wet dry vac is your best friend. The most important thing is to keep the spill wet until you can get it up. If you need to run next door and borrow a shop-vac, throw a wet towel or some plastic over the spill to keep it wet. It will be a long-ish process. You'll need to keep rewetting and vacuuming until a clean towel laid over the spill is clean even after you stomp on it.

Cleaning wet paint drips from carpet.

This is easy. Just use water, and a clean absorbent rag to blot (don't scrub, that will fuzz up the carpet fibers) the paint up. Keep turning the rag and blotting until it comes up clean.

Cleaning dry latex paint from carpet.

A bit trickier. If the paint is relatively fresh - say less than a couple of days old - saturate it with very hot water and put a cloth over it for a few minutes. Blot and repeat. The hot water will soften the paint, making it easier to clean up. You may have to get down on your hands and knees and scrape at individual fibers until it's all clean.

If the paint is dried solid, try one of the paint-remover products like Goof-Off. I haven't had much luck with these on carpet or fabric, but perhaps that depends on the type of paint and type of fiber. These solvent cleaners are not water based, so any subsequent cleaner to get the smell out needs to be with hot water and soap, then rinsed.

If the paint drip is really dried hard, you may have to resort to surgery. The dried paint can be carefully cut out of pile carpet with a sharp knife and only you will know there was paint there.

TIP: Paint thinner has no effect on latex paint, or any dried paint. Unless you are cleaning up wet oil based paint, don't even bother. It smells nasty and it won't work anyway.

Getting paint out of fabric.

I'm only going to address common fabrics. If you got paint on silk drapes or a $300.00 cashmere sweater, I suggest you bag it up in airtight plastic and do whatever you can to prevent it from drying and get to a professional cleaner right away!

For any washable fabric - sofa, pair of jeans, your child's sweatshirt - blot excess paint, spot clean, then wash the item immediately before it has a chance to dry. Upholstery can be blotted just as the carpeting can and clothing dropped into a sinkful of water or the washing machine. It's really imperative to keep it from drying out, if you can. Once paint has dried into fabric it is often impossible to clean flawlessly.

If the paint is dried try a solvent cleaner or rubbing alcohol and a stiff toothbrush to work into the fibers. This can work on some stiff upholstery fabrics, denim or heavy cotton. (Test the cleaner on an inconspicuous part of the item first in case it spots the fabric.) Follow with washing in hot soapy water.

If paint has dried into lightweight or fine fabric, it is usually impossible to get it out. You can try getting creative with laundry markers to cover it up, as a last resort. (Shhh! Don't tell...)