Stain remover trial

Cavalier Bremworth Carpet Stain Remover for Wet Stains claims to be emergency care for liquid spills. We tried it.

Carpet stains are difficult to treat, as soaking and scrubbing are a no-no. You’ll find remedies for different stains online but they usually call for a dash to the kitchen cupboard. And what if you don’t have the ingredients needed?

We tried the Cavalier product on red wine and coffee spills to see how it performed.

What we found

Wine stain before and after

Sold in supermarkets for around $8, the product sprays a foam that you let sink into the stain and then blot up. So we spilled 50ml each of red wine and coffee, soaked up as much excess liquid as we could with a super-absorbent sponge and went to work with the foam.

It took three applications of the spray on the coffee stain and two on the wine to achieve the results in the photos.

The foam didn’t have much effect on these large stains, so we tried it again with one tablespoon of each liquid. This time the stains were removed – but our sponge had soaked up most of the liquid from the carpet before we treated it.

Coffee stain before and after

A positive point is that the foam is less likely to damage your carpet than home remedies. If you add too much liquid to a stain, the backing can become saturated and create new stains or even mould. Powders can become embedded in the pile.

The verdict

Cavalier Bremworth Carpet Stain Remover for Wet Stains could be useful for a klutzy family – it removed the evidence of minor mishaps. But for large stains you’re better to remove as much liquid as possible and call a professional cleaner.

Tip: Removing as much liquid as possible before treating a stain gives the best chance of success. A super-absorbent PVA block soaks up moisture without wiping, dabbing or scrubbing – simply press it on to the stain for a few seconds then release it slowly. You can buy one from a carpet retailer for about $25.