Whether you’re the life of the party or simply enjoy a drink now and then with your significant other in the privacy of your own home, at one point or another, if you mix beer, fun, and carpets, you’re going to have something to clean up. While we’ve covered cleaning up wine stains before, today we’re going to share additional techniques for alcohol cleanup while guiding you through beer stain removal. Bottoms up!

How do you clean beer stains and spills out of a carpet?

The moment you notice a beer spill, grab some paper towels or a white cloth to start blotting the liquid. Your goal here is to soak out as much of it as possible. If you’re quick enough, you might even be able to remove the colors before the carpet’s fibers start absorbing them. This will depend, of course, on your speed, the beer, and how the carpets were dyed to begin with. But you can’t control any of those factors once the spill starts to soak, so here’s what you do next.

Make sure you have vinegar and dish washing detergent on hand

Once you’ve soaked up all the beer you can by hand, it’s time to think like a chemist. Mix up 2/3rds of a cup of clean water and 1/3rd of a cup of white vinegar. Stir it together for 30 seconds before emptying it into a spray bottle. If you don’t have one, you can use a spoonful of the solution at a time. In either case, wet the stain a few times and then start blotting it from the carpet with a fresh set of paper towels or cloths. Repeat these steps over and over again until you’ve used all of the solution.

Now we’re going to wash the stain out. To do so, mix three drops of dish washing detergent in a bowl with one cup of water. The water should be warm and the detergent should ideally be unscented, although you can use scented varieties in a pinch. Once you’ve thoroughly mixed this solution, pour a spoonful of it on the beer stain. Grab a white cloth or rag and blot the stain until it’s dry. As before with the vinegar-water solution, you’ll want to repeat these steps until you’ve used all of the solution.

Rinse the solutions fully to avoid soiling and reappearing stains

Once you’ve used the solution, we’ll rinse it out with warm water. Add a spoonful to the area and blot it with more clean towels or cloths until it’s dry. Your goal here is to fully rinse out both the detergent and the vinegar. It’s important to do so to avoid soiling the carpet, as this can lead to the stain reappearing in the future.

If you can still smell the beer, add some carpet freshening powder to the site. You only need about a spoonful; don’t overdo it. After you’ve rinsed out the cleaning solutions, the final step is to fully dry the area to avoid a mold or mildew problem in the future. You can air dry the carpet, but the process will go more quickly if you can open windows or use a ceiling or portable fan to dry it. Once you’ve fully dried the area and cleaned out lingering detergent, vinegar, and other cleaning solutions, run a vacuum over the area to clear out the carpet powder or leftover cleaning solutions.

Can beer stains be removed from wool carpets without professional help?

If you’re dealing with wool or other carpets that absorb moisture or react strongly to chemicals, you’ll want to tread carefully, as it’s easy to damage fibers if you don’t know what you’re doing. We’ve written a full guide to cleaning wool rugs and carpets here. Contrary to popular opinion, you can clean wool carpeting on your own, whether by hand or with a carpet cleaner. However, if you don’t feel comfortable doing so on your own, it’s best to call a professional.

Which carpet cleaners and vacuums do you recommend for beer cleanup?

While the techniques we’ve described above can and do work for most beer stains, if you’re in a hurry or have particularly tough stains to deal with, save some time and bring out the carpet cleaner. We recommend choosing a machine you’ll be able to get a lifetime’s worth of use out of instead of settling for disposable box store options.

In our books, that means a carpet cleaner like the  Bissell 86T3 Big Green for deep cleaning and vacuums like the Miele Complete C3 Soft Carpet or the Miele Compact C2 Electro+ for day-to-day cleaning as well as for quick removal of detergents and cleaning solutions. As we’ve noted here, the Bissell is equally capable in residential and commercial cleaning roles and is a steal for the money. The Soft Carpet, while expensive, is a buy-it-for life vacuum, and the Electro+ (which we’ve reviewed here and here) is a more affordable compromise.

You can buy the Bissell 85T3 Big Green carpet cleaner here on Amazon. You can buy the Miele Complete C3 Soft Carpet here or buy the Miele Compact C2 Electro+ here.

Canadians can buy the Miele Soft Carpet here, the Compact Electro+ here, and the Bissell Big Green here.

If you find our research on PMC helpful, you can follow our efforts to keep maniacally reviewing home cleaning tools by shopping through our links above. We promise to keep fighting the good fight against every horror children, animals, and grown, yet messy humans can inflict upon a clean home.