Sweet Stains: How to Get Chocolate Out of Carpet

Chocolate is a favourite treat for adults and children alike. Its rich texture makes for an excellent snack, but a difficult stain on the carpet! Luckily, we can help you with how to get chocolate out of carpet in three steps.

First things first…

You should always work as quickly as possible to have a high chance of success.

If the chocolate on your carpet is melted, you can put a handful of ice cubes in a bag and hold them against the area for a few minutes, allowing it to harden for easier cleaning.

However, don't put ice directly on your carpet, as you could drench it, making the mess worse.

Step one: Scrape excess

Getting chocolate out of carpet should start with manually removing as much as possible. Grab a spatula or a butter knife and scrape the chocolate away from the carpet. Be careful not to be too rough, or you could damage your carpet. You can then pick up or vacuum all the pieces that you break off.

If you're lucky, this may be all that you need to do. However, if there is residue left behind or even some ingrained chocolate, you should try the next step.

Step two: Water and detergent 

After you have removed the scraped fragments, you should try applying a small amount of cold water to the stain. It's important to use cold water as too much heat could melt the chocolate further into the carpet or bind it to your carpet fibres. 

Next, add a dash of dish soap or laundry detergent, blotting it in circular motions towards the centre of the stain. Make sure that you don't get your carpet too wet, as it could take a long time to dry. You should also try a patch test on an unseen area of carpet, just in case the product you use discolours your carpet.

Step three: Water and white vinegar 

If there is still some stubborn chocolate on your carpet, you can try mixing one part white vinegar with four parts cold water. Gently apply this solution with a cloth or towel, leaving it to work for five minutes. Remember to carry out a patch test first to prevent damage. 

Once the vinegar has had time to break down the stain, blot it away with a towel. Work in gentle, circular motions to avoid driving the chocolate in further. 

If this still does not work, some sources suggest using a teaspoon of ammonia in half a cup of cold water, applied using the blotting method. However, this has a higher chance of damaging your carpet, so our recommendation is to seek a professional carpet cleaner at this point. 

Hire a professional carpet cleaner 

If you're struggling to get chocolate out of carpet, the best option is always to call in a professional.

With the National Carpet Cleaning Association, you don’t have to worry about an unsavoury cleaning service when removing sweet stains from your carpet. All our members are fully trained, rigorously vetted and highly experienced, so you can simply select one that’s close to you.

Find a local NCCA carpet cleaner to get chocolate out of your carpet with ease.