Hair dye on the carpet

[Shangri-laschild]

Anyone have any tips for getting hair dye out of the carpet? I forgot to throw away the box that I put the bottle into after dying my sister's hair and what little was left bubbled out and onto the carpet. Didn't see it for maybe half a day after it happened. Darker red hair dye too on beige carpet so it's very noticeable.

[Crossbow]

Quoted from a Good Housekeeping article:

Carpet

1. Mix one tablespoon of liquid hand dishwashing detergent and one tablespoon of white vinegar with two cups of warm water.

2. Using a clean white cloth, sponge the stain with the detergent/vinegar solution, blotting frequently with a dry cloth until the stain disappears.

3. Sponge with cold water.

4. Blot until the liquid is absorbed.

5. Sponge the stain with rubbing alcohol. Blot to remove the stain.

6. Sponge with cold water.

7. If the stain remains, mix one teaspoon of liquid hand dishwashing detergent and one tablespoon of ammonia with two cups of warm water. Sponge the stain with this solution. Leave it on the stain for at least 30 minutes, blotting every five minutes with a clean white cloth and more solution.

8. Sponge with cold water and blot dry.

No idea on the effectiveness, as I've never had a reason to try it. I'd have to have enough hair to dye...

[Shangri-laschild]

I had seen the first part of those instructions and tried that. It did work nice on the stain where I accidentally dripped some of the hair dye after I found the box and went to throw it away. Didn't do much for the original stain sadly. I'll try the "if that doesn't work" part though so thanks!

[Crossbow]

Yeah, unfortunately most anti-stain remedies are for catching a fresh stain. Once it's dried, it's a lot harder.

[Shangri-laschild]

On the plus side, I plan on living there for a year or two so maybe at the very least I can slowly fade the stain.

[NecessaryCatharsis]

You should be able to, even permanent hair dye fades over time, that's why you have to do more than the roots every time. It's just that you wash your hair more than your carpet. If you wash it often enough, even just with soap and water, you can hopefully get it down to not very noticeable.

[Kittish]

If all else fails, and if it won't melt your carpet or leave an even MORE noticeable spot, you might try a little diluted bleach once you've got the stain faded as much as you think you'll be able to. If your carpet is a light enough beige, a white or nearly white spot might not show up as badly as the hair dye.

[MoonCat]

There is a product called Color Ooops that is meant to remove hair dye, usually used when you realize your hair color was a mistake. Usually can be found in the hair dye section of the pharmacy or wherever you buy your hair color. That might work, though I kind of wonder if it would affect the color of the carpet.

[DeltaSierra]

I managed to get dried hair dye out of a throw rug on my bathroom floor using Resolve carpet cleaner. I saturated the spot, let it sit several hours, then washed it in the hottest water I could.

[Seshat]

Both lemon juice and light are bleaching tools; so once you've washed as much of the stain away as you can (including using the dye stripping tool suggested), you can try using either of those. Or both, as light can enhance lemon juice' bleaching properties.