# Diet Mountain Dew Code Red On My Carpet Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859 "2009-10-15T01:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/1 "2009-10-15T01:59:50Z")
Spilled over half a can of Diet Mountain Dew Code Red on my carpet just now. Am trying the spot stain remover we have around the house, (Rug Doctor), doesn’t seem to be working. Suggestions!? ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/2 "2009-10-15T02:03:55Z")
Oxy clean paste. Make it about the consistency of runny toothpaste and dig it in. Test it out in an out of the way place first… ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/3 "2009-10-15T02:04:49Z")
> [@JXJohns](#): > > Oxy clean paste. Make it about the consistency of runny toothpaste and dig it in. > > Test it out in an out of the way place first… Generally available at grocery stores? ---
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/4 "2009-10-15T12:38:12Z")
Yes. It’s is a small tub. It will be by the laundry detergents. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/5 "2009-10-15T12:53:54Z")
When all else fails try Spot Shot in the blue spray can with the orange top. We used to feed the cats Meow Mix until we moved to a house with off white carpet. They would throw up on the carpet and it would leave red dye stains. The Spot Shot got rid of the stains. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/6 "2009-10-15T12:55:20Z")
Try grape juice or red wine if you are wealthy. ---
**Author:** ![Gesturing\_Mildly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@Gesturing\_Mildly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gesturing_Mildly)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/7 "2009-10-15T16:54:57Z")
If all else fails, and you can’t afford to replace the carpet, get some fabric paint in a matching color, dilute it with a little water, and re-paint the carpet. Obviously, it’s not as good as getting the stain out, but better than a bright red spot. I’ve done it before with cat barf stains. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/8 "2009-10-16T06:53:33Z")
> [@JXJohns](#): > > Oxy clean paste. Make it about the consistency of runny toothpaste and dig it in. > > Test it out in an out of the way place first… I’m pretty sure oxidizers only work on organic stains. I was told by a professional carpet cleaner that red dye stains will not come out. If the OP finds something that works I’d really like to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/9 "2009-10-16T12:41:02Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > I’m pretty sure oxidizers only work on organic stains. > > I was told by a professional carpet cleaner that red dye stains will not come out. If the OP finds something that works I’d really like to know what it is. There’s still a light pink shade, though it’s not nearly as bad as it looked before I tried to clean it up. I’ve used Rug Doctor Spot and Stain, Rug Doctor Urine Eliminator (some people on some sites say it works on dyes…), Woolite Oxy Deep, and Woolite Heavy Traffic (this last is a can that you attach to this thing you scrub the carpet with.) The last one seemed to do the best. I’m going over it several times today. I think it gets a little better every time, but I despair of it ever going away completely. ---
**Author:** ![beatlejuice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@beatlejuice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beatlejuice)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/10 "2009-10-16T19:37:38Z")
Try alcohol. My sister dumped a bottle of nail polish on her carpet and the stain came out with alcohol. Of course, test it first. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/11 "2009-10-16T22:39:11Z")
I think that if you find something, recommended here or elsewhere, that is fairly good at \*completely \*removing artificial red food coloring _without affecting the underlying colors_ then you have something marketable. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/12 "2009-10-17T02:13:59Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > There’s still a light pink shade, though it’s not nearly as bad as it looked before I tried to clean it up. Yeah… a liquid that hasn’t dried yet isn’t so bad. Just add water. You should’ve run out to get rent a carpet-washing vacuum, and covered it up so it wouldn’t evaporate in the meantime. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/13 "2009-10-17T02:35:15Z")
I think OxyClean or the generic is your best bet. I don’t think there is any reason to make a paste of it. The only thing actively bleaching the red dye is in solution. The red dye is organic. I would use a warm saturated solution. No doubt though that Woolite OxyDeep contains the active ingredient in OxyClean so who knows. You can also delicately cut the stained carpet out. You could even take a patch from somewhere else and repair it if you are good with that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/14 "2009-10-17T06:12:53Z")
Keep soaking it in the Oxyclean. I have gotten red Koolaid stains completely gone with it, but it took a while. If it won’t come out all the way, find an inconspicuous part of the carpet and try a chlorine bleach solution See if it bleaches the carpet. Most are made of nylon and other manmade materials and won’t be affected by the bleach. Chlorine bleach will remove the stain completely. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-mountain-dew-code-red-on-my-carpet-help/513859/15 "2009-10-17T06:14:33Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I think OxyClean or the generic is your best bet. I don’t think there is any reason to make a paste of it You make a paste of it because it is powdered.