Photo: Rodica Vasiliev (Shutterstock)
Sunscreen is a necessity in the summer, but sometimes it can end up on spots other than your skin. Whether you squeeze the bottle too tightly – which causes the lotion to explode on your favorite carpet – or someone in your household sits on the couch covered in sunscreen from head to toe, sunscreen stains can occur.
Fortunately, they’re also relatively easy to remove – especially if you act quickly. Here’s what you should know about removing sunscreen stains from furniture and carpets.
How to get sunscreen from upholstered furniture and carpets
In most situations, you should be able to remove sunscreen from upholstery and carpets with little effort. Here’s how to do that, courtesy of Leah Goulis at Kidspot Australia:
- Scrape off as much of the sunscreen as you can using something like a blunt knife or spatula. Do not rub the padding or fabric to remove the excess lotion.
- Pour in a decent amount of either baking soda, corn flour, or talcum powder and let sit overnight.
- Soak up the powdery mass the next day.
- If that didn’t help, you can try again before contacting professionals.
How to treat sunscreen stains on leather
Sunscreen is not kind to the leather, so treating the stain in good time is even more important in this situation. Here are the steps on how to remove the courtesy of Jessica Kielman at Hunker:
- Dab the sunscreen stain with a cloth or paper towel. Don’t rub it.
- Make a solution of one cup of water with two or three drops of dish soap (Kielman recommends Dawn).
- Dab the mixture into the stain with a clean, white cloth and work in a circular motion.
- Wipe the affected area and let it dry.
- Apply leather conditioner to the furniture.
And whether you are dealing with leather or upholstery or carpets, if the stain persists, you should get a professional to finish the job.
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