• If someone spills red wine on your carpet, get out the club soda.red wine image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com
  
  While numerous commercial cleaning products remove carpet stains, many consumers opt to use home remedies, which are sometimes less expensive and may be less toxic. Before using any cleaning product on your carpet, read the carpet's manufacturer's cleaning instructions, and test the cleaning solution on an out of the way piece of the carpet, to see if the solution might damage carpet fibers.
  
  

Table Salt

• Ordinary table salt can prevent certain carpet stains, such as fireplace soot. You'll create a bigger mess if you attempt to remove spilled soot by sponging or shampooing the area. Vacuuming up the soot can also cause a problem, by rubbing the soot deep into the fibers. Coat the powdery debris with a heavy layer of table salt and let it set for two hours. Vacuum up the salt and debris, using the hose attachment.
  
  

Club Soda

• Stock your pantry or bar with club soda. When coffee, tea or red wine spills on the carpet, heavily douse the spot with the club soda. The stain will bubble up. Use paper towel to blot up the liquid and stain and pour on more club soda, repeating the process until the stain vanishes. Club soda is also effective at eliminating urine odor from carpet.
  
  

White Distilled Vinegar

• Use a solution of equal parts white distilled vinegar and water to remove urine stains and odor from carpet. For a grease stain on the carpet, add 1 tbsp. of distilled white vinegar and 2 tbsp. of liquid dish soap to 2 cups of water, and use the solution to wash the grease stain from the carpet.
  
  

Shaving Cream

• Blood, spaghetti sauce, coffee or tea can be removed from your carpet using the foaming shaving cream in your bathroom's medicine cabinet. Spray the shaving cream on the stain and then rinse the area with cool water. For coffee and tea stains, scrub the stain lightly with the shaving cream before rinsing.
  
  

Isopropyl Alcohol

• For dried water-based paint, ballpoint ink stains, or lipstick stains, try isopropyl alcohol to lift the stain. Sponge the stained area with isopropyl alcohol.