From Linda's Lips: Vinegar does it again!

While we were in Yellowstone this summer one of my nephews spilled some red kool aid on the carpet. We were a little worried about losing some money on the deposit on the place so we quickly looked for remedies online. I haven't been able to find it again to post a link, but this worked like a charm! We sprinkled white vinegar over the stain and then sprinkled baking soda over the vinegar and worked it in to the carpet. The next day, when the mixture had dried, we vacuumed up the baking soda and were totally shocked. The red was completely gone and the carpet was bright. In fact, the carpet looked brand spankin new!

I decided to try it for myself upon our return home. There was an old stain in my boys room that drove me crazy every time I walked in. I sprinkled some vinegar on it, worked the baking soda in, and then returned the next day. Sure enough, it was dry and I vacuumed it up. The stain was much improved! In fact, to get a picture of the improvement I had to really work on the angle with my camera. It is almost undetectable! The carpet no longer looks matted, and when my son walked in his quote was, "wow! that spot is gone." I may do it again tonight to lighten it further. But it definitely works on fresh and old stains. Of course I would say try this in a hidden area first if you are worried about discoloration, but we had no problems on the darker carpet in Yellowstone or our light carpet at home.