New carpet brightens a home. It looks warm and inviting for a week or two, then stuff happens -- kids, company, dogs, TV dinners, wine spills. Soon your new carpet looks like a military drop zone. Don't fret. If you want to get rid of chewing gum, put ice cubes in a plastic bag and freeze the gum; when it's hard, scrape with a butter knife. If you have greasy stuff in your carpet, such as lipstick, blot up any excess, then use drycleaning fluid. If you have pet stains, blot any excess with paper towels, then use a mixture of laundry detergent, ammonia and white vinegar. For shoe polish and ink, dab with paint thinner. For fruit juice and soft drinks, mix 1 teaspoon of both laundry detergent and white vinegar in 1 quart of warm water, and sponge well. For burns, trim off fibers and, if needed, glue in some extras from the rug's edge. And that's the On The House tip for today.