Unattended youngsters can and do come up with a host of ways to stain your beautiful carpeting. As do pets. When they strike, be prepared to clean up as quickly as possible. Have on hand a stain removal guide. Essential to the success of stain removal is using the correct cleaning agent while the stain is still very fresh. Using the wrong cleaning method can permanently set a stain.

Many carpet manufacturers offer free stain-removal pamphlets as part of their customer service program. If your particular carpet manufacturer does not offer this service, check with the folks who installed the carpet for you. They may offer a generic stain-removal guide that works effectively with the kind of material that was used to manufacture your particular carpet.

There are several good books on the subject of stain removal. However, it is important to know exactly what material your carpet is made of. If you keep ink pens around the house it is useful to know what kind of ink they contain. Not all inks are removed with the same cleaner. Again, look to a good book on stain removal to be well informed about ink types.

And, don't lose hope once you are certain that a stain has become permanent. A permanent stain does not necessarily mean that you will have to replace your carpet especially if it is a small one. Rather, a patch may be the solution.

Patching a carpet that does not have a separate pad below it is the easiest to repair. This includes rubber-backed and other carpets, such as indoor-outdoor. Believe it or not, in many instances patching this kind of carpet can be easier than removing the stain. All you will need is a razor knife, a framing square, a roll of double-sided tape or a spray adhesive.

Basically, the patch is made by cutting out the stained material and replacing the removed portion with an undamaged piece. If an extra scrap is not available, the needed carpet can come from under a piece of furniture or from the back corner of a closet. Since furniture is subject to being moved, a closet is the best source. Once you have removed the damaged piece it can be used as a pattern to cut the replacement piece.

Double-sided tape should be centered between the exposed area of the patch and the surrounding carpet and affixed to the floor. Once in place on the floor the protective layer can be removed from the second side of the tape so that it will adhere to the surrounding carpet and the patch.

The patch should be kept as small as possible. Also, all carpets have an inherent pattern direction built into them. This must be matched to ensure an invisible patch. Making a perfectly square cut allows you to rotate the patch in the repair area until a proper tuft-pattern match is found. Be careful when cutting out the old and cutting in the new. Move the tufts out of the way of the razor knife. This will damage fewer tufts and ensure a cleaner connection.

Carpets over pads are repaired in almost the same way. But, special heat-bonding carpet tape is needed to facilitate the repair. Also, a special heating iron is required to melt the glue on the tape. Here, we would recommend the assistance of a carpet person. Expect to pay $25 to $50 for a small patch.