Foo - Getting Pencil 'Lead' Out of Carpet

An electric pencil sharpener fell on the floor and all the shavings came out. I decided to vacuum up the shavings without an attachment, so the roller of the vacuum spread out the "lead" that was in the shavings and now I have a nice, shiny, gray-ish patch on my carpet.

I read online to simply use an eraser to get the "lead" out, but that didn't do any bit of good. I then applied Resolve carpet powder stuff on it, but that doesn't look promising, either.

I got the "lead" out of the vacuum roller by letting it roll on other parts of the carpet until it didn't spread any more shiny, silvery stuff, so at least I had one good idea before using the vacuum on better carpet later.

The carpet is in the basement, cheap, brown, crappy anyway, but I would like to get my nice square (2x1 feet) of "lead" out of it.

Any ideas? As I mentioned, everything I Googled said to use an eraser and/or Resolve/homemade carpet cleaning solution, which aren't working for me. :( Can't put furniture over it, either. :lol:

159464

A little club soda will get that out.

http://jasonkarpf.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/wd40.jpg

Well, then you have to get the WD-40 out, right?

Toss the carpet. Your house will be healthier for it.

Tile-ex

A little club soda will get that out.

+1

Perform a virgin sacrifice upon the affected spot. Then use hydrogen peroxide to remove the bloodstains.

howstuffworks (http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-remove-graphite-and-pencil-lead-stains1.htm) - although it looks like you've tried stain remover. Hmm, Oxy clean? Baking soda and vinegar? If all else fails, hydrochloric acid should do the trick. Although it may remove your carpet as well.

(I am secretly disappointed you didn't title this thread "Getting the Led Out")

A little club soda will get that out.

also some ice, rum, simple syrup, a lime and a little mint. Apply internally until you no longer care about the carpet.

also some ice, rum, simple syrup, a lime and a little mint. Apply internally until you no longer care about the carpet.

win!

Well, then you have to get the WD-40 out, right?

http://wylfwt.com/home/files/images/duct-tape-3m.jpg

http://wylfwt.com/home/files/images/duct-tape-3m.jpg

But then you have to get the duct-tape out. I suggest this:

159565

But then you'll have an unsightly hole. So you'll need some of this:

159566

I agree heartily!

"Foo: Making your original problem much worse, since whenever. Also, bass."

Fifteen posts and no mention of...

http://www.dreamherald.com/images/fire31.jpg

But what about the poo and sex?!

But what about the poo and sex?!

Done

/thread

But what about the poo and sex?!

I thought that was covered by my virgin sacrifice suggestion?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphite

http://www.homegardenguides.com/garden-forum/carpeting-forum/7844-how-clean-graphite-powder-out-burbur-rug.html


Graphite does not dissolve, so it has to be suspended and lifted out of the rug. Fortunately, it does not appear to adhere well to ...rug fibers.

Here's what I did, and it worked. I put straight dishwashing liquid (Joy) on the graphite (dry rug) and rubbed it in with a toothbrush. Then I poured a glass of water on it and immediately vacuumed it up (before the water soaked in) with a Hoover steam vac (which was just actually a wet vacuum). I repeated pouring water on it/vacumming it over and over until the graphite and the soap was gone. Also had to reapply the soap a few times. It worked surprisingly well and did not take that long to do.

Huh . . . surprised it would leave that big of a mess. Bummer. Have you used a steam cleaner on it?

Wayyy to sensible. You need to hang around and get beat up in the 41 before you post your silly logic here.

Buy a large piano. Place over stain. The simplest solutions are always the best.

Pour a glass of red wine over it. You should no longer see the graphite stain.

Alternatively, just stain the rest of the carpet with Graphite.

I thought that was covered by my virgin sacrifice suggestion?

Depends on how the sacrifice goes, I guess.

Buy a large piano. Place over stain. The simplest solutions are always the best.
Ha, I got most of it out, but then I positioned a bookcase near it so the shadow of the bookcase covers the mark. It just looks like a shadow now, I I know the real deal. :) (My wife looked at it and thought it was totally gone, ha!)

Ha, I got most of it out, but then I positioned a bookcase near it so the shadow of the bookcase covers the mark. It just looks like a shadow now, I I know the real deal. :) (My wife looked at it and thought it was totally gone, ha!)

Yabbut if you'd followed my suggestion then you'd have a piano. Just sayin'.

Yabbut if you'd followed my suggestion then you'd have a piano. Just sayin'.
I already have a piano. Not that it is a nice grand or anything, though. And the piano I would like about costs more than the house, so......

But you never told us how you got it out.

As the resident flooring installer and inspector I have to recommend using a non-liquid carpet cleaning system like Host (available at your local big box hardware store). This should encapsulate the graphite particles and you should be able to vacuum it out.

Do not use dish detergent. When it dries it will be a dirt magnet and your carpet will look worse than it does now.

If the Host cleaning system does not work, and you have carpet leftover from the original installation, the carpet can be patched by a professional. If you need one post your zip code here and I can get you contact info for a few certified carpet installers in your area.

howstuffworks (http://home.howstuffworks.com/how-to-remove-graphite-and-pencil-lead-stains1.htm) - although it looks like you've tried stain remover. Hmm, Oxy clean? Baking soda and vinegar? If all else fails, hydrochloric acid should do the trick. Although it may remove your carpet as well.

(I am secretly disappointed you didn't title this thread "Getting the Led Out")
South and west and following the cold December sun
I bedded down in the Carranga when my daily trek was done
Then up moving onward by the light of the morning moon
I'm freezing but I,m burning for the girl in Saskatoon

just bumped it to see if the graphite came out.

But you never told us how you got it out.

Ha, oops. I started with an eraser and I felt like I was going nowhere except adding pink gunk to the carpet, so I used my Resolve cleaning powder and went over it with a bristled brush for about 1/2-hour until I was totally sore. Then I let it sit for three days because I totally forgot about it (I don't get to the basement much). I vacuumed it up and it was so close to being out that I positioned a bookcase along the wall so that the angles of the lighting cast a shadow over the area.

Thankfully, it's not a light room, the carpet is crappy anyway, and once it's an office, my wife's chair will propbably be wearing out that section of carpet in no time! :)

You could just use one of these:

http://www.sciplus.com/itm_photos/web379411.jpg (http://www.sciplus.com/singleItem.cfm/terms/13633)


Portable Hole
Black, round, 16" dia x 3/16" thick, made from nicely sail-able closed-cell foam. This is the very same portable black hole used by Wile E. Coyote in numerous adventures. New, from ACME®. (Has many other uses, of course, but be aware that roadrunners will, in fact, run off with these.)

Wish I had more lead in my pencil:thumb: