We have white carpeting in the entire house (well, at least the part that's carpeted) and I have become quite the expert at cleaning up after throw-ups if I do say so myself.
I bought one of those little hand-held carpet cleaners. The ones spray water down then suck it up like a real carpet cleaner. If the spot is still wet when I find it, I put paper towel on it to soak up as much of the liquid as possible - but don't rub it in, that will only make it worse. Then when the spot is *completely* dry, I take a brush and brush it to get break up any of the solids that may have been left. Then I vacuum to get any little crumbs up from the brushing. Finally, I get the hand held carpet cleaner thing out. I don't remember the name of the cleaner that came with it, but it's a common, well-known name brand, and it works really well. I make the water as hot as possible out of the tap. And, most importantly, I rinse very well with clean, un-soaped, water after. I have found that if you don't get all the soap out of the carpet, or if you use those spray-on type things that you vacuum up, it will eventually make the spot worse because the soap left in the carpet will attract dirt. I'm still working on a spot from about 5 years ago that we did this too and I'm *still* getting soap out of it!
I've found the most important things are to not scrub the spot when it's wet because that will only rub it in instead of getting it out. As most cleaners will say, dab at the spot, don't rub. Sometimes I may not get it out entirely the first time, so I'll wait a week or so and try again, and then I can usually get it all out.
The hardest part is getting Terry to have patience while it dries. He wants to immediately start rubbing on it and spraying a bunch of stuff on it. All that does is soak it all in more and you'll never get it out. I've used this method successfully now for almost 2 years and I think he's finally getting the idea.
Anyway, hope this helps someone because I was at my wits end trying to keep all this white carpet clean.
(PS - I did not know Terry when he built and decorated the house so I had no input on the white carpets. And one of his biggest fears when I moved in with the cats was that they would ruin the carpeting. I believe I've proved him wrong.)
Tubby
Spring 1986 - Dec. 11, 2004
RIP Big Boy
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Peanut
Fall 1988 - Jan. 24, 2007
RIP Snotty Girl
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Robin
Fall 1997 - Oct. 6, 2012
RIP Sweet Monkeyhead Girl
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