The holiday season is here and that means plenty of people coming and going in your home, apartment, condo or townhouse. They will be trekking through your front door, down the hall and toward the other rooms of your humble home.

While you’re happy to be entertaining friends and family there’s always that possibility of an accident or two happening in terms of spilled food and drinks.

Whether it’s a small get-together or a big family feast, your place is going to be a mess. From muddy shoes to soap dishes in the bathroom getting an extra work out the holiday season can bring some havoc.

And what about your carpets and rugs? Surely those will get a real workout as friends mingle and eat in areas all throughout the house. Wine glasses will be filled and appetizer trays circling as guests reach for both. All scenarios a disaster in the making.

For example, how about when Aunt Hilda drops her shrimp dipped in red cocktail sauce on your white carpet? Or when Cousin Steve puts his baby down on your great new area rug with its bottle of grape juice.

Maybe your 2-year-old niece decides she wants to play with her markers while coloring on your new bedroom carpet.

How about Uncle Stanley who is smoking a fat cigar without an ash tray? Next thing you know the ashes are falling onto your living room carpet.

Can you spell S-T-A-I-N?

Don’t despair, if you know a few carpet cleaning tips, you should be able to keep your carpets and rugs in good condition for years to come.

Here are some tips that might be help cleanup the mess (es):

To remove coffee, red juices including grape, wine, ink and tea stains:

Immediately blot (do not rub) up excess stain or liquid with a white paper towel to remove as much of the liquid as possible.

Sprinkle the stain with 7-Up, Club Soda or tonic water. Let set for a few seconds, then blot up using a white paper towel. Repeat this process until no stain appears on the paper towel.

Rinse with clean water and blot up again until no stain appears.

For oily stains, crayons, and tar:

Apply a non-oily, non-caustic dry-cleaning solvent to a damp white towel, blot as much of the stain as possible. Repeat until stain is removed.

For chocolate, glue, ice cream, and latex paints:

Gently scrape up excess stain.

Mix one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with one cup of water.

Using a damp cotton or terrycloth towel, apply detergent mixture to stain and blot (do not rub) as much of the stain as possible. Repeat until stain is removed.

Before trying any of these methods you might want to do a test patch on a small area before tackling the entire stain.

Whichever stain plagues your carpets and/or rugs, you can at least try one of these easy cleaning methods to help restore your flooring to all of its previous glory.