Spray paint??? (Just kidding) How long ago did you buy the house? Could you go back to have it replaced? How bad are the stains? Did you try products with OxyClean in it? If you feel the carpet is ruined, try a rust remover . I would be quite upset also.
Marie

Marie, I bought it three weeks ago. It is far too costly for me to replace it - there's 2,000 square feet of it! Yes, I purchased a carpet cleaning spray with Oxyclean it it - didn't do a thing. I read that using a rust remover will eat a hole in the carpet.

Curious... the rust is from what? Like metal furniture legs? I can't visualize a large 'rust' stain.

When I bought my home, my agent and I did a walk through after the sellers moved out and just before I signed the final papers. I would think you would have some legal recourse to get new carpet.

If you have carpet in a closet, a piece could be cut out if it and used to replace the stained part.

Contact your real estate agent and check the disclosure laws in your state. Here in California, sellers must disclose EVERYTHING of which they are aware, or should be aware, that might be considered a negative by a buyer. Permanent stains on white carpeting would definitely fall into that protection (especially since the seller hid the stains by creative furniture placement). If your state's disclosure laws are anything like California's, the seller and the seller's agent would be responsible for replacing the carpet.

These spots are the size of a pencil eraser and are in several places. They might not be rust, but they are the brown color of rust. It's not worth causing a stink - I just need a solution to remove whatever the stains are.

Well, it's unfortunate but before you can successfully remove the stains you really need to know what caused them. Different causes require different solutions.

Can you find an out of the way spot and cut only those few strands out of the carpet? I've done that before. It depends on how small it is, and you're saying pencil eraser. So it could very well work. Got nothing to lose if it's going under a piece of furniture.

Sounds like the metal tips on the bottom of legs. Just talked to my son who use to have a carpet cleaning business. He said rust stains (if they are rust stains) were one of the easiest to remove. He said there's a product called Rust Remover. He's not sure you can buy it over the counter but you may be able to contact a local carpet cleaner and buy it through them or check on line for distributors that sell to flooring people. Hope this helps.

I moved into a rental....years ago. The master bedroom had pale yellow carpet....it was a 20x20 room.....and the last tenant had put a moving box over a HUGE 2x2 red wine stain. I reported it to the landlady....and the blame fell on me.

I used a Kirby carpet shampooer and put pure clorox bleach in it....ran it all across the room, wearing a face mask.....and got really pretty white striped carpet....and no damage deposit was withheld. :0)

Drastic measures for a drastic situation.....now...before you try THAT....they sell rust removal products....

did you try peroxide?

Not sure it would work but worth a try, or bleach on a q-tip or a bleach pen

I've tried bleach - didn't remove it. I think I will just get some cuticle scissors and try that - at least the stains will be gone.

Kay, I got rust from a taupe carpet out with Resolve carpet cleaner (pump spray not foam) in a house I was readying to sell. I'd had a contractor come in and replace two very large windows, do some plaster repair and it looked like he'd sat a tool chest, or frame to hold a saw of some kind down on the carpet. Had the carpet professionally cleaned after to make sure I hadn't left any dirt attracting product there.

But this house has a beige wool Karastan in one guest bedroom - there is a silver dollar sized stain, coffee colored on the carpet and even the Resolve has let me down, I can't get it out. The decorator who helped me with some living room pieces told me he had arranged that carpet for the former owner and it cost a fortune.

If you've tried that many products and 'no go', you may be stuck with it - and from your description I doubt if its as obvious to anyone but you. I've used embroidery scissors on little dried paint drips before, but if you part the fibers with your fingers and the stain runs the length of the fiber, sadly you may be out of luck.

Morz, yes - the stain runs down into the base of the carpet fiber. I was told by a carpet store to buy some fabric paint and cover the stains, but can't find the paint in the color I need. It's an egg shell color - not bright white but not beige, either.

If it's just one or two strands to be cut out, it's not that noticeable.

Someone already suggested peroxide and I second that idea. It sounds like the spots may be blood and if they are, peroxide will remove/lighten them. I'd also go with the carpet paint.... and you would be surprised that the color does not have to match to make the spots disappear to the eye.(well, maybe not YOUR eye, because you know they are there)

Today, I get to work on BIG spots left on my carpet by DD dog a year or more ago, THEY keep coming back to haunt me...6"+ size puddles.,..light grey carpet. Not the first attempt either.

Have you tried Folex? I buy it at OSH and love it! It took out black Sharpie ink on a brand new beige carpet and even took out blood on a white satin purse with no ring around it! I spray it on the carpet and use a white towel to rub it briskly. It works!

I have not tried Folex, Bonnie. I will see if I can find it in my area.

For rust on clothing you make a paste out of salt and lemon juice and put it in the sunshine to dry. This is a tip from my deceased mother- she was my stain guru!

I have not read through all the responses, so please forgive me if this has already been suggested.

Spot Shot (aerosol can - blue and orange) should be available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc...

When our home was being built, an electrician cut himself and bled ALL OVER our dining room carpeting. I told the foreman that the carpet needed to be replaced. He went out to his truck, brought back in a can of Spot Shot and got out ALL the stains. The stains never re-surfaced either, and we had that carpeting for over 10 years.