6 Easy Ways To Clean Your Carpet
Want to know the easy ways to clean the carpet of your home? Then read our suggestions below.
A carpet is one of the most important furnishings in a household. Carpets add softness and warmth to any home in an excellent way. There are many varieties of carpets in their styles and types. Its U.S. business contributes to around 50% of the global flooring industry, producing more than $10 billion in sales in 2019. You are entirely free to choose whichever variant you want for the carpet of your house.
But the question arises – how can you keep the carpet clean? It is possible to execute a carpet cleaning task in several different ways, but if you don’t know the procedure, you might find it hard to clean. But the good thing is, these methods can be fairly easy to understand and follow, so read this carpet cleaning guide.
The Natural Way
The usual way to clean carpets involves using chemicals, which may sometimes be unsuitable for sensitive people. To avoid all those harsh chemicals, you can instead follow these simple ways to deep clean the carpet naturally.
- Dish soap, vinegar, and water: Get about one-quart warm water, stir in one tablespoon of dish soap, then add one-fourth cup of white vinegar into the mix. That will work as an excellent overall natural carpet cleaner. But before applying it to the carpet, test the solution on a hidden spot of the carpet.
- Club soda: Club soda works as a carpet cleaner when it is applied to the carpet. It is also very efficient in removing stains of blood and wine from every rug. For certain smudges, use a little club soda and either a paper towel or a dry tissue to soak up on the upper layer. Keep rubbing rather than scrubbing the carpet fibers for better results.
Most of the time, the debris or dirt is not deep enough to require heavy cleaning. You should be good with just using these natural ways for the cleaning of your carpet.
Deep Clean Without a Machine
You can still clean your carpet without using a machine if you have concerns about the cost. Let’s say you are not willing to run to the store for a steam cleaner; then you need to find a way to wash the carpet thoroughly instead of using a machine. If you own a vacuum cleaner you can clean the dust from the carpet, but it will not clean the carpet entirely.
You will require a scrubbing brush that has stiff bristles and a spray bottle. You will also need-
- A mixture of some detergent and water
- Table salts, such as kosher salt and sea salt
- Baking soda
- Terry cloth towels or a few old clothes
Now here is the way to deep clean your carpet without a machine:
- Mix a little soap with the water in the spray bottle, around 1/8th teaspoon. Avoid shaking it excessively; just let it mix, shaking it slowly.
- Sprinkle in the salt and baking soda over the area you want to deep clean. You do not have to cover the spot completely.
- Spray the soapy water mixture lightly over the sprinkled area, and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
- Use the brush to brush the carpet in one direction. This will cause the debris and hair to be picked up easily.
- Move 90 degrees from the starting direction if there is still dirt or hair left.
- Saturate the water by pressing the towels into the carpet.
- When the surface is nearly dry, sprinkle normal water (not the soapy mix) gently into the carpet again.
- Press the cloth towels to soak the water again.
This method works best when cleaning some specific spots on the carpet. If you got a large brush, then you are able to do an entire room. This method is very safe for pets and children. After utilizing the method on the carpet, it will not smell like heavy detergents.
Cleaning with A Steam Cleaner
An important thing when caring for your carpet is that you follow the cleaning method recommended by its manufacturer. Following that helps ensure that your carpet will be in good shape after cleaning.
You also should clean your carpet professionally every 12 to 18 months, depending on the type and its manufacturer. This ensures that you keep your carpet’s warranty, and besides that, it’s the perfect way to get a deep clean for your carpet.
Unlike spot cleaning and vacuuming, steam cleaning utilizes a unique method to get the deepest clean for the carpets. Its steam helps to break debris, dust, and other materials that can be trapped underneath your carpet fibers. They are then removed with a more high-powered vacuum. Steam cleaning is a very effective way to bring your carpets back to their original condition.
You can hire carpet cleaning professionals in your area if you don’t want to do it yourself.
Removing Stains Without A Steam Cleaner
A vacuum cleaner and dish soap or baking soda can work like a steam cleaner and remove stains from your carpet. To do this, you will need dish soap or baking soda. Alternatively, you can use the products which are used in steam cleaners. As for the tools, you will need a towel or clean rag, an old toothbrush, a brush, and a bucket.
Here are the instructions to remove stains from your carpet without a machine-
- Be ready with the tools and have the bucket filled with warm water.
- Use a vacuum over the area of the carpet which you will be cleaning.
- Sprinkle the stain with baking soda until it’s covered entirely. But if you are using dish soap, then measure the stain size and put one tablespoon for every 6 to 8 inches of stain.
- Wash the stain until you start seeing bubbles.
- Try using a toothbrush, an old scrub, or a rag to remove the stains with hot water.
- Don’t soak the carpet rigorously; just spray it sufficiently to clear the smudge.
- Let the carpet dry; you can turn on fans or open any closed windows.
- When it is dry, use the vacuum over it again.
Cleaning with Snow
It might seem impossible, but cleaning a carpet with snow is a very good option in the winter months. February is filled with icy white snow, all of which can be utilized to clean the carpet.
However, remember that this only works for the smaller rugs/carpets, which are antique wool or handmade. For the best results, use powdery snow. However, you can clean the bigger carpets if you have more helping hands. Here is the method to thoroughly scrub a carpet with snow:
- Take the carpet outside, and shake it to lose as much dirt as you can. Let it wait for about 30 minutes.
- Put 3 to 5 inches of snow on the carpet; you can use a broom to distribute the snow evenly.
- Use the flat side of the broom to beat the snow-covered carpet. Ammonia will cause a reaction with the cold air, which will cause the hidden dirt inside the carpet to solidify.
- Leave the carpet as it is for 15 to 20 minutes, then flip it over and repeat steps 1 to 3 on the opposite side.
- Rinse as much extra snow as you can for 25 to 30 minutes until the carpet is hung up. The snow will dissolve after some time, without making the carpet damp.
All of these steps will assist with your carpet’s cleaning; just remember to follow the steps when you are at it.
Removing Oil and Grease Stains
The oil and grease stain removal process will vary between carpet variants. As such, the methods for synthetic fiber carpets and natural fiber carpets are different. So here are the different ways for cleaning oil and grease stains from various types of carpeting.
Synthetic-fiber carpets
- Apply a little amount of the natural carpet cleaning solvent (from the natural ways to clean carpeting) to a white cloth, then press the spot with it for several seconds.
- Clean with another white sheet that was submerged in warm water.
- Wait for almost an hour or until the carpet has dried completely. If you see that the smudge is getting brighter, do the steps again until it’s absolutely blurred.
Natural-fiber carpets
- The same solvent can be used for the natural-fiber carpets too. Take it with a white cloth, then blot the stain mark.
- Spray and then rinse with a white sheet with a detergent, however, it should be dry.
- Spray it with warm water, and use a dry white cloth to dry again.
- Let the rug fully dry. Repeat the same process again unless the stain gets brighter.
Final Words
All of the methods above should help you with your carpet cleaning. Do not miss out on the steps for any method, or it may cause damage to your carpet. If all of these cleaning methods are too tricky for you, you can always go for the cleaning plans provided by the professional carpet cleaners. The methods discussed above are highly beneficial if you are hoping to save the money to hire those pro cleaners.