Nothing pulls together the ambience of a room like a nice area rug, but this can easily be ruined by carpet stains. From pet accidents to spilled red wine, a clean carpet is all too susceptible to stains, which will only get worse if they're left for too long and dry completely.
When faced with a stained area in your area rugs, you might think that you'll need some steam cleaners or a professional carpet cleaner to deep clean your carpet, but you don't. There are many different ways that you can go about carpet cleaning by yourself with simple household items and ingredients.
But before you get down and dirty, here are a few tips that you should keep in mind when you clean your carpet.
Tips on How to Clean Carpet
Tip 1: Clean Fresh Stains Immediately
Perhaps the most important rule of carpet cleaning is to start the cleaning process as soon as the stain hits your clean carpet and pretreat stains. As soon as you spot a stain, spray it with some stain remover until it's damp before blotting with a cloth.
Addressing the stain with a carpet cleaning solution of your choice early and a clean cloth on will prevent it from clinging too much to your carpet fibers, helping you remove stains that much more quickly.
This tip is only to be overlooked when dealing with pet feces. For these incidents, it's best to leave a bowl over the area and let it dry before using a dull knife or a fork to scrape away as much as you can. This makes cleaning pet stains and accidents much easier and less unpleasant!
Tip 2: Never Rub Stains
The sight of something ruining your carpet will immediately make you want to pull up your sleeves and attack the unsightly stain with a bit of elbow grease, but this is the last thing that you should be doing. Rubbing or scrubbing a stain will only push it deeper into your carpet fibers and make the stain that much harder to remove.
Blotting and sponging is a much better way to clean a carpet of fresh stains because it allows you to absorb as much moisture as you can without inadvertently worsening the stained area. You can do this with a microfiber cloth, a clean cloth or a paper towel.
Tip 3: Make Your Own Carpet Cleaning Solution
The next tip on how to clean carpet stains is to try making your own cleaning solution at home! While there are many home carpet cleaners and carpet shampoos available, it's worth trying out making your own as these may actually be safer and more gentle on your carpet fibers.
Distilled White Vinegar, Baking Soda and Dish Soap
To make this vinegar solution, just mix together a cup of warm water, 1/3 cup of white vinegar, 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1/4 cup of dish soap into a spray bottle.
Laundry Detergent
Another great solution for carpet cleaning is laundry detergent. All you have to do is combine 1/4 teaspoon of laundry detergent and 1/2 cup of cold water in a spray bottle. This is great as the enzymes found in the detergent to most of the heavy lifting when it comes to stain removal.
Baking Soda
While not technically a cleaning solution, letting baking soda sit over a carpet stain is great for absorbing the stain residue and eliminating any foul odors. This will help deal with things like vomit accidents and pet poop.
Tip 4: Let Carpet Air Dry Completely
After completely removing any stains on your carpet, make sure that your carpet dries completely. The drying process is integral in carpet cleaning because it ensures that any excess moisture has completely left the carpet fibers. Unlike a dry carpet, a carpet that's still a bit damp from your cleaning solution may welcome mold, bacteria or mildew growth.
Tip 5: Regularly Clean Your Carpet
Apart from using cleaning methods to remove any stains, it's important to also deep clean you carpet through routine cleaning and frequent vacuuming. While it may look like you have clean carpets, there could still be a lot of dirt lingering in between.
From loose soil and dust, debris and various particles, there are a lot of things that could be dirtying up your carpet apart from stains. Deep cleaning and vacuuming every once in a while will ensure that your carpet is as clean as it can be.
Tip 6: Work in Small Squares
Area rugs come in different shapes and sizes, which can make the cleaning process much more difficult. An easier way to approach this is to divide up your carpet into a grid and work in small squares at a time. This will help you focus on one area at a time rather than inefficiently tackling the entire carpet at once, which is helpful especially for wall to wall carpeting.
There are a lot of ways on how to clean carpet stains without needing a steam cleaner or carpet cleaning machines. It can be as easy as making your own DIY solution, but not all of us have the time or the energy. With the heavy demands of work and other aspects of your life, you're probably too tired to even think about cleaning.
Luce is here to take over your cleaning to-do list for you! With our professional carpet cleaning services, we can make your dream of walking into a clean carpet a reality.
Send us a message and schedule your cleaning appointment today!
