Pet hair, stains and ground-in dirt on carpets are a nightmare that we all must face at some point. Although you may have the urge to just get a sponge out and employing some elbow grease to work at that bad boy, stop right there.
Take a moment or two to figure out a plan of action. It goes without saying that you’ll need a vacuum for pet hair. But, what about stains?
10 DIY Carpet Cleaning Tricks That Really Work
While time is of the essence when dealing with stains, how you deal with a stain is important too. As well as highlighting some of the best handheld carpet cleaners for your home, we also have a lot of great information about cleaning in general.
In the following post, we are going to look at some of the most clever and best ways to clean your carpet to get rid of those stains. Before we just right into all that, there are some vital basics that you should (if you aren’t already) follow when carpet cleaning.
1. Deal With Stains As Quickly as You Can
Above all else, you need to be quick and deal with stains as soon as you can to stop them from setting in. The longer a stain is left for, the harder it will be to shift.
2. Don’t Rub – Blot
When faced with a stain, take a sponge or a cloth and try to absorb as much of the gunk, goo or liquid as possible. This helps to shrink it down.
Afterward, when cleaning the stain using a blotting or dabbing action rather than the scrubbing and rubbing that you so desperately want to do.
3. Don’t Use Too Many Chemicals or Cleaning Product
To lower the risk of your carpet getting stained and to make sure it dries off quickly, you need to use as little chemicals as possible.
4. Dry the Affected Area Thoroughly
Carpets that are damp potentially can attract mold. So, use a towel to blot it thoroughly. The process can be quickened by using a hair dryer or a fan.
Now that the basics are out of the way, it’s time for some action. There are a multitude of DIY carpet cleaning methods listed on the web but do any of them work. Well, we’ve collated a guide below to some of the ones that do.
5. Ice That Gum
Take some ice from your freezer and wrap it in a small hand towel. Then place it on the gum to give the ice a chance to freeze dry it. Once it’s cold and solid, scrap it off.
This is probably one of our favorite cleaning tricks and one that comes up in DIY cleaning tricks everywhere.
6. Dry-Cleaning Solvents or Makeup Remover for Makeup Stains
First, wet the carpet and then rub in some dish soap. Now, pat it dry and tackle any stains that linger on a little with either dry-cleaning solvents or makeup remover.
Either solution produces similarly great results, and as dry-cleaning solvents are not exactly the easiest thing to get your hands on, makeup remover is a nice alternative.
7. Club Soda for Pet Mess
It’s never nice when your cat or dog poop or urinate on your carpets. However, it doesn’t have to be the disaster it feels like it is. Clean and remove the offending stain and mess normally as best you can.
Then follow up with a rinse using club soda (a homemade DIY cleaning favorite!).
8. Club Soda for Coffee, Wine and Various Other Foods
When you spill coffee or wine, it can feel like the end of the world for that carpet. It’s not though. Blot at just about any stain caused by food and then use club soda to rinse it.
You may have to finish the job by brushing at the affected area with some gentle detergent and water to rinse it off.
9. Iron Grease Stains and Marks
No one likes grease stains on their carpet. However, with this ingenious solution involving your iron, you can deal with grease like a pro. Start by scraping off any greasy gunk from your carpet that you can with a knife.
Next, take some paper towels and lay them over the stain. Switch the iron on and select the lowest temperature possible and then run the iron over the paper to lift the grease. Then finish the job by adding a mixture of lukewarm water, soap, and white vinegar to the affected area.
10. Soapy Water for Chocolate and other Dark Colored Food
Dark colored foods such as chocolate can leave quite an unsightly mark on your lovely carpets. To get rid of it you need to first scrape as much as you can off, before taking a solution that’s one-part soap to four parts lukewarm water and applying it to the problem area.
Once it has worked its magic use fresh lukewarm water to rinse it off.
