How to treat carpet stains with household products
Carpet stains can be an eyesore and expensive to clean. But that is only if you let them be. It's time to ditch the carpet cleaner and find what you have at home to clean that stain. Don't waste your time and money buying carpet cleaning products or hiring a carpet cleaner anymore because with the basic household products we have nowadays, you can pretty much clean your carpet with any dish or laundry soap you have in your cabinets. So try this easy cleaning solution at home and your carpet will be clean in no time.
First make sure you know what kind of carpet you have. You don't want to use the wrong soap on your carpet. If you have wool carpet, use wool-care laundry soap. It doesn't matter if it's the washing machine or hand-wash soap. Now to make the solution you need, take a quart cup of mild liquid dish soap without bleach or alkaline and mix it with one gallon of warm water. Mix these two products well. Pour it into a sprayer bottle for easy dispensing. Before you start using the solution on your carpet, make sure to test it in an area of the carpet that people normally won't see. This is just in case the solution would cause any change of color to the carpet.
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Spray the carpet stain with the solution. If it's a big stain, start in smaller areas first. You can also use a sponge to lightly sponge the stained area. Make sure the sponge is not soaking wet. You don't want too much soap in your carpet. Use a soft brush to help get the solution into the carpet. A toothbrush works great. Wet a clean sponge with clean water and lightly sponge the area you just cleaned to help remove the solution from the carpet. Keep repeating this until there's no more soap left in your carpet. Use a clean towel to completely dry the carpet. When using a brush to clean your carpet stain make sure you brush from outside to inside so that you do not spread the stain.
Keep repeating this until the stain is gone. If it's an old stain, try spraying the stain area with the solution and leaving it there for a few minutes and then start brushing. When you have a fresh spill on your carpet, immediately dab it with paper towel. This will help get most of the stain out fast. Then try the solution on it and you should have a nice clean carpet in matter of minutes. It's good to always clean the stain when it's brand new. That way it doesn't settle into your carpet. You can also use Shout or Oxi-clean instead of the dish soap. Just make sure you test your solution in a hidden area of your carpet. If you have a soda spill and you're having a hard time getting it out, mix a cup of white vinegar with 2 cups of warm water and spray it into the stained area. Leave it there for about half an hour and then sponge clean it. If the stain is gone but the odor isn't pour some cornmeal or baking soda on the stain and let it sit overnight. Vacuum it the following day and your carpet should be odorless.
After you clean let the spot air dry and then vacuum it to completely dry the area out. Always remember to remove most of the stain first by dabbing it with paper towel or a dry towel. Don't over saturate the carpet with the solution this may cause the stain to settle in more. And resist brushing the carpet too much because this can cause damage to the carpet.
