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10 Effective Carpet Cleaning Hacks That You Can Use

Carpeting plays an important part in turning your house into a home.

It is warm on your feet in the winter season and provides a soft feeling when you walk barefoot during summer. You could even lie on the soft carpet with a book in your hand next to the heater or fireplace in the cold winter months.

carpet in front of cozy fireplace

Carpets are considered a prized investment in your home and should be maintained properly to prolong their lifespan. You need to do more than just vacuuming the carpet weekly or bi-weekly to protect your investment over time. It’s always a good idea to have your carpets professionally cleaned, but here are some tip you can do in between.

This article provides 10 cleaning hacks to keep your carpet in pristine condition for many more years to come.

1. Using The Lint Roller

Have you noticed crumbs and hairs on the carpet no matter how hard you vacuum it? This is a very common problem experienced by a majority of homeowners who have long-fiber carpets. Even the most powerful vacuum cannot clean the long fibers of the carpet to a higher standard. A lint roller can help solve this problem for you. In fact, the lint roller should be used in these problematic areas. You may need to put some elbow grease until you collect all the stubborn particles from the carpet using the lint roller.

2. Removing Stains With An Iron

Stain removal has been one of the biggest issues for the majority of homeowners who have invested in expensive carpets. There are several schools of thought on how to remove stains from a carpet. Here is our three-step process to remove stains from your carpet.

First, vacuum the stained area of the carpet to remove all the hard particles from the area and leave only the stain. This is important prep work to remove stubborn stains from a carpet. Next, you need to make a solution of vinegar and water to treat the stain. Take three parts of water and one part of vinegar for this solution. Let the mixture work its magic on the stain for 5-10 minutes. The final step is to place a towel on top of the stained area & apply a heated iron. The heat and pressure of the iron will transfer the stain into the towel similar to reversing a temporary water tattoo.

3. The Importance Of Blotting And Never Rubbing

Most homeowners are used to rub dirt away when cleaning carpets. Even though we are used to rubbing dirt away when polishing shoes, washing dishes and washing off stubborn stains from sheets, carpets are different. When you rub a stain on a carpet, the stain will spread to the other areas of the fabric. It may permanently discolour the carpet. That is why you need to blot the stain and never rub it when removing stains from carpets. With blotting, you will be applying pressure on the spot that leads to the liquid being absorbed into the sponge or cloth. Don’t forget to pay attention to the direction you blot the stain to protect the carpet fibers. Blotting inwards from outside the stain is the most effective method because it helps ensure that the stain doesn’t spread further.

4. Alcohol To Remove Nail Polish Stains

Most people think that rubbing alcohol on the carpet may lead to bleaching. But when the stain is nail polish, other rubbing alcohol solutions are not strong enough to remove the stain. Hence, you should wait until the nail polish is dried and chip the dried nail polish. Use a blunt tool such as a butter knife for this purpose. Then, you need to gently dab the stain with a cloth or paper towel that contains alcohol. Do it until the nail polish dissolves and absorbs into the cloth.

5. Using Shaving Cream For Normal Dirt Stains

Carpets with lighter colors such as beige, white, yellow, or soft pastel colors get dirty due to high traffic. Dust accumulates on these carpets over time. If you have kids, you may find highly visible skid marks on the carpets. Normal dirt stains can be a thing of the past when you use shaving cream to get rid of these stains. Even old stains can be removed with shaving cream. Rub shaving cream on the stains and let it sit there for some time. You will notice the carpet feels soft to touch after using shaving cream to remove dirt. That is why shaving cream is called anti-aging cream for carpets.

6. Baking Soda To Freshen Your Carpets

Baking soda is another highly effective cleaning substance that could be used to clean your carpets. You need 16 ounces of baking soda and a bottle of essential oil for this treatment. Add about 10-20 drops of essential oil depending on how noticeable you want the scent to be. Look for an essential oil like citrus to have the carpets smelling fresh after the treatment. Spread the mixture on the carpet like dusting a cake with icing sugar and vacuum the carpet after 10-15 minutes.

7. Strong Deodorizer Recipe

Do you have kids or pets in your home? Do you want the carpets in your home to smell fresh? If so, you need to use products that won’t harm your loved ones and pets. Here is a simple recipe to clean your carpets and have them smell fresh without harming your kids and pets.

Take 1-2 tablespoons of Borax in a large container. Add 10 drops of essential oil into the Borax powder. Check how strong the scent is and what type of scent you prefer before choosing the best essential oil for the solution. Some scents might irritate your pets because pets are much more sensitive to smells than humans. Mix the essential oil and Borax powder with two cups of baking soda to prepare the solution.

Baking soda helps absorb bad smells and the essential oil freshens the carpets. On the other hand, Borax powder kills germs and microbes and is safe in these quantities.

Check out this post on pet stains too.

8. Shag Carpets Require Special Care

Shag carpets are making a return after a long time. They are a must-have piece in your modern home. But it doesn’t mean shag carpets are easier to clean. The fibers of shag carpets can easily get damaged when vacuuming. Vacuums have strong suction that causes these carpets to shed as their fibers get sucked in. The fibers become frizzy or generally come loose with regular vacuuming. Simply vacuum with the hose attachment to prevent this from happening. That way you can get deep into the fibers of the carpet without damaging the weave.

9. Keeping Your Carpets Clean With Shoe Caps

Are you planning an event that will result in high foot traffic on your carpets? If so, you need to have the guests wear a pair of shoe caps inside the house to minimize the damage to the carpets. This will help blunt out imprints from boots, stilettos, and running shoes. It will also keep people away from tracking too much dirt into the house. Prevention is very important when maintaining the prized carpets in your home.

10. Runners and Area Rugs Are Your Friends

You will love showing off the fine carpets in your home when you organize gatherings and host parties. But foot traffic has no mercy on the carpets. Your carpets will wear out faster without proper care. Buy area rugs and runners to place along with the areas that will receive the most amount of traffic in your home. Just remove these items when you have guests. It will help save a lot of time with vacuuming and keep the carpets looking new for longer periods of time.

Carpets are available in many shapes, sizes, and colors. You need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when cleaning the carpets in your home. Please feel free to leave a comment on our blog if you happen to know another trick to deal with carpet stains.