Over time, a brand new carpet or rug ceases to delight with its colors. The reason for this is the pollution that has appeared. No matter how hard you try to take care of it and vacuum it, over time, dust, food debris and dirt from pets have their unsightly effect. A beautiful floor covering not only loses its original appearance, but also acquires an unpleasant odor.
There are many companies that undertake to wash soft floor coverings. But they often charge high fees for their work. In addition, removing and washing a carpet or rug is quite a troublesome task, because for this you will have to move all the furniture.
Fortunately, there is another way out - cleaning the coating at home with improvised means. Vinegar and soda (sodium bicarbonate) have long been popular methods for removing dirt and stains not only from furniture, but also from various carpets. Below you can find out how and in what proportions you can clean a soft surface with vinegar, soda and carpet detergent.
Indications and contraindications for carpet cleaning using folk remedies
Home remedies (baking soda and vinegar) are not expensive at all, and therefore are available to anyone. When is it recommended to use them:
- if the carpet has lost its original appearance, dust has become embedded in the pile, which cannot be cleaned with a regular vacuum cleaner;
- when the carpet needs to be cleaned from stubborn stains, such as wine, grease, blood;
- if little fidgets live in the house: these products do not harm health. In addition, after spraying them there is no smell of chemicals;
- if there are pets in the house: their smell can be easily removed.
Is it always possible to use these available means to give the coating its original appearance? There are a number of caveats that you need to pay attention to:
- Baking soda and vinegar damage the fibers of silk products, and soon the beautiful carpet will begin to tear.
- If the coating is made from natural fabrics, home remedies will worsen its properties. The pile will begin to stick together, and touching it will cause discomfort for several days.
- Some stains may not respond to home remedies.
In all these cases, you will have to use specialized cleaners. Some of them have a gentle effect and effectively remove stains and dirt from certain types of natural materials. Others are designed to remove specific types of difficult stains. Some stains cannot be removed even with them, so you should contact specialized dry cleaners.
Precautionary measures
Cleaning a carpet with soda is considered safe if you follow the following precautions:
- Try not to inhale the product. This can cause a severe coughing attack, especially in people with allergies or asthma.
- When working with vinegar solutions, be sure to wear rubber gloves.
- Handle the spray bottle carefully to prevent cleaning liquid from getting into your eyes and mucous membranes.
- If there are small children in the house, send them to another room - ingesting particles of the product can cause an eating disorder.
Attention! After cleaning the carpet, dry it thoroughly, otherwise mold and bacteria will begin to develop in the pile, and a musty smell will appear.
Dry cleaning the carpet with food powder
In order to quickly give the carpet freshness and remove dirt, you can use baking soda, which every housewife uses for household needs and cooking. If the powder is not available, it is difficult to buy it in the nearest store or market. It is easy to clean a carpet with baking soda at any time of the year, because the coating does not need to dry after cleaning.
First, vacuum the carpet to remove surface dirt. Then spread baking soda evenly, in a thin layer, over the carpet, as in the photo. After 30 minutes, vacuum the entire carpet 2-3 times to remove even the smallest particles of baking soda. If some of the powder remains, then when moisture gets in, the coating will feel sticky.
If you find a stain, use a slightly different method. Sprinkle a little more product onto the dirt and rub it into the pile with a brush. Thoroughly remove the soda after half an hour using a vacuum cleaner.
Tip : For a more thorough cleaning of the carpet, use a brush with a turbo attachment. It literally knocks out any debris and dust from the pile, and then the vacuum cleaner pulls it in. This device is especially relevant in a house where dogs and cats live, since it can be difficult to remove hair from the base of the carpet.
Recommendations
Before starting work, read the recommendations:
- First, vacuum the surface on both sides.
- After wet processing, careful drying is required. To prevent the pile from absorbing new dust, it is forbidden to walk on a wet carpet.
- When using the dry method, do not use too hot water or a hard brush. Rough bristles can damage the pile. And too high a temperature will complicate the removal of stubborn stains.
- Before cleaning, check the reaction of the material to the substance: first treat a small area to make sure that the product does not harm the product.
- Soda ash or baking soda powder is traditionally used to clean light-colored surfaces. For dark ones, use tea leaves.
Wet cleaning of carpet with soda solution
If the rug or carpet has not been thoroughly cleaned for a long time, then you should not use dry soda, but its aqueous solution. This procedure should be carried out only in the warm season, when there are sunny days.
Important : after cleaning, the coating must be completely dry, otherwise mold may grow in it or an unwanted odor may appear. The best way to do this is by hanging the rug outside or in the yard.
The solution is prepared in the following proportion:
- 0.5 cups of soda;
- 5 liters of water - warm, but not hot.
How to properly clean:
- Pour part of the mixture into a spray bottle.
- After preliminary cleaning with a vacuum cleaner, spray the solution over the entire surface of the rug or carpet. Don't overdo it, or the carpet will take too long to dry. You can scrub areas of more stubborn dirt with a brush.
- Wait for the coating to dry completely. This may take from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Use a vacuum cleaner to remove baking soda and dirt.
- Walk over the coating 2-3 times so that the soda does not remain in the pile.
Washing powder, sodium bicarbonate and vinegar
Old stains, traces of tomato sauce and mayonnaise, and stubborn dirt can be cleaned using a more potent mixture. It includes: vinegar, soda and washing powder. This product is also good because it completely removes various persistent odors, such as cat urine or dog hair.
Tip : before using the composition, spray it on a small area of the carpet that is hardly noticeable in the room. If the solution does not damage its color, you can apply it to the rest of the surface.
To wash the carpet, use the following composition of the product:
- 0.5 l warm water;
- 1 tsp washing powder;
- 1 tbsp. vinegar;
- 1 tbsp. baking soda.
Use a spray bottle to spray the composition. After 10 minutes, remove the solution with a dry cloth or napkin. If you spray the mixture over the entire surface of the carpet, then to clean it you cannot do without a washing vacuum cleaner, which will absorb the maximum amount of the solution.
How to clean a carpet at home: traditional methods
There are several folk methods that came from our grandmothers. Back in those days, they effectively combated carpet stains. Try removing the stain with a potato . To do this, cut a large fruit in half and leave it on the stain.
Starch has a bleaching property and that is why potatoes promise to be effective. You can equally well sprinkle starch on the stain and leave it for a while. After which the product must be treated with a soap solution.
traditional carpet cleaning method
No less effective is the method of cleaning the carpet with ammonia . It is diluted with water and applied to the stain. After drying, the dirt is removed with a soap solution. This solution should not be too concentrated and should not penetrate very deeply into the carpet. It can be diluted with a spoonful of washing powder for effectiveness.
Sodium bicarbonate with dishwashing liquid against greasy stains on carpet
Spilled chicken soup and spilled butter are not a death sentence for your favorite carpet. Grease stains can be cleaned using dishwashing detergent, which, in combination with soda and vinegar, dissolves grease well. You will need:
- 1 glass of hot (not boiling water) water;
- 1 tsp dishwashing gel;
- 1 tsp soda;
- 1 tbsp. vinegar.
How to clean a carpet:
- The composition must be used immediately after mixing the components, otherwise it will lose its properties. Spray it onto the dirt.
- If you don't have a sprayer, apply the solution with a sponge.
- Gently scrub the stain with the rough side of the sponge or brush.
- Collect the solution with a clean natural cloth or paper towel.
- If traces of fat remain, repeat the operation.
Tip: try to treat contamination as soon as it appears. In this case, you will have a better chance of removing it completely.
Refresh the color of the carpet at home
In order for your carpet to regain its former attractive appearance, it should be cleaned with a special solution. To prepare it you will need two components: a liter of water and a couple of tablespoons of ammonia. Having prepared the ammonia solution , we begin cleaning the surface using a moderately hard brush. Upon completion of the procedure, thoroughly wipe the carpet to remove excess moisture and smooth out the pile.
As you can see, there are a huge number of ways using available tools that will make your carpet neat without having to spend a lot of money.
Soda with vinegar
Vinegar not only removes various types of dirt well, but also removes unpleasant odors. Soda, in turn, is an excellent antimicrobial agent. In tandem, these two products create an environmentally friendly yet powerful tool for fighting dirt.
Tip : Before you start cleaning, put rubber or latex gloves on your hands.
Carpet cleaning is carried out in two stages. At the first stage, only dry soda is used (the method is described above). After the powder has been removed from the carpet, spray the vinegar solution:
- 1 liter of warm water;
- 1 tbsp. table vinegar.
Now wait until the soft coating is completely dry. Then go over it with a vacuum cleaner a third time.
Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide
Some colored stains can be easily removed using a mixture of baking soda and pharmaceutical hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Stains from fruits or berries, coffee, and wine can also be cleaned. Mix the substances in the following proportions:
- 50 ml H2O2;
- 1 tbsp. soda
Soak the edge of a sponge or cotton pad in the mixture and wipe away the dirt. Then wipe several times with a cloth dampened with clean water.
Important : some coatings are painted with unstable substances, which are easily discolored under the influence of hydrogen peroxide. This method can only be used to clean light-colored carpets without bright colors or patterns. In any case, the mixture should be checked in an inconspicuous area.
Home remedies cope quite well with household stains on carpets, rugs and rugs. You can verify this by watching the video. But you should always follow one rule: you need to regularly vacuum and wash the soft covering, and clean any stains that appear in a timely manner. This way, your carpet will always be in good condition, and cleaning it will not require much effort.
How to easily remove stains from a carpet?
An unpleasant situation can happen to anyone when a noticeable contrasting stain remains on the carpet from a drink, dirt, improvised means, and so on. In such cases, urgent efforts must be made to get rid of contamination as soon as possible, and the following methods will be effective:
- try to wash the stain with laundry soap and water; if it is fresh, it will be removed immediately
- sprinkle baking soda on the stain, then squeeze lemon juice onto the stain, let the reaction push out the dirt particles and remove the stain with a napkin
- a wet wine stain can be sprinkled with salt to absorb moisture
- citric acid has the same property
How to clean carpet stains at home?
In any case, you can use soap products, both for cleaning carpets and regular shampoos. Such products will help quickly remove dirt from the product.
