Clever Carpet Cleaning Tips

Carpet manufacturers recommend that you have your carpets professionally steam cleaned once a year; twice if you soil them heavily.  Cleaning your carpets any more than this will break down the fibers and shorten the life of your carpet.  So what do you do in between cleanings when you find you have a little spot of something on your carpet?  Here are some carpet cleaning tips that will work wonders.

The first thing I like to try on stains is a very simple and natural one.  I have had success with this system on a juice stain that was two months old!  Mix a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 3/4 cups water.  Decant into a spray bottle and saturate the stain with the mixture.  Then, dampen an old towel or washcloth with warm water and lay the cloth over the stain.  Using an iron with steam, iron over the towel until the stain is lifted.

For water-soluble and greasy stains, try this carpet cleaning formula: spray the area with a mix of 50% ammonia to 50% water plus a few drops of liquid soap.  Allow to sit for just a few seconds, then vacuum up with a shop vacuum.  Repeat until the stain is gone.  This technique is superior for preventing stain “ghosting”, where the stain is removed initially, then miraculously reappears a few days to weeks later.

Another trick to try that is simple and gentle is to rub a slightly damp bar of Ivory soap on the stain and then scrub with a toothbrush.  If you are out of Ivory, try using your husband’s shaving cream (if he uses the white, foamy kind).  Simply rub a small palmful of foam into the stain and wipe up with a cloth.

Coffee, tea and red wine stains remove quite well with the use of soda water.  As always with carpet cleaning, it is important to treat the stain as soon as possible.  First, blot up the excess tea, coffee or wine with a cloth then pour an ample amount of soda water on the area.  Let sit for a minute or two and blot with a clean cloth.