Whatever the reason for choosing carpet as your flooring material, you need to know how to properly clean your carpet. Because hiring a professional cleaning service will cost you money, besides you might not want to invite people to your house in this pandemic, even if it is for cleaning purposes. To save you time, money, and wasted effort we have come up with some carpet cleaning hacks that you can effectively apply. Let’s read on to find out.

What Types of Carpet Cleaning Products Do You Need?

Before we start with the carpet cleaning hacks you need to know what types of equipment or cleaning products are needed for this purpose. Many people think that for cleaning carpets like professional, bulky equipment are needed. It is entirely possible to keep your carpet clean without having to use bulky machinery. For instance, a stiff-bristled broom, scrub brush, and cleaning chemicals will suffice for regular dust cleaning, or disinfecting your carpet.  

For cleaning chemicals, you might need a detergent, vinegar ammonia, or oil solvent solution; it depends on the type of stain you are dealing with and the material of your carpet. However, if you need more efficient cleaning, you can invest in a smart vacuum or a portable carpet steam cleaner. They are easy to handle and won’t take up much space in your cupboard.

Carpet Cleaning Hacks for You

For regular stain removal purposes, you don’t have to apply high-grade industrial chemicals. Some simple solutions made from kitchen essentials are enough to do the trick. Here are some hacks that will help you remove the spilled morning coffee or the crushed candies that got stuck in your carpet.

Don’t Scrub the Stain

Whenever we come into contact with a stain, we scrub the stain to get rid of it; only to end up with a bigger mess. If you are not any different from this, you need to know a hack that can last a lifelong; unlike the stains on your carpet. Don’t ever rub the stain, blot it gently. Rubbing the particles makes them spread on an even larger scale.

Blotting puts gentle pressure on the spot, making it easier to soak up the stain. When you are cleaning a stain, take a clean cloth, and start blotting the stain from the outer edge to inward; it will reduce the risk of the stain spreading any further. This trick does not only work for the carpet, but you can also apply it for any stain on any fabric material; be it a spilled coffee on your shirt or a chocolate smudge from your kids' clothing.

Removing Wine Stain

You might have heard about the club soda trick to remove a wine stain from the carpet. You can use this trick to remove wine stain, soak a cloth with club soda, and blot the stain. You can also prepare a cleaning solution with vinegar and water, keeping a one-to-one ratio. 

A solution made of vinegar and detergent will also be effective against wine stains on the carpet. For drying the spot after blotting, you can cover it with a paper towel and press it with a heavy object; it will soak up the water from the carpet.

Removing Coffee Stain

Coffee spills might be the most common type of stain seen on the carpet. However, with vinegar, dish soap, and water solution you can get rid of the oldest coffee stain from your carpet. Use one tablespoon of vinegar, a tablespoon of dish soap, and two cups of lukewarm water to make a solution. 

Blot the stains with a solvent soaked cloth several times; if the stain lightens press a cloth soaked in warm water on the spot. While blotting uses the inward from the outward method.

Removing Oil or Grease Stain

Removing grease from carpet can take time. Apply solvent soaked cloth on the spot and dab it several times. If the stain lightens, use another cloth soaked in lukewarm water to press on the spot.  A dish soap solution can get rid of the grease stain for you. 

Mix dish soap with lukewarm water and use that solvent to blot the stain. You can also dab the spot with rubbing alcohol for a better result. However, be aware that grease stain cannot be removed right away; but you have to repeat the process a few times.

Removing Wax Stain

If you have the habit of burning incense or candles in the house, you might come across some drips from the candle on your carpet. If the wax gets hardened in the carpet you can't get rid of wax without melting it first. Use iron on the spot to melt wax; don’t forget to put a cloth barrier between the wax and iron. After the wax melts scrape it off from the carpet. The stain can be removed following the grease removing process.

Removing Chewing Gums

This sticky substance can be hard to get rid of from a carpet, to get rid of chewing gum from the carpet, first you have to apply an ice pack on it to make it hard. After pressing it for 30-40 seconds the chewing gum will turn into a solid mass. Then break the mass into little chips to remove it. After removing the broken chips, blot the space with solvent and water.

Removing Ink Stain

Getting rid of ink stains from the carpet can be tricky. For synthetic carpet use solvent or detergent solution and blot the stain with a cloth. You can also use lukewarm water blot for better results. 

For natural fiber carpet, you have different solutions depending on the intensity of the ink.  You can use vinegar or ammonia solution, or even a detergent solution for natural fiber carpet.

Removing Dry Dirt and Mud Stains

You can vacuum to remove dry dirt from the carpet. If you don’t have a vacuum you can just use a bristled broom to remove dirt; but we should warn you, it is a tedious job to remove specks of dirt from the thick carpet. For mud stain, you can use a detergent soaked cloth to dab on the spot. 

Wait sometime after pressing the detergent soaked cloth. Then dip another cloth in warm water and blot that stain several times. If the stain remains unyielding you can repeat the process a few times.

Removing Pet Fur

If you are a pet mommy, you need to clean your carpet regularly. In between deep cleaning, you should regularly check out your carpet for pet hair, especially the places where they frequent and lie down. You can use a lint brush to get rid of the shaded hair. 

Some places might need wet cleaning if the hair gets embedded into the carpet. Spraying the carpet with water will make the hair wet and clump together. If you use cleaning products make sure it is safe for your pets.

Removing Pet Stain

No matter how much you potty train your pet there can be some incidents right on your carpet. However, removing the stain and odor can be unpleasant but it is doable. You can spray that spot with organic or non-toxic cleaning products and scrub up the area. After scrubbing, wipe the area with a water-soaked cloth and let it dry.

Removing Sticky Crushed Candy

If you have kids running around the house you are bound to have some crushed candies lying around somewhere on the carpet. The candy particles can get stuck with the carpet fibers, making it harder to remove them. First, you need to scrape the loose particles off the carpet with a spatula or a butter knife. 

Then scrub the area with a detergent soaked cloth. Make sure you get rid of all the sticky sugars; you don’t want more dirt to stick to that spot.

The Bottom Line

The most effective way to keep a carpet looking new even after several years of use is regular deep clean. However, if it becomes hard for you to manage time for deep cleaning, you can use these tricks to solve minor carpet stain incidents; in between your deep cleaning. Make sure you have handy items like vinegar, rubbing alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide stocked in your cleaning cupboard for prompt use. While making a solution, maintain the recommended ratio; otherwise, you might end up adding more strain on your carpet instead of removing them.