Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can clean my carpet, and spots with one of the homemade cleaners you suggested, BUT without a carpet shampooer and machine?
depending on how dirty your carpets are, you can actually damp mop them. a good sponge mop or a cotton mop wrung out well, with a solution of hot water and baking soda or borateem works well for a quick pick me up. otherwise its hands and knees and a scrub brush and blotting rags (by the bushel) and a lot of huffing and puffing (for out of shape people like me anyway) in very small areas, take as little water on your brush as you can and scrub a small spot. blot with an old towel or rag. and move on to the next spot. tough stains may take more water or scrubbing. maybe even a tiny dab of dishwashing liquid. this would have to be rinsed off or it will dry sticky. another way is a spray bottle of alcohol. spritz a small area, scrub with a rag and go on to the next spot. check for colorfastness in a small area first. if you have organic stains (like food) spray them with peroxide before starting. good luck
This isn't homemade; however, we have used a carpet cleaning product called "CAPTURE". We buy it at Lowe's Home Improvement stores, and I believe that Home Depot carries it too. It is a slightly wet cleaning powder that you sprinkle onto your carpet and work it in with a broom (you can use your own, or CAPTURE sells one with the product).
The before mentioned methods of using Capture, Resolve, etc do work. Also using a mop or brush, then blotting up the moisture with rags works better than you might expect. Ammonia, shampoo, dishwashing liquid, Simple Green, are all good cleaners, and using vinegar to rinse removes the soap residue and odors, and lifts up the nap. Do not use Peroxide or enzzymes on rugs of natural fiber, as silk or wool. You will be surprised at how good you can make it look and feel.
I have a small handheld steam machine. Would this work on carpet stains? Thanks, J
Editor's Note: It should work fine on any food stains.
When my brother in law visited last, my 3 year old son spilled orange pop on my white carpet (I freaked), bu the poured a little hot water on it, took a towel and covered the spot and used a reagular vaccum hose attachment over the towel so that the liguid was sucked into the towel. It worked better than anything, there was never a stain, and it was finished in under 3 minutes.
Use hydrogen peroxide on light colored carpets. It will get out anything.
I tried Capture today on my carpet for pet accidents and small paint spills, and it worked wonders. I love it and the products weren't expensive.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a very dirty carpet that I have spilled coffee and hot chocolate on. The problem is I shake a lot, hence dirty carpet. I have a carpet cleaner and I have a steam machine for cleaning bathroom, etc.
But I'm handicapped. All that to say could I use a spray foam first then clean with the machine? I'm trying to not to have so much pressure on my body. Had shoulders and knees and fibromyalgia.It is a good idea to spot clean first.
I am sorry to hear of your troubles.
Two things:
1. There are brands of carpet cleaner that foam up and you leave sit,then vacuum. We used get the Dollar General brand. It does a fair job. Sometimes it takes a few treatments.
2. I know everyone likes carpet, but in some situations, pulling up the carpet and if you have wooden floors or something under it like linoleum, you can clean it up so much easier. Your home maintenance can be simple as mop and go.
From personal experience, it is so much easier to manage uncarpeted floors vs carpet.
Sending up prayers for you to find an easy solution.
For the person that uses the dollar store brand after you spray your carpet don't you use a broom to get in the carpet first than let sit for 2 hrs. than vacum? Or did y ou use something different.?
Is there any other way to clean carpeting other than hiring a professional company or purchasing and expensive carpet cleaning machine? I seem to remember someone on this site suggested using a sponge mop, but I didn't read the complete information as I had just had my carpets cleaned professionally.
Thanks for any help.
By Elizabeth
There are all kinds of ways a person can clean carpeting, depending on the amount of elbow grease they want to use. Most methods leave a soapy residue on the carpeting that attracts dirt sooner than when the carpeting was new.
My late aunt used to mix up a soapy mixture using an egg beater to make it nice and foamy and using a scrub brush she would get down on her hands and knees and dip the brush into the foamy part and brush it into the carpet. She would have to beat the mixture frequently to keep it foamy, because she didn't want to get the carpeting wet like the water would have made it.
In the long run buying your own carpet cleaner would be cheaper than having a professional come in and do it. The machine will pay for itself after 2-3 uses, maybe sooner depending on how much carpeting you have to clean.
Hey, it is very easy to clean the carpets or rugs at your home. I always clean them at my home. Vinegar is the best cleaning agent I have ever seen. There are many more homemade tips for cleaning the carpets.
Refer the link below for more information on that
www.rugsandblinds.com/
Does anyone have a carpet cleaning recipe that I can spray from a bottle?
You can use some dish soap and warm water in a bucket. You will use a scrub brush and dip this in the bucket and scrub your carpets. You can use any type of soap you want to clean the carpets with. They will come clean when you scrub them with the brush. Let them dry and vacuum up the rest of the dirt.
Cleaning Carpet
Step 1
Put 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and 1 part blue Dawn in a spray bottle
Step 2
Spray in carpet and work in with a brush.
Step 3
Put water in another spray bottle
Step 4
Spray the stain with the water
Step 5
Blot with a clean cloth
Step 6
Repeat as necessary
