Simple guide on making a highly effective carpet cleaner

Carpet cleaner
©Depositphotos/svanhorn

Carpets add warmth and richness to any home but getting rid of the stains on its surface can be a real challenge. Sometimes – no, most of the time these stains even come with odors. With the rising prices of grocery supplies, more and more homeowners are thinking twice about spending money on carpet cleaners. Thankfully, making a homemade carpet cleaner is an easy and an inexpensive option. It’s so viable that those who are trying the cleaner for the first time may be critical about its efficiency.

Basic carpet cleaner for maintenance

If you’re dealing with light stains or you just want a homemade carpet cleaner to keep your carpet floors looking as fresh as they were when you first had them installed, prepare these ingredients:

  • About three tablespoons of vinegar
  • About twenty four ounces of water

Mix and store the solution in a new, empty, and properly labelled spray container. This should last you for at least a week. Simply spray this on your carpets to remove minor stains and odors.

Dry carpet cleaner

If you don’t feel like handling carpet stains with too much liquid, there is another option. All you need are

  • A fourth cup of borax
  • Half a cup of baking soda
Carpet cleaner
©Depositphotos/victoshafoto

With a rag, moisten the stain first. After that, pour the dry homemade carpet cleaner onto the same spot. Moistening the spot loosens the liquid which caused the stain. The dry cleaner, on the other hand, lifts it from the carpet surface. This works for newly acquired stains. After vacuuming off the dry carpet cleaner, the stain should be gone.

For hard to remove stains

If the stain you’re dealing with is too old, and if it has already crusted over your carpet, you will need this solution:

  • A tablespoon of baking soda;
  • Three tablespoons of vinegar;
  • Two cups of water.

Mix and store this concoction in a new, empty and labeled spray canister. Spray this solution onto the stained spot, scrub off the stain until it’s totally gone, let it sit for five to ten minutes, then blot the spot dry with a cotton rag. Also, you can try Folex Carpet Cleaner.

Shampoo

If you want to add some fragrance to your homemade carpet cleaner, you may also do so with this shampoo recipe for carpets:

  • A fourth cup of vinegar
  • A fourth cup of liquid laundry soap
  • A gallon of water

Mix all the ingredients together and then apply it to your carpet cleaning machine. Before doing this, though, make sure that the machine is compatible with homemade solutions. Otherwise, you might be spending more on repairs. There are certain carpet vacuum brands which require special shampoos to be used. Look at the fine print before using a homemade shampoo. You should do this especially if you are using a machine which is still under warranty.

https://youtu.be/oE7lp3GwWz8?t=7s

The importance of vinegar

As you may have noticed, all the cleaner recipes listed above include vinegar. This is because vinegar is a very efficient and inexpensive stain and odor remover. It has an acetic acid content which is perfect for cleaning fabrics. Just make sure you follow the proportions indicated in the recipes above. Also, make sure you’re using white vinegar and not just any vinegar variants.