Do you want to spruce up your living room? Throw a roll of carpet on the floor et voila! There’s nothing like a beautiful roll of carpet to put an exclamation point on the over-all look and feel of any interior. Carpets are best for any interior space. Aside from the living room, carpets can also be the center of attention in your bedroom, office, study, library, children’s room and entertainment room.
Enough about carpets – we know these can instantly and effortlessly beautify your space. The question is, how do you maintain your carpets so that they look nice and smell clean just like the first day you’ve rolled them out?
The best way to give your carpet a thorough clean is to bring them to a professional carpet cleaner. But just before that, there are many ways you can clean your carpet at home to control the dirt and damage on your carpet from spills and smudges that occasionally and inevitably happen.
Here are Five DIY Carpet Cleaning Ideas You can Try at Home:
1 – Do a Spot Cleaning.
Did your kid spill his chocolate drink on your carpet? Did your pet poo on it? Don’t panic! And don’t roll that carpet away! Do a spot cleaning instead.
First, remove objects that spilled on your carpet. If it’s your child’s chocolate drink, immediately dab the area with a dry, absorbent cloth to control the drink from spilling and smudging further. If it’s your pet’s poo or other food bits, pick it up using a piece of paper towel or wear a hand glove. After you’ve removed the spilled objects, do a spot cleaning of the area.
To spot clean, simply get a dishwashing scrub pad, dip into a soapy solution, and scrub the area clean. To rinse, dip the scrub pad onto clean, warm water and scrub the area again. Dry up the area using a hair blower and there you go!
Remember, don’t roll the carpet away because if you did, you would only spread the stain of the chocolate drink or the stench of the animal feces to the entire carpet, thus, making the whole roll of the carpet dirty, instead of just one area.
Contain the situation by doing a spot cleaning.
2 – Baking Soda Works Wonders!
On carpets and area rugs, baking soda mixed with warm water and white vinegar works very well to remove dust and the dusty smell on a carpet. Simply mix a portion of the baking soda, warm water and white vinegar and use a spray bottle to spray your solution on the carpet. Let it sit for a while (10 minutes is a good duration) and then dry up with a hair blower for that perfect finish!
3 – Harness the Natural Cleaning Ability of the Sun!
Bring your carpet out in the sun, and hold a baseball bat on one hand. Hang your carpet on a sturdy structure (the railings of the veranda can be a good idea) and then bat it all away! You will see everything from paper clips to Lego pieces come off the carpet. The harder you hit, the more dirt and objects will come fall, leaving your carpet clean and dust-free.
Exposing it to the sun will also give the carpet a fresh, clean smell as the sun will cause odours from food, liquid and other things that may have spilled and dried up on the carpet to evaporate.
Make sure to wear a mask or to cover your face with a handkerchief when you do this so you don’t end up inhaling the dust!
4 – Ice, ice Baby!
Yes, ice! Ice can help remove gum and play dough on carpets. Get a handful of ice cubes, put them on a towel, and apply on the area. Watch gum or play dough detach from the carpet. And then, use a scrubbing pad or a sponge to clean further.
5 – Acetone and Make up Remover.
Nail polish is hard to remove from carpet but acetone can help clean it up. Remember that you must clean up with acetone as soon as the nail polish spilled, otherwise the polish would already dry up on the carpet and applying acetone might already be too late. This same trick works for make ups that might get dabbed on the carpet. Dab a piece of cloth on the make-up remover and apply on the area. Watch the make-up disappear.
There you have it! Five fabulous DIY carpet cleaning techniques that really work! Remember to always keep your carpet clean to avoid inhaling dust and other allergens in the air. Especially when you have young children or pets that may leave dirt and stains on your carpet, you must be diligent and prompt and spot-clean the area right away.
Don’t wait until your carpet is already too dirty before you clean it yourself or bring it to the professional carpet cleaner. You would only be able to clean so much when the stains are old. Clean any dirt or stain on your carpet promptly to avoid causing bigger problems later on.
DIY carpet cleaning ideas could be the better alternative for you especially if you have kids with asthma because chemicals used in carpet cleaning could end up as allergy trigger for asthmatic kids.
On the other hand, the baking soda, warm water and white vinegar solution is classified safe and chemical-free so you can maintain your carpet looking, smelling and feeling fresh every day using materials which are readily available from your own kitchen!
You can DIY your everyday carpet emergencies to keep it clean and fresh smelling for a longer time.
The important thing to remember is that you need to scrape off any dirt first before applying your DIY carpet cleaning ideas or bringing the carpet to carpet cleaners. Scraping off the dirt reduces the work needed to clean your carpet by half.
For best results, it is also highly recommended to bring your carpet in for a thorough carpet cleaning by a professional carpet cleaning company.
Professional carpet cleaners care for your carpets so that they feel and smell clean, and look new all over again.
Visit a trusted carpet cleaner and say hello to clean, fresh smelling carpets today!