How To Clean Carpet At Home By Hand | By Yourself

Cleaning Insider August 11, 2024 5473 8

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Cleaning a carpet at home might seem challenging, especially when you’re unsure about what products to use or how often to clean. While hiring someone is an option, it’s not always necessary. You can effectively clean your carpet yourself with the right techniques.

This guide will show you simple, safe methods to clean your carpet using common household ingredients. Follow these tips, and you’ll be able to maintain a clean carpet with ease.

8 Best Methods to Clean a Carpet at Home by Hand

By following some easy and simple steps, you can keep your carpets clean without using any heavy cleaning equipment. There are plenty of effective ways to clean it by yourself like a new one without the machinery.

Arrange the following equipment for cleaning:

Pre-cleaning solution
Carpet cleaning solution
Vacuum cleaner
Stiff-bristled broom
Sponge
Scrubbing brush
Dustpan

1. Clean your floor

Before you start your cleaning job, clear the floor as much as possible. Remove chairs, small objects, and other removable things that are lying around the carpet. If there are any small objects, then it can be sucked up by the vacuum cleaner. Check if there are any dents and marks left on the carpet by heavyweight furniture. If possible, try to remove them by rubbing an ice cube before cleaning.

2. Remove loose dirt from the carpet

Use a vacuum to remove loose soil before starting to wash the carpet to reduce your labor. Do not worry if you don’t have a vacuum. Using a stiff-bristled broom and a dustpan, you can still clean your carpet. If it is a low-pile carpet, the use of a stiff-bristled broom is the most natural cleaning method.

If you have high-pile, thicker, or shag carpets, then you should be more careful about removing dirt because their long fiber stores dirt in a vast amount. For an effective clean, tie the bristle with a rope or rubber band to make them more rigid. Now it will be easy to clean loose dirt by hand even from a thicker one.

3. Remove carpet stains

It will be best if you remove all stains from the carpet like wine, blood, tea, ketchup, and urine as soon as they happen. Use the appropriate cleaner on the stains directly to remove them immediately. You can take the help of iron to remove stains also. Soak a cloth or flannel in water and place it on the stain. Now run a hot iron over it. The heat of the iron will start breaking up the stains, which will make it easy to clean.

4. Make a carpet cleaning solution by yourself

Required ingredients:

Warm water
White vinegar
Bleach-free mild dish soap

Take a bucket and fill it with equal parts of white vinegar and warm water. Add a few drops of bleach-free mild soap. Stir and mix the solution perfectly. Now, your homemade carpet cleaning solution is ready.

5. Start the main cleaning work

Take a piece of clean sponge or soft bristle brush and dip it into your homemade cleaning solution. Apply the solution to a small section of the carpet and wait a few minutes to see the reaction. If there isn’t any harmful reaction, that means the solution is appropriate for the fabric. Now continue gently scrubbing the surface with it.

6. Pick up the excess moisture

Again a vacuum is a useful appliance for this stage. Use a wet or dry vacuum over the carpet and pick up the excess moisture. It will also help you to remove excess suds if there are any.

Now take another clean brush and dip it into warm water. Rinse the carpet and scrub it for the second time.

7. Let the carpet dry

Now it is time to dry it. Open doors and windows and place a fan in a possible near position of the carpet. This fan will help to circulate the air around the room to dry it very soon.

8. Give a final touch with baking soda to the carpet

Baking soda is a very common ingredient in our kitchen and is also very useful in removing bad smells. It is a natural deodorizer. When the carpet is only a little bit damp, sprinkle some baking soda liberally all over it. The baking soda will effectively draw out the excess moisture and also absorb the bad smell.

Finally, the next morning, vacuum up the baking soda. Now your carpet is spotless and ready to use again.

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Why you should clean carpets regularly

Carpets can make you warm and decorate your house. Over time, it starts to get dirty and disrupts the beauty of your home. If you walk on it wearing shoes, it can dirty quicker. Your pets and kids can also be a cause of making dirtier of it.

If your house is carpeted, it is essential to keep it dirt and stain-free, not only for cleanliness but for its longevity also. It can also be the cause of various health problems, especially if you have allergies or respiratory problems.

Many carpet manufacturers enclose their warranty on how often you should clean it to ensure its longevity it. But if you or your family feel any allergen problem, you should clean it before the mentioned time.

If you leave your carpet unclean, you may have to deal with some unwanted situations such as

If your carpet is unclean for a long time, fibers will start to get damaged, and you have to replace it with a new one very soon.
Stains will become stubborn, and you can’t remove them completely even with a deep clean.

You may have to face some unpleasant odors if you keep your carpet dirty for a long time. Sometimes only brushing or vacuuming can not be enough to remove these bad smells.

You can also read: How To Get Wax Out Of Carpet

How often should you clean your carpets?

There are a few factors to consider for determining how often you should clean the carpet. First of all, see what the manufacturer said about the duration of cleaning. Most of the company is instructed at least once a year, but depending on the situation, it may need a deep clean more like three or four times a year.

In addition, you should vacuum it at least two to four times a week to remove loose dirt, hair, dander, and grime. If you do not have a pet and kids, then it will be enough if you vacuum once per week.

However, here are some factors to consider to deciding how often you should clean your carpets:

The color of your carpet is one of the major factors to consider in how regularly you should clean it. A light color carpet will make your room quite bright, but it is more prone to dirt. So for proper maintenance, a color carpet requires more frequent cleaning than others.
Dusting at least once a week can help the carpet last longer. Regular dusting allows you to go longer between deep cleanings.
The fibers of the carpet collect much of the dust and allergens that float in the air. If you or any of your family members have chronic allergies, frequent cleanings are often necessary.
Kids often create stains of fruit juice, muddy footprints, finger paint, etc. on the carpet. It is a challenge to keep the carpet clean with a kid. Also, the little members of your family spend lots of time on it. So it is essential to clean the carpet frequently to keep your kids safe from dirt and allergens.

Are there any people in your house who often walk on the carpet with shoes? If yes, then get ready to clean your carpet more frequently. Shoes do not create only dirt marks but also bring many small particles of grit, which can be a cause of fabric damage.

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Carpet care and maintenance tips

We hope now you can easily clean your carper by yourself at home. We also have some additional maintenance tips from an expert to help you keep your carpet in tip-top shape.

These expert tips will also reduce your work to keep your carpet clean and dirt, and stain-free for a long time.

Do not walk wearing shoes on the carpet:
You may think it is normal but not for everyone. Many people still wear shoes on the carpet. It is a specific reason to make them dirty immediately. So, do not walk wearing shoes on the carpet.
Make a regular cleaning habit:
It is a crucial step to keep your carpet clean for long days. Brush it to remove loose dirt regularly. You should use a proper brush to remove debris and other small particles that the fiber can catch.
Act first:
If you notice any stains, just clean them as soon as possible using a homemade cleaning solution by yourself. It will prevent you from doing much work when you need a deep clean.
Install protective features:
Carpets can be damaged by the sharp edge of furniture. Such as the legs of chairs digging into it and creating a permanent mark. You can install some protectors under the sharp edges of the table and couch legs.
Keep an eye on high-traffic areas:
There are some specific high-traffic areas in every house, such as the living room and hallways. If you have carpet in these heavy-use areas, then it will be better if you consider a rug or a runner on the top to protect what is beneath.

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Frequently asked questions about carpet cleaning

Why does the carpet smell bad after cleaning?

If the underlying backing and padding are wet and do not dry completely, some lousy smell can be created in it. Even it can grow mildew until that backing dries appropriately.

Hot or cold water, which one is better to clean the carpet?

According to the expert’s opinion, cold water is somewhat better than hot water when you use it on natural carpet fiber. On the other hand, warm water helps to reduce the surface pressure of water and clean faster than cold water.

What can you use as an alternative to a carpet rake when you clean it at home?

A rubber broom can be a great alternative to this tool. It can work almost similar to what the rake can do. Moreover, it can pull hair and fur from the deep down that even a vacuum leaves behind.

Wrapping up

We hope our guide and tips on clean carpets at home were helpful and informative enough for you. The entire cleaning process is quite easy, and you can do it yourself by hand. Remember one thing, your carpet demand regarding cleaning will mostly depend on the traffic in your house.

So don’t be confused with plenty of online cleaning solutions. Find out if there are any cleaning instructions from the manufacturer for its safety it. Finally, be careful if you have any allergies or pet issues. Stay safe and clean also.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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