Towards Perfect Order: How to Clean Your Carpet at Home

Tags:Living room and bedroom, Children's room

Carpets are what gets dirty the most in the house. With cabinets and shelves, household appliances, everything is simple: dust off and you're done. Laminate or tiles can be washed quickly with a mop, but carpets are a whole story. Simple vacuuming only creates the appearance of cleanliness. In fact, even the most powerful vacuum cleaner leaves dirt on the pile. Over time, it becomes more noticeable, and an expensive and beautiful carpet turns into something unattractive. And if there are small children and animals in your house, then the problem becomes very acute. For those who do not want to put up with this situation, the editors of homemaster.techinfus.com/en/ have collected proven ways to clean the carpet at home. We will discuss which chemicals should be used and which should not, and we will offer effective methods for caring for carpets made of natural and artificial materials.

Carpet cleaning is a painstaking task that requires time and the use of special tools

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1 General advice on how to clean your carpet at home
2 Carpet Cleaning Tools
3 How can you clean your carpet at home
4 How to quickly clean a carpet at home using household chemicals
5 Features of cleaning carpets made of different materials
6 How to effectively clean carpet stains at home

General advice on how to clean your carpet at home

Carpets in your home come in a variety of sizes, colors, pile lengths and material qualities. There are general principles that must be followed during the general cleaning of such a coating:

Do not use household chemicals or home remedies without first checking the reaction of the material to their effect. Try on a small, inconspicuous area first.
Don't delay removing the stain.The sooner you start removing it, the better your chances of success. The stain with "age" is more difficult to clean.
Do not get carried away with wet cleaning. Whether artificial or natural, no carpet can withstand dampness and hot water. The glue base will get wet and an unpleasant odor will appear, which can only be removed by throwing out the carpet.
Do not dry the carpet on a fence or rope, it deforms under its own weight and forms a fold that may not expand further.
Do not use hard brushes to apply the cleaning agent and do not direct movements against the pile - you risk tearing out some of the fibers, and the carpet will lose its attractive appearance.

Make it a rule to vacuum the carpet every week and beat it out in fresh snow every winter.

Carpet Cleaning Tools

Hand washing your carpet is the most efficient cleaning method. This process will take your time and energy, but no machine can handle it better. To work, you need to purchase a pair of brushes with a handle, such as "iron", one more, the other smaller.

A brush on a mop will greatly facilitate the task. It can be used to process the main part of the carpet, and in particularly dirty places, use a hand tool

Important! Wet cleaning of carpet is not done on the floor in the apartment. It is necessary to take the coating out to the street, hang it on the crossbar and only then process it, ensuring a free outflow of water.

For general cleaning, the detergent is whipped in one bucket, and the second with clean water is kept at hand. if you have washing vacuum cleaner - the task is simplified. The carpet does not need to be removed for cleaning with a washing vacuum cleaner. The only thing worth doing is to lay polyethylene under it so that moisture does not damage the laminated flooring.

How often should carpets be wet cleaned? It all depends on the intensity of the pollution.

If your house does not have children, a dog or a cat, it is enough to do a general cleaning a couple of times a year.

If you have a private house and the doors are open all summer, and your family constantly go from house to garden and back, get ready for at least a monthly wash.

Note! Routine dry cleaning of carpet with a vacuum cleaner at home is not always as effective as we would like. In inexpensive models without a wet filter, almost half of the dust flies back.

Craftsmen have come up with a system of several ways to install a wet filter on an ordinary vacuum cleaner, about one of them in the next video.

How can you clean your carpet at home

Wet cleaning of the carpet does not have to be done with expensive store-bought products. There are many recipes for effective formulations that you can safely use. There are ingredients for such compositions in every home: this is soda, vinegar, lemon acid, tea leaves and soap.

Advice! Be sure to dry clean the front and back of the cover before wet cleaning.

How to clean a carpet at home with vinegar, salt, soda and ammonia

Plain table vinegar will help to deal with minor dirt and odor from shaggy carpet. The organic stain can be removed with a solution of nine percent table vinegar (1 tablespoon per glass of water).

It is enough to rub the stain with a brush with such a solution, and it will disappear

For a refreshing effect, wipe the carpet with a sponge with a solution of 1 tbsp. spoons per liter of water. Once dry, unpleasant odors will disappear along with the vinegar scent and the paint on the coating will brighten. The reaction of baking soda and vinegar can also benefit the hostess. How to clean carpet with baking soda at home:

Option 1. Sprinkle baking soda over the surface, rub a little with a brush and vacuum the carpet after half an hour. Apply from a spray bottle a warm solution of vinegar and water (1 tablespoon per liter). Vacuum again after another 30 minutes.
Option 2. Mix a spoonful of washing powder, baking soda and 4 tablespoons of vinegar in a bowl with warm water.Once a violent reaction begins. While the mixture is foaming, apply it to the carpet and scrub with a brush. To process a large carpet, make the solution in small portions so that you can use it while the reaction is taking place.
Option 3. Dissolve baking soda in water (a glass for 3 liters of water). Spray the solution onto the carpet. Vacuum the coating after drying.

There is an effective salt cleansing method that is not suitable for superstitious people.

Scatter fine "Extra" salt all over the floor and sweep away with a brush. Sprinkle the salt again and repeat the procedure until it is clean. Then use the vacuum cleaner

Ammonia, or ammonia, is an effective tool for removing contaminants of various origins. A solution of a liter of water, a tablespoon of washing powder and two tablespoons of ammonia is applied to the stain and cleaned with a brush. After processing, wipe the place with a cloth dry.

Important! When working with ammonia, be sure to use a respirator and do not forget to open windows and vents.

How to clean your carpet at home with laundry soap and lemon juice

Sour lemon juice helps remove even stubborn stains, while the pleasant scent of lemon will refresh the room.

The only caveat is that you can't clean the white coating with lemon juice, it may turn yellow

Use natural, undiluted juice to remove the stain. It is applied to the mud and waited until it softens. After the site is washed with plain water. Good old laundry soap is another universal tool for washing carpet. How to effectively clean the carpet with soap at home: dissolve it in a small amount of warm water and rub the coating with a solution. Leave the solution on the carpet, waiting time is 10-15 minutes, and then rinse it with clean water with a washing vacuum cleaner. For a greater effect, you can use a stain remover type "Duru" or for washing children's clothes. All these products dissolve dirt well.

Snow cleaning

Snow on the street is a reason not only to breathe in the frosty air, but also to do a general cleaning. It is with snow that you can clean the carpet without a vacuum cleaner. How to do it? It's very simple: take the cover outside and spread it right on a snowdrift.

Hit the carpet vigorously with a broom or a special cracker, turn it over to a clean area and repeat the procedure on the other side

If there is not a large enough area to spread out, hang the rug from the rug, throw snow over it, and exhaust it. This should be done on a frosty day, the snow should be crumbly.

Advice! After cleaning, leave the carpet in freezing cold for a couple of hours. All dust mites will die from the cold.

A few more tips on how to clean the carpet at home with folk remedies

We suggest exploring these options for how to wash the carpet at home:

use tea leaves - apply the tea leaves to the stain, wait for them to dry and vacuum;
To remove stubborn wine, chocolate, urine or paint stains, use a solution of soapy water and 1/10 of the gasoline. Dampen fine sawdust with it and apply it to the stain. When the sawdust is dry, sweep it up. The smell will last for some time, so you have to ventilate the room for a long time;
another effective remedy with a pungent odor is an aqueous solution of washing powder and kerosene or laundry soap and turpentine. Apply the solution with a sponge to the dirt, they will dissolve in just a few moments.

Among the folk methods there are also completely unexpected ones, for example, cleaning the carpet with grated potatoes or sauerkraut. Some aspects are questionable, but if you have a surplus of sauerkraut, why not?

How to quickly clean a carpet at home using household chemicals

The counters of household chemicals stores are literally littered with home carpet cleaners.There are expensive powders and liquids from well-known manufacturers and more affordable products that are just conquering the market. Take your time to take the first thing that comes across: carefully study the recommendations on the package.

Most universal compounds are not suitable for cleaning natural materials

From experienced housewives, we can recommend the "Cinderella" remedy. A relatively inexpensive and effective composition easily removes complex stains not only on the carpet, but also on upholstered furniture.

Important! Means "Cinderella" must be diluted with water and whipped into a foam. It does not apply in its pure form!

Another popular remedy is Vanish. It is also diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 9 and whipped into a foam. A small video instruction on how to clean a carpet at home with "Vanish".

Not cheap, but very effective "Amway" will also help to cope with cleaning the carpet. The processing procedure is the same as for "Vanish". Among the products that can be applied by spraying, the leaders are the Karcher powder and the Radiance composition.

Karcher is considered toxic, so it is best not to use it for cleaning coatings in a children's room.

"Carcher" is considered toxic, so it is better not to use it for cleaning coatings in a children's room

Features of cleaning carpets made of different materials

It is important not only to find a product that can dissolve the stain. You need to know which composition is suitable for natural and synthetic materials, how the nap will react to the procedure. Let's take a look at how to properly handle different types of coatings.

How to properly clean a woolen carpet at home

A natural wool carpet is an expensive purchase. It is not easy to care for them and special conditions must be observed for periodic cleaning. Remember that wool is very disliked by water and hot steam. When wet, it dries for a long time and tends to shrink.

If such a carpet is not completely dried, it will acquire a disgusting musty smell and may even rot.

Paints in handmade carpets can be unstable and will “float” during wet cleaning, destroying the unique pattern. Woolen carpets can be damaged by moths, and they will fade in direct sunlight. From all that has been said, the main conclusion must be drawn: it is better not to wet woolen carpets unless absolutely necessary. Focus on dry cleaning methods. How can you clean a woolen rug at home without water:

use snow cleaning in winter and then thoroughly dry the carpet;
use special dry powders for cleaning (in no case replace them with ordinary washing powder);
try dry cleaning with salt or baking soda as described above.

If the situation is hopeless, for example, you have a kitten or a puppy, and a small pet has puddled on your carpet, start washing very carefully.

Try your chosen product in an inconspicuous corner and see how the coat reacts. Find a product specially designed for natural carpets. Never use bleach or alkaline products. Try to dry your carpet right away, maybe even using a hair dryer or other drying agent.

Note! A starch solution will help restore the shine of the coat. Apply it to the coating and after drying, remove the starch with a vacuum cleaner.

It is better to dry the washed carpet in the fresh air, in the shade, on a flat bar.

Nuances of cleaning silk, cotton and viscose carpets

Silk carpets with delicate pile do not tolerate rough handling. You should not put heavy furniture on them or lay them in a "passable" place.

Silk carpets should not be wetted unless absolutely necessary, they can be hopelessly damaged by unprofessional cleaning.

For wet cleaning, as a last resort, you can use baby shampoo, a weak solution of soda or vinegar.

Important! Silk coatings do not tolerate any household chemicals!

Silk carpets often contain viscose and cotton. Remember that all these natural materials do not like hot steam and direct sunlight. After cleaning, the coating must be dried flat.

Dry cleaning of synthetic carpets at home

Synthetics are good for their unpretentiousness. As a rule, it is easy to wash and dries quickly. Do not worry too much about how to wash the acrylic carpet: all of the above methods are suitable. Such carpets can even be treated with a steam cleaner, it will straighten the caked pile.

A small rug from the bathroom can even be simply washed in the washing machine

How to clean long or short pile rugs

The short pile is convenient because it is easy to clean. Dirt does not particularly linger on such a surface. Short pile can be washed with any soap solution. It is pleasant to walk barefoot on a piled carpet, but cleaning it is a complete hassle. To care for such a carpet, you need a powerful vacuum cleaner. It is better to remove dirt with foam compounds, and use a steam cleaner to straighten the crumpled pile.

Long hair should be cleaned more often than short hair

How to clean light and dark carpets at home

Dark carpets are better cleaned with ammonia solution. But for light ones, you need to use more gentle means: laundry soap, soda and vinegar. Don't forget that lemon juice will turn your white carpet yellow.

Use whitening products with caution on dark rugs, you risk getting light spots

How to effectively clean carpet stains at home

It is important to know the origin of the stain on your carpet. Once you've identified it, you can find the most effective cleaning product. Here are some well-known ingredients for removing dirt.

Picture	Spot type	What to remove
	Chocolate and fruit	Laundry soap and vinegar in water.
	Beer, wine, sweet liquor	A solution of dishwashing soap with a spoonful of vinegar.
	Fat	Small sawdust moistened with kerosene or gasoline, ammonia solution.
	Berry juice (including blueberry)	A solution of lemon juice and vinegar.
	Vegetable oil	Wipe with a cloth with alcohol, then pour in shaving foam.
	Red wine	Aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide and washing powder.
	Ink	Sprinkle a fresh stain with salt and then rub it with soapy water.
	Plasticine, wax	Ice is applied to the plasticine for freezing, after which it crumbles and is easily removed. The greasy trail is removed with gasoline.

In the event that none of the remedies listed by us helped, accept the fact that you have to fork out for professional cleaning. Before giving the carpet to dry-cleaner, ask about its reputation with friends and neighbors, discuss all the nuances with the master.