How do I clean my carpet at home?

Cleaning methods using household chemicals

The easiest way to renew your carpet at home is to use a special cleaning product. They are are divided into 2 large categories: for dry and wet cleaning.

Dry cleaning products

There are two ways to remove stains without water: powder or foam. They are especially good for natural woolen rugs, products with a long pile or large-sized floor coverings for which wet cleaning is contraindicated.

Whatever you use, the procedure is approximately the same:

1. Vacuum the surface, removing accumulated dust and debris.
2. Spread powder evenly or distribute foam.
3. Leave for exposure (time is indicated on the package).
4. Vacuum to remove powder or foam residues and dirt.

You can use the dry method to remove unpleasant odors or to refresh the appearance of the carpet. Separate strong contaminants are pre-cleaned with special stain removers - most powders cannot cope with them.

Popular quality products: Karcher RM 76, Prosept Carpet DryClean, Vanish Moistened Powder.

Carpet shampoos

Even if you don't have a vacuum cleaner, you can “wash” the carpet with your hands! For this it is enough:

1. purchase a special liquid;
2. dilute it in warm water in the correct proportions;
3. then apply the resulting soap solution to the surface,
4. scrub with a brush, wait until dry: the floor can be vacuumed!

Not all shampoos need to be removedeg Chirton or Eco Mist spray does not need to be rinsed off. Get rid of from stubborn stains on the floor using concentrates: GraSS Carpet Cleaner, Unicum, Vanish.

How to clean with folk remedies?

To clean the carpet, it is not necessary to buy special products or call specialists - folk methods work no worse (and sometimes even better) than professional ones!

Take a look life hacks of our grandmothers.

Ammonia

Ammonium hydroxide has long been used by housewives in everyday life: with its help they washed windows, cleaned furniture upholstery from stains, and used it to treat carpets. Alcohol copes well with unpleasant odors, fresh stains, and refreshes colors.

1. Prepare a working solution: mix 20 ml of ammonia (2 tablespoons) with 500 ml of water.
2. Spread the mixture over the carpet using a spray bottle.
3. Stubborn stains are moistened and rubbed with a brush or rag separately.

Laundry soap

Laundry soap, long forgotten by many, will give odds to many modern carpet cleaning products.

1. Dissolve 5 grams of grated soap in 500 ml of water.
2. Apply soapy water to the entire surface (to add freshness) or rub with it on individual soiled areas.
3. Wipe with a clean dry cloth, wait until dry.

The soap's ability to quickly remove even stubborn stains is overshadowed by a serious drawback: with regular use, the colors of natural or artificial wool carpets will fade.

Soda

Sodium bicarbonate is not only an excellent baking powder, but also an excellent absorbent. Suitable for wet and dry cleaning.

• Wet carried out with the help of soda and vinegar: reacting the mixture perfectly removes dirt, food stains, traces of the games of children and animals. The method works simply: sprinkle soda with an even thin layer, spray with 6-9% vinegar solution.
• Clean the carpet dry method it will be more effective by mixing baking soda and fine salt in equal proportions. A dry mixture will help remove unpleasant odors, remove dust from the inside of the pile.

How to prepare the mixture and use it, see the video:

Lemon

Bright Citrus is organic, 100% safe, but it is best not to be used by people with allergies. Lemon juice is a pure acid that will attack stains.

At home, you can remove stubborn dirt with lemon (cut in half, dip in salt and rub the surface until it disappears) and fresh: fill the dirt with juice.

Important! Before cleaning, check in an invisible place - citric acid can corrode not only stains, but also carpet dyes.

Vinegar

There is a bottle of essence in every home, so if you have a stain, contact her immediately for help. The method of application is simple:

1. dilute 2 tbsp in 0.5 l of pure water,
2. clean the stain with a dampened cloth,
3. leave to dry
4. then go for a vacuum cleaner.

Important! When working with acids and alcohols, only white fabric is used; any color can stain the pile of the carpet.

Features of cleaning by material

According to the material of manufacture, natural woolen rugs or synthetic products are distinguished.

• Wool requires careful handling, does not tolerate moisture and dampness, dries for a long time. Therefore, the best way to clean natural carpets is dry. Sprinkle a special powder (not washing, but a special one!), Soda or salt, wait a little time and collect the particles with a vacuum cleaner.
• Artificial fibers more resistant to water, the carpet can even be washed with powder. But in winter, it is better to use the good old way of leaving: take it out into clean snow and knock it out. The canvas will become fresher, accumulated dust will come out of it.

What is possible or not is also influenced by the length of the pile:

• Shorthaired... Any method of cleaning is suitable, with the exception of wet cleaning for carpets made of natural wool.
• Long-haired... It is not recommended to use abrasives (soda, salt) in cleaning carpets - it is almost impossible to clean them from the fibers. The wet method is possible only in the summer - the carpet will dry quickly in the sun and will not have time to fade. In the cold season, you can apply active foam or wipe stains with soapy water.

How to remove difficult stains?

The work can be complicated not only by the age of pollution, but also by its origin: we will figure out how to deal with stains such as coffee or blood on the carpet.

Take a look a selection of available tools for effective cleaning.

Tea, coffee, wine

Coloring drinks, especially fresh ones, perfectly removed with ammonia: Apply with a napkin, leave for 2-4 hours, rinse with water.

For wine is good salt: pour on a fresh puddle, then remove the stained part, pour fresh again.

Chocolate

It is not always possible to trace all the actions of children, so the sticky sweet mass that has melted on the handles can migrate from your fingers to your favorite carpet.

• If you noticed fresh pollution, fill it with mineral water: carbon dioxide will prevent the treat from absorbing into the pile.
• Peel off short pile you can use ice: just freeze it, then scrape it off.
• On the long Hydrogen peroxide will help - but first do the test on an inconspicuous area, H2O2 has the ability to bleach and can turn a bright carpet into a damaged product.

Greasy stain

It doesn't matter what caused the stain - a hot dish, spilled oil or plasticine, it will have to be removed with acid. Lemon or vinegar works best..

But no less effective in the fight against fat - ammonia or other concentrated alcohol... Wet a napkin or cotton pad, place on the stain, and wait until dry.

Urine

The most difficult part of waste disposal is not the color, but the smell. Try home remedies vinegar or ammoniabut it is better to purchase special odor eliminators for the carpet in a household chemicals store or pet supplies, or give it to dry cleaning.

Wax

Taking advantage of the low melting point of candle wax, refer to iron or hair dryer: put a paper towel on the dirt, heat it up, remove with wax residue.

Pen, markers

Ink stains are completely removed from carpets in 90% of cases alcohol (ammonia or ordinary alcoholic cologne). If the advice did not help, use glycerin: Apply directly to the stain, blot with a towel, reapply. Over time, the ink will dissolve and wash off.

Blood

Fresh drops peel off ice water or hydrogen peroxide... You can simply scrape off dried from a short pile, on a long one you will have to soak it in cold water and use vinegar or soap.

Land

Did the cat drop the pot of earth on the light carpet again? The main difficulty is that the soil is not only a stain, but also the smallest particles.

1. First of all, remove them with a vacuum cleaner, after making sure that the ground is dry - a brush in combination with damp lumps will only make it worse.
2. Then use warm soapy water and a clean cloth or soft brush.

On the long-haired carpets, the procedure will have to be repeated several times, thoroughly drying the carpet between approaches.

Glue

The easiest way is to use solvent 646, having tested in advance on an invisible place of the carpet. If the option does not fit, use ammonia... Ordinary soap solution can handle PVA.

If you are in doubt that you can get rid of the dirt yourself, send the product to a dry cleaner. Don't hesitate: remember, the older the stain, the more difficult it is to get rid of.