Ahh, carpet cleaningâŚ
Who doesnât love it?
Most of the world, for sure. Itâs never as easy as it sounds and some stains can be too persistent and bad for health (stress).
But,
Does this mean itâs impossible to clean a carpet?
Of course not!
There are plenty of ways to get a stain off a carpet, but just how effective are they at cleaning it?
Hereâs our tutorial on the best ways to clean a carpet with spray, cleaners, and other products such as these ones.
Pay close attention because you wonât want to miss what weâre about to be explaining so you can get rid of those pesky stains!
Best Carpet Cleaner Powder
Best Spray and Vacuum Carpet Cleaner
Best Carpet Cleaner Powder or Spray Foam
How to Use Carpet Shampoo
A carpet shampoo serves the same purpose as hair shampoo – to clean and get rid of dirtiness. Clean Carpet by spray is a good choice but if you want to more efficient and effective then go for these best carpet cleaners. As such, there are plenty of carpet shampoo brands that each claim to have a winning formula. The truth is, most of them work as they should, so this is just a marketing gimmick. A carpet cleaner such as this requires step-by-step instructions, and hereâs what you have to do:
- Resolve some shampoo in water; the amounts depend on the brand of carpet shampoo, so take a look at the on-bottle instructions.
- Cover only the stained area.
- Be careful with moisture; you donât want the carpet too wet, or youâll have a tough time drying it (plus, youâd be wasting shampoo).
- Use a hard-bristled brush on the stained spot.
- You might see foam forming; this is normal and should happen.
- Leave the carpet to dry.
- Vacuum the shampoo once itâs completely dry.
Using carpet shampoo is indeed a very useful trick to clean your carpet. However, using powder to clean the carpet is also a very good option. Letâs talk about the uses of carpet cleaning powder in detail.
How to: Use Powder
You might have already seen some products that come in the form of powder. Theyâre meant to achieve pre-treatment on your carpet, but they work just as well as carpet cleaners too. The method of use is rather simple:
- Sprinkle some powder on the stained spot (be generous).
- You can use regular carpet cleaning powder or baking soda, and both work very well.
- Leave it for a minimum of 30 minutes so it can get between the seams. Additionally, you can leave it for an entire night; this will give the powder more time to act, consume the smells and odors, and soften stains.
- Once this time has passed, use a vacuum to vacuum any leftover powder. Voila! Clean carpet!
How to Clean Hard Stains
As said before, stains can get stubborn and just wonât come off.
If this happens,
Youâll have to work extra hard to get rid of them. In the end, it all depends on what type of stains youâre looking at. Are they pet stains, blood stains, wine stains? A heavy-duty stain remover may be necessary if youâve figured out the origin of the stain and, if itâs known to be hard to clean, such products will be required.
So, before picking a product to use, make sure you know what the extent of the stain and how hard it is to get rid of is.
Once you pick your weapon of choice, itâs time to tango!
For pet stains: Many of us have our pet at home. Although the pets are our best friend, they are the worst enemy of your carpet for sure. Pet stains, such as urine, can âcementâ themselves on your carpet and start releasing a terrible odor. For pets, youâll have to use an enzyme-based spray and vacuum carpet cleaner (the one that, once done with cleaning, must be vacuumed). Foaming, again, may occur.
For blood: Cutting oneself is somewhat a common occurrence, and if a drop falls on your carpet, youâll have to act fast. If itâs a fresh stain, blot it with hydrogen peroxide and cold water. On the other hand, if your upholstery has a dry stain, then blot it with just hydrogen peroxide, but follow up with an enzyme-based sanitizer or detergent.
This works for auto carpets as well. In the case of car carpets, you might want to use a car carpet cleaner spray (theyâre formulated for car carpets especially).
List of Products or Items Needed to Clean a Carpet
No cleaning process is complete without using carpet cleaning products, so weâve decided to help you out in this department by providing you with the list of best carpet cleaners! Without further ado, hereâs the assembled list:
HG Extra Strong Stain Spray
This product can help reduce the headaches you might experience due to unforeseen spillage. Wine, coffee, blood â none of them stand a chance against this spray. Itâs incredibly potent and powerful and can restore your carpet back to its former glory (upholstery is also cleanable with this product). The only downside? It has a relatively robust and uncomfortable smell.
DR Beckmann Carpet Stain Remover
One of the best stain removers out there. The great thing about it is, compared to the previous product on our list (which is still amazing), Dr. Beckmannâs Carpet Stain Remover smells pleasant. Users have reported that they prefer this one because of the smell (considering its performance is similar to what others offer). One category where it excels though is that itâs a strong player in the world of pet stain removal.
Chemical Guys Fabric Clean Carpet & Upholstery Shampoo & Odour Eliminator
Thatâs a pretty long, tough-to-say name but the product is just as complicated. Well, not really. This one doesnât even use harsh chemicals or bleach which makes it perfectly safe for everything. Users did, however, figure out that this product works best on car upholstery (but itâs pretty good when it comes to carpet cleaning). One additional piece of information that you should know is that you wonât have to use a lot of it (since itâs quite concentrated and powerful). This is probably why the price is a bit higher than what youâd expect from a homemade carpet cleaner.
Dyson Zorb Powder
Who would have thought that small balls would be so good at getting rid of stains? The Dyson Zorb Powder features tiny balls that come in the form of a powder which you sprinkle over the stain. Theyâre done the cleaning in 20 minutes so you wonât have to wait for a long time before having a clean carpet. However, you should take care when applying the powder because it can get everywhere and be very difficult to clean up.
Once itâs done the cleaning, vacuum up the remaining powder.
Vanish Powerfoam High Traffic Carpet Cleaner
Weâll start off by saying that this product isnât the best at coverage. In the best case scenario, youâll need a bit more than usual when putting some of this product on your carpet. In the worst, youâll have to dish out quite a bit of it. But thatâs the only downside that the Vanish Powerfoam carpet cleaner has.
On the other hand, itâs very powerful at cleaning spots and stains, and an added benefit that will make you happy out of your mind is that it gets rid of dirt like itâs nothing!
Best Way to Clean
There are many ways to clean your carpet and we have listed some of the best methods above. Weâre guessing that after all of that info, youâre interested in figuring out the best way to clean a carpet fully, so you donât have to take it to a dry cleaner (that accepts carpets). Unfortunately, this can cost a fortune and is unnecessary. As long as you follow specific rules and do things correctly, you wonât have any other issues.
So, what is the best way to clean? Hereâs all you need to know!
Remove Loose Soiling by Vacuuming Carpets Thoroughly
Soiling is the appearance of discolouration on a carpet. It can be caused by the unknown residue that attracts dust and dirt, thus changing the colour. Remember how a carpet can change colour under a chair, bed, cupboard, and other stuff that stands on the ground? Thatâs soiling for you!
All you have to do to prevent it from appearing is vacuuming your carpets often and in a detailed manner. Once a week should do just fine; you donât need to clean it every day because thereâs no way itâll get too dirty.
Dilute With up to 10 Parts Water and Apply by Sprayer; Donât Overdo It
We already talked about how some products have different concentrations of ingredients and that youâll have to apply more of one product but not the other. Again, this all depends on the brand of carpet cleaner and most of them come with an instruction âmanual.â Before you start using it, test it somewhere in the corner of the carpet (so if it goes wrong, the stain isnât in the middle of the carpet).
Apply just the amount needed because a wet carpet isnât good. It takes a long time to dry and can cause an even larger stain. Your best bet would be to dilute what youâre using with ten parts of water as a way to test it.
Machine Brush in All Directions
Machine brushes have started to make the whole process of carpet cleaning easier for homeowners. You wonât have to scrub like a mad-man again because the machine will do it for you. All it takes is a click of a button and voila – your machine is working and cleaning with very little effort from you. However, itâs not as simple as turning it on and going over your carpet.
Recommend: Best detergent for front loading washing machines
You need to clean every single direction because if you donât, youâll end up with clean/dirty streaks on your carpet. Additionally, why wouldnât you clean your entire carpet? We know how hard it is to reach the edges sometimes (especially if theyâre under some stuff), but itâs important to keep it clean completely to minimize the risk of disease.
Leave it to Dry
Once youâre done the cleaning, youâll need to leave the entire carpet to dry (or at least the parts that had a stain). This is important, and during this time, you shouldnât use it or walk over the moist parts. Even if youâre in a rush, donât use a hairdryer or any other method of drying wet spots because this will disturb the carpet and fabric.
Vacuum Thoroughly to Leave Carpets Clean, Fresh, Revived and Dry
Okay, so your carpet has finally dried completely. What next? Well, youâll need to vacuum the carpet, so it picks up any leftover pieces that appeared either due to the product you were using (as said before, some products require vacuuming after use due to the way theyâre used and made). This is especially important when youâre using powder-based products and the Zorb powder.
Maybe you missed some stuff on the carpet that wasnât a part of the cleaning process (like the powder) so donât forget – vacuum once the cleaning is done.
Youâll see that after you do this, your carpet will look like it was bought yesterday! It will be fresh, clean, and revived. Thereâs no better feeling than finally getting rid of all the stains on your carpet and walking into a room that smells clean!
Infographic – Rug and Carpet Cleaning: Methods and Importance
Source: nybrite
Final Recommendation
Phew!
That was a long list of information to keep your carpet clean and hygienic. But we hope that you got all the info you need to start your very own carpet cleaning process.
We know it can take a long time, especially if weâre talking about a large carpet, but it all pays off in the end. Just make sure to purchase high-quality products and follow the tips we mentioned here; it will definitely help you out by making the entire job easier and quicker.
Good luck, and get that carpet, and its stains, under control!
Now, It’s Over To You!
Now Iâd like to hear from you: Leave a comment to let me know.
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Allison
Really awesome and useful content! Thank you for spending time!
Michael Alden
You are most welcome.
Sarah Packer
My husband and I are new homeowners, so I wanted some carpet cleaning tips! I didn’t know you should use a hard-bristled brush when cleaning a stain on your carpet. I’ll have to keep that in mind and find a cleaning service that can come every so often, so my daughter’s asthma doesn’t act up, thanks to this post.
Michael Alden
You are most welcome, Sarah.