Homemade Carpet Care Recipes

To clean a carpet thoroughly, there’s nothing quite like getting in professionals to deep clean whatever’s on the floors of your home. It’s recommended by carpet manufacturers that you get your carpets, mats and rugs professionally cleaned once a year. However, day-to-day carpet cleaning is also important, and you don’t want to call in the professional carpet shampooing team once a week. Well, you could, but it’s probably unnecessary and expensive for you, even if you find a low-price carpet cleaning company.

As part of your routine carpet care, you might want to try a few homemade natural cleaning products. Most of us know the importance of reducing toxins while ensuring that our homes are clean, hygienic and beautiful. Making your carpet care products is one way to do this.

Of course, none of these products should be used alone. You’ll still need to get out the vacuum cleaner for regular sessions. However, they can form part of your toolkit for maintaining your carpets.

Carpet Fragrance

For many people, it’s enough to have carpets that don’t stink. However, if you want to level up your carpet game, perhaps you could consider adding a pleasant scent to your carpets instead. You can buy commercial powders that are designed to scent your carpets, mats and rugs, but these have got something of a bad reputation thanks to the artificial chemicals that are rather toxic. However, this won’t be the case with this homemade carpet fragrance that absorbs bad smells and adds a scent you like.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of baking soda
• 20 drops of the essential oil(s) of your choice (I like a combination of lavender, citrus and peppermint, but use what you love and have fun experimenting with what you can find)

Method:

Put the baking soda into a screw-top airtight jar. Add the essential oils, close the jar, and then shake well. Leave the baking soda to take up the essential oils. Before you vacuum, sprinkle the fragranced powder all over the carpet and leave it to sit on the fibres for about 10 minutes. Vacuum, as usual, is taking up the powder and the usual dust and debris. As a bonus, you’ll smell the fragrance as you vacuum afterwards.

To make an unscented version, leave out the essential oil. Most essential oils have antiseptic properties, but if you want to make something more powerful in terms of germ-killing ability, use tea tree, eucalyptus, lemon, thyme or clove oil – and they’ll all smell nice!

DIY Spot Cleaning Spray

Small stains and spots of dirt can be treated effectively and easily at home without needing a professional stain removal specialist. The easiest dirty spots and stains to clean are mud, soft drinks and other drinks, and spilt food (but possibly not curry – that can be a bit harder to remove). This spray will help lift out the dirt and clean your carpet. However, it might do too good a job showing how dirty the rest of the carpet is. If this happens to you, maybe it’s time you talk to your friendly local carpet cleaning company!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of boiling water
• 1 cup of cold water
• four tablespoons of grated soap or soap scraps
• one teaspoon of detergent liquid (the sort for washing dishes)
• ½ cup of white vinegar
• essential oils (optional)

Method:

Add the soap scraps to the boiling water and stir well, then allow to cool to a gel. Pour this into a spray bottle (use a funnel for this). Add all the other ingredients and shake well to combine them. Ensure the mixture is completely cool before using it, as heat can set certain types of stains. Spray this mixture lightly onto any dirty spot that needs treatment, then scrub it gently to create a lather. Only scrub gently, and work from the outside of the stain to the inside to avoid spreading the stain further. The lather will lift the dirt out of the carpet. Blot the lather away with an absorbent cloth or paper towel, then keep blotting until the carpet fibres feel dry. Avoid walking on or covering the spot for the next 2 or 3 hours to allow the carpet to dry completely.

Pet Pee Treatment

One of the big problems when a new puppy or kitten has an accident on the carpet, is that the lingering smell in the fibres will send the message “It’s OK to pee here” to your pet. Removing the smell is important when dealing with pet pee in carpets. Disinfecting the area is another important step for the health of your home.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of white vinegar
• one teaspoon of detergent liquid
• ¼ cup of vodka
• 15 drops of eucalyptus essential oil

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. To remove pet urine, start by blotting up as much of the urine as possible. After you have removed as much as you can, lightly mist the area with the spray. Use a soft scrubbing brush to create a lather, then blot away the lather. Repeat this process, then blot again until the carpet fibres are touch-dry. To be sure of removing the smell completely, use the carpet fragrance described above.

The same method also works for pet poop, but be sure to physically remove as much of the poo as possible before applying the spray.

Other DIY Carpet Care Hacks And Tips

Your DIY carpet care toolkit can contain several other handy bits and pieces. These can’t be called recipes, as they don’t require you to mix and measure anything. However, they’re so useful that you can’t leave them out!

• A rubber squeegee. If damp, it removes pet hair very readily from carpets, mats and rugs, and upholstery. Run the rubber blade along the carpet and watch all that pet hair lift away! Use a paper towel or cloth to remove the loosened pet hair as you go.
• Hydrogen peroxide. This is one of the best ways to remove bloodstains and other protein stains, such as egg yolk. This chemical dissolves the protein (with a very satisfactory fizz into the bargain). Apply it onto the spot, then let it do its magic. Once it’s finished fizzing, blot the liquid away. It also makes a great topical disinfectant for your first aid cupboard.
• Salt. Sprinkle this onto red wine stains – the salt is more absorbent than the carpet fibres, so that it will draw the liquid up. Sweep it up, then use the spot-cleaning spray described above to remove any residues.
• A hot iron. Usually, heat and stains on the carpet don’t make a good combination. However, if fat or wax has hardened in the carpet fibres, heat will help you get it out. Cover the affected area with paper towels or a wad of loo paper – use enough to ensure that the carpet doesn’t touch the iron directly. Apply the hot iron (the lowest setting) to the spot to melt the fat or wax. The paper will absorb the liquid oil so you can remove it.
• Ice. Use this to freeze chewing gum or solid substances so they can be picked or cracked off the carpet.
• Vodka, methylated spirits or white spirits. This is your best bet for removing permanent marker, felt tip pen or ballpoint pen ink from the carpet. You don’t need to use a lot – apply it to a cloth, then dab the affected area rather than pour the alcohol onto the carpet. After doing this, you’ll need to let the room air, so the place doesn’t smell like you’ve been on the sauce.

Nothing feels like knowing you are not using harmful agents in your home. Your pets will love it, your kids will thank you for it, and you will be grateful you read this article today ;).

Peace!