Maintaining your carpet cleaner frequently can be stressful, especially if your home is highly trafficked. You may have thought of means to clean your carpet with giving out money for a carpet cleaner.  An option is to use a vacuum on the carpet regularly to maintain it, or you can use homemade solutions to clean the carpet, a cost-effective approach to cleaning your carpet.

This guide is divided into four methods you would have to follow to have your carpet clean and smelling nice.

These methods are listed as follows:

• Removing the stains from the carpet

• Eliminating odors from the carpet

• Vacuuming the carpet

• Keeping the carpet clean

Removing the stains from the carpet

Treat the stains immediately

Avoid letting stains sit on the carpet for a long period. If you notice any stain fresh, clean the stains up immediately so it doesn't go deep into the carpet fibers. Because stains that settle on the carpet can likely cause mildew, molds, and odors.

• If you usually eat or drink around the carpet, then having cleaning products at hand can come handy in situations of stains and spills

Use water on the stains

If any liquid-form of stain (blood, wine or milk) gets on the carpet, make use of excess water to get the stain out. Don’t try scrubbing or rubbing hard on the stain, as it may likely worsen and damage the carpet, which you would not want.

• After blotting away the blood, make use of paper towels to dry the area up. You can also make this step effective by placing a hard object over the paper towel, so it soaks up the remaining water from the carpet

Blot out the stains using club soda

Another good alternative is club soda. If a spill of wine or juice falls on your carpet, open the club soda and pour a small amount on the stain. Then use a dry cloth to soak up the area until the stain vanishes. Avoid scrubbing the stain, if you scrub the stain it can ruin the carpet fibers.

• Just take out club soda and use a small amount per time. Be careful when using club soda, as too much of it can mildew piling up in the pad of the carpet

Use milk and cornstarch paste

If the ink of a pen stains your carpet, you can apply a small amount of milk and cornstarch to the stain. To form the paste, mix an amount of cornstarch and milk and apply on the stain. Then, use a dry toothbrush to brush the paste off the stain gently. This way the stain would clean out as you brush the paste off the stain.

• Most times the paste leaves scraps on the carpet, so I recommend you vacuum the scrapped off paste form.

Eliminating odors from the carpet

Use vinegar and water solution on the stain

Vinegar is another alternative that works well especially if you plan on deodorizing your carpet. For stains like this, you can use white vinegar, because you are trying to clean the stain not add more stain with colored vinegar. Mix 1 part water with 1 part vinegar in a spray bottle, then spray it on the stained area on the carpet and then blot the carpet with a dry cloth to dislodge stains and bad odor on the carpet.

• This is one awesome spot cleaner for whichever type of stains on your carpet

Apply baking soda

Another homemade solution to professional carpet cleaners is baking soda. This solution works well on carpet stains and also on bad odors. This comes handy if you notice the carpet starts smelling in high traffic parts of the carpet in your home. This one is easy, all you have to do is simply sprinkling some baking soda on the stained area and wait for a few hours (6 hours) then, you can vacuum it up

• If that area is smelly, this can be a good solution for neutralizing the smell and spot cleaning the stained area

Apply grated potato

This one may seem odd but it works like a charm. It works well on the carpet with odors. All you have to do is leave the crushed potato on the carpet for some hours and then vacuum the grated potato up and notice your new less smelly carpet that is clean.

• For it to be effective, use white or yellow potatoes, because colored potatoes can stain your carpet which counters the main reason for using it on your carpet.

• If you have children or pets at home, make sure they’re away from the carpet when the grated potato is presently on it.

• When vacuuming up the grated potato ensure you use the hose attachment on the vacuum

Vacuuming the carpet

Use a good vacuum with high quality

Using a vacuum on your carpet is the best and easiest way to maintain your carpet. So it's advisable you invest in a high-quality vacuum cleaner that works best on carpets.

Vacuum every week

Pick out one day a week as cleaning day for the carpets in your home. Vacuum your carpets thoroughly at least once a week to maintain its look and state. Because most times dirt is normally the cause of discoloration and odors that are formed on the carpet

• For instance, you may choose to vacuum the carpet every Saturday. You can mark it on your calendar so everyone is aware and prepares for the cleaning session

Work on high traffic areas daily

It’s good you try to vacuum high traffic areas on your carpet at least once a day. It would better at dusk before you retire to bed. These would help those trafficked areas in your home clean and maintained.

Keeping the carpet clean

Put rugs or mat at entrances

You can place rugs and mats in high traffic areas, this way your carpet stays clean from outside dirt. You can put mats by the door, then rugs in your living room. Once a week you clean the welcome mats and rugs by vacuuming them. This will save you from doing major deep cleaning on your carpet.

Deep clean your carpet yearly

To have a carpet that would last for years, you would have to deep clean yearly. You can try deep cleaning at least once yearly. You can do it yourself or hire a professional to handle the task for you. If you choose to handle it yourself, you may look into getting a steam cleaner

• If you would want to do it yourself, I recommend you also use the white vinegar solution before steaming your carpets, so as you steam your carpet the solution enters inside and kills stains, odors, and germs. As it dries, the solution would fade, leaving your carpet smelling fresh and clean.

In Conclusion

Did you enjoy reading this guide? Was it helpful to you?

So now you know how to clean your carpets without relying on a carpet cleaner. Why not give it a try?

Do you have any questions on what you just read? Please let us know in the comments! If you enjoyed this post, please share! ~Remember sharing is caring! ~