How to Shampoo Your Carpet
Carpeted floors can make a home much cozier and more comfortable, but they come at a price. If you’ve ever been on your knees for what feels like hours trying to get out a stain from a rug, you know what we’re talking about.
However, the feeling that can come after of finally getting out a particularly stubborn carpet stain is one that comes rarely to most of us, but with a DIY carpet shampoo, you’ll have carpets that always look brand new!
The best part is that these are made from stuff you will most likely have around anyway. These inexpensive homemade carpet shampoos can work the same wonders as the ones that professionals who charge you astronomical prices every hour use, but only if you know how to use them.
Besides the expenses, carpet cleaning professionals can be an intrusion that is not welcome often. With these DIY carpet cleaning solutions, you will have clean carpets year-round, and be able to clean whenever you need to.
All this while not introducing the toxins that exist in off the shelf cleaning solutions into your home. With DIY methods you know just what is going into your home, you’re saving money and also being environmentally friendly.
Why Shampoo Your Carpet?
Another thing most people don’t realize is that carpets can accumulate quite a bit of dust and grime that is not perceptible to the human eye. Even pollen can build up in significant amounts. Regular cleaning is recommended for the health of everyone in the home, and especially for those that have allergies.
Let’s start with the best and most effective DIY carpet shampoos we have found. When figuring out which one works best for your carpet, we recommend first testing the solutions out on a small corner of the rug.
We have broken down the shampoos by what type of carpet they should be used in. It is also important that you pay close attention to the instructions and in particular the measurements of each ingredient for the best possible results.
Shampoos for Synthetic Carpets
Synthetic carpets are the majority of the wall to wall carpets you come across. The artificial fibers are popular because they lend themselves to durability and affordability and come in a wide variety of options to choose from.
Synthetic carpets are also known to be easier to clean and maintain. When using a carpet shampoo on manmade fibers, never directly pour the solution onto the carpet. Use a cloth soaked in the mixture to clean.
Detergent shampoo: To one cup of warm water, add a quarter teaspoon of any translucent dishwashing liquid. Two examples of such are Dawn and Joy.
Vinegar shampoo: To two cups of room temperature water, add one cup of white vinegar to create this carpet shampoo. We told you this would be easy!
Solvent shampoo: Any oil solvent on its own can be used as a carpet shampoo. You can even use nail polish remover here.
Shampoos for Natural Fiber Carpets
As the name suggests, natural fiber carpets are made from things found in nature that are harvested and processed to form carpet fibers. They are popular because of the uniqueness they bring to the table, and the interesting choices in textures and weaves that manmade fibers lack. When cleaning, spray small amounts onto stains, except for with the solvent shampoo.
Detergent shampoo: Same as above, except with one whole teaspoon of the liquid.
Vinegar shampoo: Add a quarter cup of white vinegar to the same amount of water.
Solvent shampoo: Same as above.
Ammonia shampoo: To a half cup of warm water, add one tablespoon of any clear household ammonia.
If your DIY carpet shampoo isn’t working out, call us for professional carpet cleaning in Lehigh Valley, PA, call us today.***