Sunday, September 14, 2014

Cleaning Carpets - On The Cheap

I hate dirty carpet!  I hate carpet period because even clean carpet is dirty. My next major project will be pulling up this carpet and having a carpet burning bon fire celebration. We have a no drinks or food rule in the the rooms with carpet but we somehow still end up with koolaid and pop-tart stains all over the carpet.

I clean the carpets weekly. Well, daily..one room a day. Between kids, dogs and the cat I should probably clean every room every day but I don't have time for that. Cleaning carpets weekly uses a lot of carpet cleaning solution and that stuff is not cheap. One bottle is almost $20.00 and it lasts about 2 weeks at my house. It works great and smells awesome but $20 is a lot every 2 weeks for soap. 

I decided I could make my own and for less and with less chemicals...and I did just that. I LOVE white vinegar. It doesn't smell great but it an amazing cleaner. I use it on everything so I figured I could use it on the carpets also. 

I start by vacuuming. Instead of using carpet freshener I use baking soda. It is natural and is an excellent deodorizer. I sprinkle it around and vacuum like normal. Next I mix up my cleaning solution. I mix a little oxi clean with water and spray that on any stains that I find. I let it sit for about 30 minutes or so. Instead of using commercial cleaning solutions I fill the solution tank with 75% white vinegar and 25% tap water. It works great!  The vinegar smell is strong for a few minutes but within 30 minutes there is no more smell. It leaves a fresh clean smell throughout the house. In all it costs me less than $1.00 to clean all of my carpets.  White vinegar is a very inexpensive, natural cleaning agent that works great!! Do y'all have any homemade cleaning products that you love? We would love to hear about them! 

1 comment:

  1. A lot of people can relate to that, Melissa! While cleaning carpets can be fun for others, it can be quite challenging, to say the least. Especially when your carpet is light-colored. It would be a shame if you didn’t bring it back to its pristine glory. If that's the case, I think it’s best if you just hire professional cleaners. At the very least, you know that your carpet is in good hands. And you don’t have to bother yourself mixing up some solutions and regret the result afterward.

    Blanca Douglas @ Safe Clean

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