The cleanliness of your carpet is something that can feel like a constant battle. There is wear and tear that will occur over time, regardless of the amount of effort you put into preserving it. And forget about stains and spills; those can be a massive hassle.
But there are ways to clean your carpet that can not only save you the trouble of calling in the professionals but can be done without even needing to purchase one of those expensive steam cleaners that might do the job or might become a costly mistake.
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Here are a few help tricks and tips for cleaning your carpet without the expensive tools you thought you needed.
Cleaning without a steam cleaner
To do this effectively, you really don’t need much. For the tools, you will need a brush, an old toothbrush, a clean towel or rag, and a bucket and you will need either dish soap or baking soda.
You can begin by filling the bucket with warm water and getting the cleaning tool of your choice ready. You should definitely vacuum the entire area that you want to clean to get rid of dust and dirt or, if you have animals, any animal fur that might be in the area that would complicate cleaning.
Then, treat the area of the stain with your cleaner. Either a sprinkling of baking soda until the stain is covered or 1 tablespoon of dish soap per 6-8 inches of the stain. Then, lightly swoosh the cleaner around until bubbles begin to form.
Finally, you gently scrub the stain area with the tool of your choice but do not soak the area. Make it only so wet as to be able to scrub away the stain or dirt. Give the area time to dry properly and then vacuum the area when it has finally dried.
How to deep clean without a steam cleaner
A deeper clean can be required of larger areas of your carpet. And unless you want to look for carpet cleaning in North London, there are several steps that you can follow to deep clean the carpet yourself.
First, the tools: you’ll need a mixture of detergent and water. Then, you will need any kind of salt — kosher salt, sea salt, it does not matter. Lastly, you will need some baking soda and a few old rags that you do not mind getting dirty.
You can start by mixing some of the soap with water and putting it in a spray bottle; don’t shake it excessively, simply mix it together. After you have done this, make sure to sprinkle the salt and baking soda over the area that you want to deep clean and don’t worry about covering the area entirely.
When you are ready for the next step, you spray your mixture lightly over the area that you sprinkled and let it sit, gently soaking in for a few minutes. Next, take your brush and gently brush in one direction; this should pick up some debris and hair that you can easily discard. If there’s more hair and dirt, move over 90 degrees and start again.
When this step is complete, you would press your towels down over the spot and let them soak up the moisture. When the area is nearly dry, discard of the soap mix that is in your bottle and fill it with nothing more than tap water.
Once you have done this, spray the area lightly one more time and then press those cloth towels over the area. Set down a heavy object over the towel to entirely soak up the moisture from that spot.
You can deep clean with snow
You read that right; you can clean with snow during the winter months of the year. Snow makes for a great natural cleaner, though this won’t work on every surface. Typically, using snow will work best on antique wool or smaller rugs of the handmade variety.
If you have a lot of help, you can use the snow to clean larger areas, but it can be difficult on your own. Once you have removed all the dust and dirt from the rug itself — try shaking it outside for the quickest results — leave the rug outside for about a half hour so that can adjust to the lower temperatures.
After the rug has had a chance to adjust to the temperature, use anywhere from three to five inches of the white stuff over top of the rug. You should evenly distribute the snow using a broom to make sure that you have even coverage.
The next step is to beat the snow with the flat side of the broom. There is ammonia in the snow which will react to the cold air; this will cause the dirt that is deeply hidden in the rug to eventually solidify.
Let your rug rest for around 15 or 20 minutes and then flip it over and do the same thing to the other side of the rug.
When you have completed the process, make sure to remove as much of the snow as you possibly can. After you have done this, hang the rug up to dry for around 20 or 30 minutes. Eventually, the snow will evaporate and the carpet will be dry.
You don’t need to call in the professionals to do a professional job. And you certainly don’t need to shell out for one of those uber-expensive steam cleaners that might not fully do the job.
Instead, make use of a few household tools and get your hands a little dirty. It takes a bit of extra work, but you will see the results each time that you implement these tricks of the trade. You will not only learn a valuable life skill, but you will save a ton of money in the process as well.
Be the professional cleaner that your home needs without breaking the bank. Your carpet or area rugs will certainly thank you for it each time that it is in need of a deep clean.
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Source: Safetyhub
