Learn how to clean carpets with baking soda and vinegar in a few simple steps!
Using vinegar and baking soda for carpet stains has been a very popular and unique household remedy for many years. Housewives, domestic help, and professional cleaners have used this little trick to clean many dirty and stubborn stains from carpets.
If you, too, wish to enter this DIY community and make your carpet-cleaning life more comfortable, here’s a detailed description of exactly how to clean a carpet with vinegar and baking soda.
How to clean carpet with vinegar and baking soda
The actual trick to making this hack successful is by applying the two ingredients in the right order. Here’s how it’s done:
- Start the process by spreading a very tiny amount of pure vinegar on your carpet where it is stained.
- Ensure you are using a controlled amount as the quantity of both these ingredients is essential to make sure it works and that you get the desired result.
- Next, sprinkle a little bit of the pure baking soda on top. Again, make sure that you have its quantity in control.
- The mixture should start bubbling now; if it is, take this as a sign that it’s working. The mixture of vinegar and baking soda works and breaks the stain before lifting it off the fabric.
- If the carpet’s stain is minor, let the mixture do its job until it completely dries out. Then, you can vacuum it.
- If not, leave the stubborn mark for at least 30 minutes sitting in the mixture. Then blot or rub the stained patch with a moist or damp piece of cloth.
- Remember, the concoction will only detach the stains from your carpet. It will not completely come off your fabric’s surface unless you vacuum the remains, rub it off, or wash it away.
What kinds of stains can I clean with vinegar and baking soda?
This excellent little DIY solution of two basic household ingredients can fix minor and straightforward stains and even work wonders on large, stubborn stains. They work great on sticky stains, pet food, iron stains, dirt patches, etc.
Furthermore, if the carpet has slowly lost its colors and brightness due to dirt and dust, this mixture diluted with water can also help bring the rug back to life.
Does vinegar help remove old stains from the carpet as well?
Vinegar has always been a cleaning superhero in many households where DIYs and home remedies are popular. People have used this ingredient to remove sticky, rusty, and dirty stains of all kinds from various types of fabrics, especially carpets. You can successfully and easily remove stains that have become weeks or months old. However, carpet marks and stains that have become stubborn over time and have lasted for years can also be successfully removed by this method. So, yes, you can easily and safely use vinegar for removing old marks from carpets.
Is mixing vinegar and baking soda safe?
The answer to this simple yet significant question is yes; they are entirely safe for cleaning purposes. Why? Because:
- Neither of the two ingredients is harmful or toxic to touch.
- There is no way you will ever ingest the concoction from your carpets.
- You’re going to wash it off anyway!
It’s true that vinegar has a particular smell that many people are not very fond of, and you may feel it for a few hours after use. However, it slowly fades away and disappears as your rug dries up.
Why do vinegar and baking soda work?
The reason why these two ingredients work so incredibly is because of their individual functions and how they support each other’s actions.
You see, vinegar saturates and softens the stain. This part is incredibly beneficial and vital when the stain is old, stubborn, and dried up. Such stains are hard even to scratch out. Thus, the trick is to soften them first and then remove them. Vinegar does precisely this for you.
Then, the second ingredient, baking soda, comes in to deodorize the stain and lift it off the carpet. It means that soda removes a stain’s smells and its odors, then gently pulls it away from the carpet’s depth so that you are able to pick it off. Makes sense, right?
Under this bubbling concoction, the two come together to break and pull the stain off the fabric. When the two ingredients have done their jobs, go ahead and either vacuum the remains away, blot them, or rub them off.
What are the after-care steps?
Once you have adequately blotted, rubbed, or vacuum residue, it is time to freshen up the carpet and also make it look good as new. The clean stain might look a little too clean and bright as compared to the rest of the old dusty rug. For this, you’ll need an effective all-over carpet cleaner. Fortunately, the good news for those on a budget is that you don’t have to go and separately buy a carpet cleaner for this step, either. The ingredients are still in your kitchen!
Take some (actually a lot more) of the same vinegar you used to clean stains and mix it with plenty of water. If you frequently face these stain problems with your carpets, it is good to get an economical jug of vinegar. Your local grocery store probably has plenty of different options in terms of brands and prices.
Take equal parts of vinegar and hot water and pour it into the reservoir of your carpet cleaner. Make sure you keep the cleaner’s instructions in mind and do the job accordingly. Wash the whole carpet in this vinegar and water mixture to brighten the entire thing and make sure everything looks clean and cohesive. All the discoloration, dirt, and uneven colors go away, and your carpet ends up looking good as new!
Conclusion
Using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar for carpet stains is probably hands down the most straightforward cleaning trick you will ever come across. However, doing it right is essential to obtain your desired results. Hopefully, this detailed description above and answers to the other possible questions you might have will be beneficial for you to try this easy hack at home. If you do so, not only will you save the money spent on professional help but will also make you the talk of the town!
Do you know about any other tricks of how to clean carpets with baking soda and vinegar? Make sure to share them in the comments below!