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FeedFrugal Living: Homemade Carpet Stain Remover
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Ok, I'm having a problem. A few months ago, we adopted a Chocolate Lab named Bolt. Bolt is very cute. The problem? Bolt likes to bolt. He hangs out in the laundry room while we're at work however, he has found a way to get out and well...trash our entire house while we're away. We did manage to find a remedy for this situation and all things are now good. However, the carpet stains and lingering smell still live on.
Gross.
I have tried everything. I have been trying so hard to avoid getting our carpet cleaned professionally right now since it was already done not that long ago. In my search for gross stain remedies, I actually came across a carpet stain remover recipe that actually seems to work...and work very well!
For the smell factor, I had already sprinkled the stain with baking soda and vacuumed it off. Keep in mind, I have been scrubbing the stains using various commercial cleaners and other miscellaneous inventions however none compared to this one.
{Homemade Carpet Stain Remover}
1 TBS Dish Soap (If you can find clear soap, use that to prevent it from staining your carpet even further. Although, I will admit, I used blue Dawn and it was fine...but I don't think you're supposed to do that).
1 TBS White Vinegar
2 Cups Warm Water
Directions: Mix it all together. Make sure the water is warm. Scrub the stain with a washcloth and blot dry with a towel.
It took very little scrubbing before the stain was completely gone as in, totally invisible and non-stinky. I even used this on those weird stains that seem to appear mysteriously on the carpet and it got those out too. I still plan on getting our carpets professionally cleaned in the next month or so but in the meantime, this worked great!
Obvious Disclaimer: I am not a carpet expert. Be sure to try this on a small area of carpet before you cover the entire room. Use the recipe at your own risk.
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You should never put dish soap in your carpet!!! It will leave a sticky spot that will actually attract more dirt over time.
Actually, with some caveats, you can use the dish soap. The biggest thing to remember is that vinegar is great for cutting soap and making sure that it rinses off completely. So go back over the patch very thoroughly with vinegar or a 1:1 vinegar:water mix, and it should be as fine as any other kind of spot cleaning. However, what you have to remember is that spot cleaning oftentimes removes any kind of stain treatment. If your spot comes back, it may be because the stain preventer in the carpet was removed in that spot.
I'm going to be honest, borrow a KIRBY from a friend!!! It's better than a RugDr. I have 2 little dogs myself and my carpet looks new because I have a KIRBY!!!! I live in the OKC area and you are more than welcome to come and use mine! :-)
I tried this on several stains on my carpet... it worked faster and better than the store bought stuff, and left no sticky residue! My new favorite carpet spot remover!
Does this work on upholestry? I have a dog who is a leg raiser. And does it neutralize the urine odor?
It worked for me on my couch but be sure to try it in a small area first since I'm no expert on it. :)
-Sarah
I have a wool carpet and I used to clean rugs with 1 teaspoon neutral detergent (i.e. Dreft) 1 teaspoon white vinegar and 1 quart cool water.
Long Island flooded basement cleanup
It worked great I just tried it =)
It worked great I just tried it =)
this works GREAT !!! i just got spaghetti O's out that were hidden under a rug , yahooooooooo ( the color of the carpet is pink, and there is no discoloration) thank you soooooo much for the homemade carpet cleaner !