Friday, July 18, 2008

Homemade Carpet Spot Cleaner


Years ago a friend shared a "recipe" with me for homemade carpet spot cleaner. I don't know where she got it, so I'm not sure who to credit, but it really works and I use it all the time. I say "recipe" because it's simply a mixture of warm water, vinegar, and baking soda and my friend didn't give me any proportions. So, I usually don't measure anything when I make it, but last time I mixed up a batch I measured it just to give you a starting point.

Homemade Carpet Spot Cleaner

4 cups warm water
1/2 cup vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons baking soda

Add the vinegar and baking soda to the warm water in a large bowl. Stir slightly and watch it fizz and foam. Dip a scrub brush into the mixture and scrub those spots in your carpet away. Let dry and then vacuum.

Notes:

* I have even used this on the carpet and upholstery in my car and it's fab.

* I haven't tried adding essential oils to the mixture, but it might be a fun experiment.

* This works for my carpet, but I don't want someone to try this and end up with problems, so please do a spot test first!

Rachel
has a recipe for a stain remover for clothes that I want to try. If you have a homemade cleaning product you love, feel free to share it here...

9 comments:

Hannah said...

Thank yoU!!! I need this so bad. I am going to try it right now.

Anonymous said...

I think this is great! I used to use store-bought carpet cleaners, but then a professional carpet cleaner said the residue remains in the carpet and either bleaches it or attracts more dirt.

Casey said...

thanks for this! I'm loving finding great tips for cleaning lately, I'm wanting to do Rachel's tip too

Carry Grace said...

Thanks for posting this! I'll have to try it out.

Shannon said...

I am going to make some this weekend. With a husband, two boys, a cat and a dog, I need all the help I can get. Thanks!!!

kelly said...

i soo need this!

Megan @ Megity's Handmade said...

Brilliant! I was just going through of some of my old favorite blogs and rediscovered yours. It's like it was meant to be because my carpet is driving me bonkers!

Anonymous said...

My chemistry is a bit rusty, but I thought that when baking soda and vinigar mixed together, it created carbon dioxide and water... the carbon dioxide being the bubbles you see when you mix them.

I'm not saying it doesn't work... I see this recipe everywhere. I'm just looking for an explaination. And wondering, would it work even better if I put a baking soda and water paste on and used that as a cleaner, and then dab on vinegar water on trouble spots?

jess said...

Hi Amber...I don't know why it works and I haven't tried the method you describe so I'm not sure if it will work the same or not...sorry!