If you have carpet in your home, you probably have wondered how can I clean my carpet myself? This is especially true if you live alone or just want to do it yourself. I’m no expert but I did try out a simple little hack I found online that I felt is worthy to share.
When I did this hack, my carpet was left cleaner than ever before. Its super simple and you just need to follow the instruction I provide below. The best part is that you probably have all the supplies required for this hack. If you don’t, I will link to some products on Amazon.
To clean the carpet yourself, you will need the following:
You will need to mix the fabric conditioner solution with water inside a spray bottle. Don’t use only fabric conditioner as it will leave the carpet too saturated with the solution. Water dries faster than carpet solution, which is why you want to mix it.
Additionally, I would highly suggest doing this at night when you’re about to go to bed, so the carpet can fully dry overnight. This will minimize foot traffic on the carpet that may potentially get it dirty. It’s easier for carpet to get dirty when its still wet. You can also do this in the morning before you go to work if you want to take that route. Anyways, let’s begin!
1) Empty the room
First you need to empty the room of any clutter. This means all the smaller items that you can move out of the room. Bulky furniture like couches and beds can remain in the room if you like. Although, if you want a full carpet clean, then you might opt in moving them out.
Personally, I left all the heavy furniture in its place and worked my way around them. The point is to have the rug’s surface open as much as possible. This will allow you to clean all high traffic foot areas where dirt is mostly left behind.
2) Use baking soda on carpet
The next step is to cover the rug with baking soda and let it sit for 30 minutes. The reason why you want to use baking soda is because it’s an alkaline solution that creates de-oxidized gasses. These gasses are helpful in removing stains from the carpet. Therefore, it’s important to leave it on the carpet for 30 minutes, so it does exactly this.
You don’t have to go overboard with the baking soda. All you need is to cover it enough where its just visible. You don’t want mountains of baking soda in one area. Try to spread it out evenly across the whole surface of the rug.
A tip I have for covering the rug with baking soda is to fill your hand and spread it on the floor. Make sure to wear gloves because baking soda will dry them out. When it comes out from the box it tends to spill faster. With my hand, I was able to spread it evenly and control the flow better for an even layer. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water once you are done pouring the baking soda.
3) Vacuum the Carpet
After waiting 30 minutes from pouring the baking soda you will vacuum the carpet. Vacuum all areas where you can visibly see baking soda. Depending on the vacuum you own, you may have to pass through the same area a few times. You want to be sure it sucks all the baking soda from the carpet
You will also want to use a corner attachment on the vacuum to pick up any baking soda that may have fallen between the rug and walls. Even if you don’t see any, you should still do this step for a good clean. You may notice baking soda on the legs of your furniture so you should vacuum this with the attachment as well.
4) Spray fabric conditioner solution on the Carpet and clean
After you’re done thoroughly vacuuming the carpet, you want to spray the carpet with a mixture of water and fabric conditioner solution. You will leave the carpet saturated with the solution for 10 minutes.
The reason why we do this is because of random splotches of debris stuck on the carpet. The only way to remove them is to let the solution soak it so its easier to remove. As an example, I had wax on my carpet from a candle that spilled. With the sprayed solution, I was able to remove it with ease.
After the 10 minutes you will use a squeegee to agitate and remove any stuck debris on the carpet. The point is to have the surface of the rug release any sticky dirt without ripping the threads and damaging the carpet.
You will continue to squeegee the rest of the carpet to keep agitating the surface and detach and dirt and grime. Once you complete squeegeeing the carpet, let it dry. When the carpet is finally dry, you are complete!
Final thoughts – Clean carpet yourself
After you have completed all these steps, you will have a clean carpet you cleaned yourself. I was impressed at how easy and fast I was able to clean the carpet myself following these steps. Any bad odors were gone thanks to the baking soda and Fabric conditioner. The floor was also much softer and felt great on my bare feet.
If your carpet has tough stains that remain after this method, I’d suggest looking into a carpet cleaner vacuum. Additionally, you should use a carpet cleaner vacuum if you own pets because this is the best way to remove any accidents your pet may have done.