Carpets are a nice addition in any room. You may not have the roomiest or the most sophisticated appliances around but adding carpet in the equation makes things a lot better. But as pretty as it looks, carpet can be quite tasking to maintain, especially around children. The most dreadful maintenance for carpets is stain removal. But to make it easier for you, you may try this list of DIY carpet stain remover to clean it out.
Easy to Made DIY Carpet Stain Removers
Shaving Cream
This unconventional diy carpet stain remover is one of my favorites. Shaving cream is more effective on grease and oil carpet stain. Dry the area using a wet sponge after doing so, spray some shaving cream on the stain and wipe the stain off using a damp sponge and voila!
WD-40
This may sound like off but WD-40 actually can remove stains from a multitude of surfaces including carpet. This solution is effective in displacing water, rust, and moisture. And it can penetrate stain pretty well. It works well with spilled inks but it’s also effective against bloodstain. Simply spray a liberal amount on the surface to be cleaned. Let it sit for around 5 minutes before wiping or brushing. Repeat the process if necessary.
Cornstarch and Milk
Another unconventional DIY carpet stain remover combination that are best for grease and oil stains on your carpet. Mix cornstarch and milk in a bowl to create a paste. Apply the mixture into the stain, leave it to dry for a couple of hours. After this, brush the dried stain using a toothbrush and vacuum it.
Vinegar
This DIY carpet stain remover is a readily available acid in a lot of homes. By nature, vinegar acids can dissolve a multitude of materials. This can work with inks, food spills, coffee, and juices. It dissolves the base component of stains so it will be easier to deal with. To improve results you can mix it with warm water in 1:1 or 1:2 ratio. Water is a universal solvent that is useful and it will penetrate the carpet surface a lot better when warm.
You just need to spray the mixture over the surface and let it sit for a few minutes. 10 minutes should be enough to dissolve the average stains. You need to agitate the surface to make things work faster and gain better results in general.
Alcohol
Alcohol is among the best solvents for a lot of stains. Ink, blood and some food stains react with alcohol. Most homes have rubbing alcohol so this will be easy. But to achieve better results you need a higher alcohol concentration like 70%. The higher the alcohol content, the better it is in getting out the stains.
For small spots, you just have to pour it on the surface. Often enough the stain will start to loosen up after a few seconds. To make it more effective leave it for a minute so it can penetrate deeper into the fiber. Wipe it off. Repeat if necessary. Remember though that alcohol will evaporate faster so do not leave it for more than 60 seconds.
Beer
This DIY carpet stain remover is more effective on coffee and tea. Just pour a small amount of beer on the top of the stain, rub it lightly and you the stain should come off. If there’s a stain left, repeat the process as necessary until there’s no stain left.
Paint remover
If you have paint spill, there’s nothing more effective than paint removers or thinners. To make things easier during clean-up it helps that you apply the solvent with the help of a small brush. This will help you to avoid spillage into other surfaces. Paint removers are smelly thus exposing as little area as possible is your best option.
After cleaning there will be some smell left. You can use detergent soaps for this. Brush it off and let dry. If possible, use this agent outdoors or in an area with good ventilation to help dissipate the fumes faster.
Dish soap and warm water
This diy carpet cleaner is perhaps the simplest on the list. For one every home has dish soap. This works for oily stains. By design, dish soap cleans out oil from dishes so it is a perfect fit for oily spills. First, you need to prepare a mixture of warm water and dish soap. Add a teaspoon of dish soap for every 50 ml of warm water. Then pour a small amount on the stain. Let it seep through faster by agitating it with a brush. Let it sit for at least five minutes then clean it up. If there’s some residue left, try to repeat the steps.
Benefits of DIY Carpet Stain Remover
Although it is advised that you should get a professional carpet when it comes to heavy carpet stains, you should also count the benefits of using DIY carpet stain remover which includes:
Inexpensive – Professional carpet cleaners are very expensive which makes them a not good idea if you’re on a budget issue and don’t have extra money to procure their services.
Readily available – The majority of these DIY carpet stain remover is available in our homes. Which means that you can always use one and clean the stains right away.
No transactions – Having your own carpet stain remover reduces the need for calling professional cleaning companies, talking to them, signing contracts and other legal steps you need to undergo before they start cleaning the stains out of your carpet.
Contains no harsh chemicals – Unlike the one’s use by the professional carpet cleaners, DIY carpet stain remover contains less or no harsh chemicals at all which is safe and ideal especially if you do have a baby at home. Since they don’t have synthetic fragrances, they don’t trigger allergies and makes a good deodorizer.
Conclusion
Although these DIY carpet stain removers are effective, always do a spot test in a small area before applying it to a larger area. There are carpets that react differently on different substances and to avoid these you should do a check first.
Take note that you should avoid chlorine bleach. This can cause discoloration on your carpet so leave it for white or near white surfaces. Also, an old toothbrush is a good option for applying mixtures and to agitate the stain. The key to your success comes with persistence and knowing the right compound to use for the right stain. Also just like any cleaning materials avoid contact of these stain removers on your eyes and always use gloves when using them.
