I've got this area rug that is light brown and the stains LOOK horrible on it!! (it is only 2 years old, too!).
For those of you out there that have amazing carpets and/or carpet cleaning tricks, please let me know your regimen, tricks, or tools. Is it worth it to hire a carpet cleaner, or rent the rug doctor instead?
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7 comments:
I recently used a Rug Dr at my grandma's house, her carpets were TERRIBLE!!! It worked pretty well, I would recommend the high traffic spray and the oxy cleaning stuff you dump in the water. I also use windex for spot cleaning carpets, I know it sounds weird, and like I am from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but it totally takes spots out, just spray it on there and scrub a little then soak it up with a paper towel, works like a charm!
I wouldn't hire a carpet cleaner. I'd either rent the rug doctor, or ask around, I bet you have a friend who has one. But honestly, if you could afford it, I'd look up consumer reports and buy one. We got our first one 12 years ago and with all those little kids, it's great for a quick spot clean, illnesses, mishaps like craft paint exploding everywhere...ya know stuff that happens when kids are involved and ever so handy when that little kids takes off a diaper and poops on the carpet. It's a life saver. I'd loan you ours, but it already took a ride to the dump and I need to get a new one.
So I don't spend a ton on cleaner, I just use water the first several passes and once the carpet or furniture water isn't nasty anymore I'll add cleaner and then do it again. When my kids were little I cleaned the living room carpet and couch every month then I wouldn't freak about a baby crawling on nasty carpet.
For dirty spots I use any of the "oxy" carpet cleaning sprays. They work best for me. Just make sure you let it dry completely before you walk on it (I usually clean the spots before bed so I know they are dry by morning and it makes a big difference)
btw- I LOVE your header. That pictures is so beautiful!
As a woman who's a professional carpet cleaner, here my two cents:
Anything with OXY on the label contains bleach. If your carpet is wool you will have bleach marks. PLEASE test drive a bit of what ever you plan on using somewhere inconspicuous and see what (if anything) it does to your carpet before you go after the giant spot in the middle. If you choose to use
a home carpet cleaning machine the biggest trick is to keep making passes until you've gotten out as much water as possible. It should be pretty dry when you're done. If the carpet's left wet any soil left at the bottom of the pile will wick back up to the top and you'll see the spots return. Here's a tip:
for food and beverage spots use rubbing alcohol, like the kind from the drug store....it will break up the sugar and oils, evaporate and not leave a residue, THEN clean the carpet. Don't scrub at spots either - Pick up all of the solid stuff you can with the back of a knife or a plastic spoon then work with a cloth from the edges to the middle so they don't smear. Scrubbing can also give your carpet "fuzzy" patches that won't go away. Good luck!
One comment on the oxy thing, Raegan decided to drink an oxy cleaner once and poison control said all it was was hydrogen peroxide, which is a little like bleach, but not bleach, so I agree with the seattle rug lady, you should test it, but, don't worry too much...I've never had a problem.
Not a big problem, for sure. My vet once told me to give my dog peroxide to make him throw up a pill he swallowed by accident. What a riot, he looked rabid with all the foam......The biggest problem is with wool since peroxide is the same stuff that's in hair bleaches. The oxy part just means that it's an oxygen releasing type of bleach, not chlorine. That's why it foams up -
Good luck with the cleaning!
I have a carpet cleaner vacuum if you want to borrow it. Just run over whenever.
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