Whether the carpet needs a general cleaning, has been misused as a doormat, or needs a little sprucing up, common home remedies can help.
Dirt from carpets is obviously more difficult to remove than from tiles or laminate. This is why regular vacuuming is very important. Although only the coarsest dust on the surface of the carpet is removed, massive accumulations of dust are prevented.
You can find out whether you can clean your carpet yourself with home remedies or whether you should consider professional help in our guide here.
In brief
- If your carpet is expensive and home remedies don’t help with cleaning, you should seek professional help to get your carpet clean again. You should also always have particularly large carpets cleaned by a professional.
- The price of carpet cleaning depends on the length, width and degree of soiling of the carpet. The type of carpet also has an impact on the price of cleaning.
- If you want to clean your carpet yourself, you can do this with simple home remedies such as lemon juice, acetic acid, baking soda, baking powder or even snow.
What is a carpet?
A carpet is a textile fabric of limited dimensions that can be knotted, woven, knitted or tufted. A carpet usually also has a pattern.
There are basically two types of carpets:
- European carpets
- Oriental carpets
In Europe, a carpet is exclusively understood as textile floor coverings. In the Orient/Middle East, the term carpet includes all types of flat textiles that are used to cover walls, tables and floors.
In addition to the carpet, carpet and carpet tiles were created in the 20th century.
What you should know about cleaning a carpet
In addition to specialized cleaning equipment designed for cleaning carpets, there are also a number of home remedies you can use to clean your carpet.
However, sometimes it is advisable to get a professional to help you avoid damaging the carpet. This is especially true if the carpet was particularly expensive.
Never try to remove the stain by rubbing or rubbing; you should only clean the carpet using dabbing movements. Furthermore, act as quickly as possible and do not let the stain dry.
How much does it cost to have a carpet cleaned?
How much it costs to have a carpet cleaned always depends on the length, width and number of dirt on your carpet.
Basically, depending on the type of carpet, you can expect the following prices:
| Carpet type | Cleaning costs |
|---|---|
| Fleckerl carpet | 8-10 $ |
| Shaggy carpet, Flokati | 9-12$ |
| Sisal carpet, coconut carpet | 9-12 $ |
| Woven carpet (machine woven) | 9-12 $ |
| Wool carpet | 10-15 $ |
| Oriental carpet, Persian carpet | 15-25 $ |
| Gabbeh, China carpet, Berber carpet, Nepal carpet | 15-20 $ |
| Silk carpet | 20-30 $ |
| Antique carpet | 20-30 $ |
Should you clean your carpet yourself or get professional help?
Whether you should clean the carpet yourself or get professional help depends on the degree of dirt.
However, there is one rule: remove the stain as quickly as possible and preferably freshly. Never let the dirt dry out because the longer it sits on your carpet, the harder it is to get rid of.
You should seek professional help in the following cases:
- You should have larger carpets cleaned by professionals, as they also take a long time to dry.
- Even if the carpet was expensive and the stains won’t come out despite any home remedies, you should get professional help.
- You should have carpets cleaned by specialists at least every two years, as house dust mites and clothes moths, for example, like to accumulate inside the carpets.
If you clean the carpet yourself, never try to remove the stain by rubbing or rubbing it around. In doing so, you do the opposite of getting clean, as you work the dirt even further into the carpet.
If you clean your carpet yourself, please note the following things:
- The right technique for getting your carpet perfectly clean yourself is careful dabbing.
- Never try to remove the stain by rubbing or rubbing.
- Act as quickly as possible and do not let the stain dry.
- Always remove the stain from the outside in, as this will prevent the stain from spreading further.
- Leave the products on for enough time to experience guaranteed cleaning.
- First test the agent on an inconspicuous area of the carpet so that you can see how it works on it and whether the material can tolerate the cleaner.
Mineral water works wonders on fresh stains. Immediately after the mishap, pour this onto the area and then dab it with a microfiber cloth or towel.
What different types of carpets are there and how do you clean them?
- Persian carpet, oriental carpet, antique carpet, silk carpet : Shake out coarse crumbs and dust particles from the carpet. Then spread the carpet out on the floor and carefully brush the dirt out of the carpet with a soft brush. Only use pH-neutral cleaning agents and use only a little water, as these carpets are particularly sensitive.
- Shaggy carpet : This carpet has particularly long fibers. That’s why a lot of dirt accumulates on it. Therefore, clean this carpet particularly thoroughly once or twice a year. If your carpet is smaller, you can clean it in the bathtub.
- Long pile carpet : A long pile carpet has carpet fibers that are at least 5 cm long. You can clean this in the same way as a shag carpet. Before cleaning, you should shake it out particularly well with a second person, as anything can get caught in the long fibers.
- Wool carpet : You can regularly remove coarse dirt with a vacuum cleaner. You can wash smaller wool carpets in the washing machine from time to time – but choose a gentle wool program and wash cold without spinning. Larger wool carpets can be washed by hand in cold water. However, the best way to wash a wool rug is in the bathtub.
Effective tips and tricks for cleaning carpets
Your carpet can be brought back into shape in a very short time and with little effort using simple home remedies. For very dirty carpets, you can also use chemical or special cleaners.
Cleaning the carpet using simple home remedies
The carpet doesn’t always have to end up in the dry cleaners. If you have the right information and home remedies, you can save on cleaning costs and use simple remedies that are just as effective.
Mineral water
Mineral water is a particularly effective first aid remedy for a dirty carpet. It makes no difference whether it is red wine drops or coffee splashes.
However, if the carpet is quite dirty and some of the stains have already dried, mineral water will not help with cleaning. You should use one of the other home remedies.
baking powder
Baking soda works wonders when cleaning carpets because of the baking soda it contains.
Sprinkle enough powder on the stain or dirty area of the carpet and carefully pour hot water on it. This opens the fiber pores and the dirt can be removed in this way.
Caution : Do not use boiling water. This could destroy the structure of the carpet.
You now let the baking powder work for a few hours. You can then dab it again and the stain should be gone.
Salt
It is important to treat or remove the stains as quickly as possible after the mishap. This way you are more likely to get the entire carpet completely clean than if the stains have already dried.
Sprinkle some salt on the area immediately after it gets dirty. Do this from the outside inwards so that the contamination cannot spread further.
The salt grains serve to absorb the dirt. Finally, you can remove the grains with the vacuum cleaner and the stain should be gone.
The salt is best suited to combat annoying red wine stains.
shaving cream
Shaving cream can be used in place of carpet foam. Apply the foam to the area to be cleaned and massage it in slowly with a brush. Suction the product away as usual.
Make sure that the shaving foam you use does not contain methanol or color. These components destroy the texture of the carpet and discolor it.
Snow
Believe it or not, even snow can clean and/or refresh your carpet. To do this, place the carpet outside on the clean blanket of snow on cold winter days.
Once the carpet has been cleaned, you can hang it up indoors in a warm room and let it dry.
This trick usually only works on smaller carpets with coarser fibers.
Acidic agents: vinegar water/lemon juice
Vinegar is a home remedy that you will soon have at home and is therefore a great option to consider for cleaning carpets.
- Mix the vinegar 1:1 with water.
- Dab the vinegar and water mixture onto the carpet and allow the solution to take effect.
- Alternatively, you can use another acid in the form of lemon juice to clean the carpet.
Only use vinegar water on light-colored carpets and avoid this method on dark or colorful carpets. There is a risk of bleaching.
Vinegar water has a bleaching effect. Before you use this home remedy, we advise you to first try the trick on an inconspicuous area of the carpet.
Baking soda
In contrast to vinegar water, the carpet smells particularly fresh again after the baking soda treatment. To do this, sprinkle the powder evenly over the stain and then spray the powder on the carpet using a spray bottle filled with water.
Now wait until the powder has dried and vacuum up the powder residue with the vacuum cleaner.
soda
The best way to clean with soda is to dip a damp cloth into a soda solution. Then carefully dab the dirty areas of the carpet with this and let the whole thing take effect for a while.
Finally, wash the product out with a little water.
Cleaning the carpet using special or chemical cleaners
If your carpet is very dirty and home remedies don’t help, you should use special cleaners such as carpet foam.
Glass cleaner/window cleaner
For example, spray some glass cleaner onto the stain, let it dry and then brush the cleaner out.
Carpet foam
Before applying the carpet foam to the carpet, vacuum the carpet thoroughly to remove any coarse and loose dirt.
When using carpet foam, please make sure that it does not cause the carpet to fade. As before, test it in an inconspicuous place.
You now spray the carpet foam onto the desired area and then work it in with a brush. At the end you can simply vacuum up the remains.
Detergent (Vanish)
It is best to use a powdered detergent to clean the dirty carpet . Just like when washing, pay attention to the color of the carpet:
- Light colored carpets: white detergent
- Colorful carpets: Color detergent
The advantage of cleaning with detergent is that the carpet also smells good as a side effect. So you can also use this method if the carpet is not dirty, but just needs to be fresher again.
To do this, sprinkle the washing powder over the entire surface of the carpet and rub it in with a brush. The purpose of the agent is to ensure that all the dirt is sucked in. Finally, vacuum the carpet once to remove the powder residue and the carpet will look like new again.
Vanish brand washing powder is particularly popular.
What else you should know about cleaning a carpet
Can you wash your carpet in the washing machine?
You should find out from the manufacturer whether the carpet is suitable for the washing machine or not. You can usually find out whether it is dishwasher safe on the label attached to the carpet.
Under no circumstances should you wash the carpets too hot. An alternative to the washing machine is washing the carpet in the bathtub.
As a general rule, you should neither wash larger carpets in the washing machine (if it can accommodate them) nor in the bathtub. These become full of water and become so heavy that they can no longer be easily transported.
You should therefore have larger carpets cleaned by professionals, as they also take a long time to dry. Even if the carpet was expensive and the stains won’t come out despite any home remedies, you should get professional help.
- You should have carpets cleaned by specialists at least every two years , as house dust mites and clothes moths, for example, like to accumulate inside the carpets. So if you have a house dust mite allergy, a dirty carpet could cause health problems and be unpleasant for you.
- You should also vacuum your carpet at least once a week . Especially if you have small children who play and crawl on the floor. On the other hand, they can become ill due to the bacteria found in the carpet.
If you wash your carpet with soap or detergent, you should definitely make sure that it is rinsed completely. If you don’t do this, the dirt will become stubbornly bound in the future.
When is the best time to clean the carpet?
You can basically clean your carpet at any time of the year. The summer and winter months are particularly suitable.
The following table shows you which seasons are best for carpet cleaning:
| season | Means/method | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Carpet beater | When spring cleaning comes around, you can also thoroughly clean your carpets again. You can optimally remove the dust with the carpet beater. When doing this, only tap the underside of the carpet, otherwise the dirt will get even deeper into the carpet. |
| Summer | Wet cleaning | When it is very warm in summer, these are the ideal conditions to clean the carpet wet and then let it dry in the sun. However, make sure that you do not use any acidic products in combination with water, as there is a risk of bleaching. |
| winter | Snow | Place your rug face down on the snow and wait. The moisture cleans your carpet, but it doesn’t get very wet and can therefore be dried quickly. |
How can you largely prevent unnecessary stains on the carpet?
If you want to keep your carpet clean and resistant to small dirt over a longer period of time, you should impregnate the carpet immediately after purchase (or when it is completely clean).
You can use a commercially available textile waterproofing spray for this. Simply spray this onto the clean carpet and allow the product to dry briefly. This will strengthen the carpet material or the surface of the carpet. The dirt that accumulates every day now rolls off and the carpet stays clean for much longer.
Conclusion
Not every carpet is suitable for the washing machine. Especially valuable oriental carpets and carpets made of silk in general have no place in the washing machine. You should also not wash wool carpets in the washing machine due to the grease layer.
So that you know later how you should/may clean the respective carpet, you should not remove the label on the underside. On this you will find material, origin, brand and the important washing instructions. If the label bothers you, you can remove it. But save the data using a cell phone photo, for example.
Immediately after purchase, spray your carpet with a waterproofing agent that repels dirt and moisture. You can use the same agent that you use to waterproof your jackets and shoes, for example. After damp cleaning, it is advisable to impregnate the carpet again.
