A natural carpet is a pleasant, but expensive pleasure, and sometimes the main luxury of the home. The only thing that scares inexperienced housewives is cleaning it. Today we will talk about several methods that make cleaning carpets at home simple and easy.
Methods for cleaning carpets at home
There are many ways to clean and refresh your carpet yourself without breaking the bank, but before you get started, pay attention to the general points of any carpet care. They don't like carpets:
- too hot water;
- hard broom and brush;
- lint cleaning
Clean with regular salt
We take regular salt. Spread it evenly over the dirty carpet and rub it with a brush until the salt darkens. Then you need to thoroughly beat or vacuum the carpet.
A similar method: sprinkle salt evenly over the surface of the carpet and leave it on the carpet for 15 - 20 minutes. Make a hot soapy solution. We rinse the broom in this solution, shake out the excess liquid and carefully begin to sweep the salt from the carpet. The broom needs to be washed more often in the solution. Be sure to dry the carpet after cleaning.
To add brightness to the carpet colors, you can add lemon juice to the salt. Take a pack of salt and pour it into a small basin or bowl. Add squeezed lemon juice. Mix and scatter the salt over the carpet. Leave it on the carpet for 15-20 minutes and sweep it away in the same way as in the previous method, using a broom. Before cleaning, be sure to wash the broom in hot soapy water.After such cleaning, the odors disappear from the carpet.
The composition of salt and citric acid cleans carpets well. Take 10 grams of citric acid, 1 liter of water and one tablespoon of salt. Using a brush, clean the carpet with the prepared solution. After wet cleaning, the carpet must be dried.
Using tea leaves
A very simple way is to clean the carpet with tea leaves. The brew can be any tea: green or black. You should stock up on used tea leaves in advance. It must be dried after use and not kept in a damp place, otherwise mold will form.
Before using the tea leaves to clean the carpet, you need to fill it with water. Hold for a while and squeeze through cheesecloth until it is slightly damp. Spread the tea leaves evenly over the carpet and let it dry. After about twenty minutes, sweep it away with a clean broom or vacuum it.
It should be remembered. That this cleaning method is suitable for dark-colored carpets. You should not experiment on light-colored carpets.
To use tea leaves for lighter carpets, you need to pour boiling water over the tea leaves several times and drain them so that it does not give color when brewed. But it is best to use wet sawdust for them.
This method of cleaning not only makes the carpet clean, but along with the dirt, the smell leaves the carpet and the pile becomes shiny.
This method has one disadvantage - collecting and storing the tea leaves.
Clean carpet with snow
The most classic and simple winter way to clean a carpet is to take it out into clean snow. It's good to do this on frosty days. By freezing the carpet, simultaneously with cleaning, all parasites that have accumulated with dust in the carpet are destroyed.
We choose a place with clean snow.The carpet should be laid with the pile down and patted with a stick or walked on it. Keep it like this for half an hour. Turn the carpet over and sweep away the dirty snow with a broom or brush. Pour in clean snow and sweep it away again. This must be done several times. After this, it’s good to hang the carpet on the crossbar and beat it out so that the excess snow and remaining dust come out. Once again, sweep the carpet from the snow and, carefully rolling it up, take it home. At home, spread the carpet on the floor and let it dry, trying not to walk on it. The carpet pile must dry, then it will rise and be like new. When wet, it can quickly wrinkle and attract dirt.
Although it is a troublesome method, it is the most beneficial for the health of the home. And the frosty smell after such cleaning from the carpet is very pleasant. If you sweep away the snow with spruce branches rather than with a broom, the aroma of pine needles and the freshness of the forest will fill your home.
Cleaning with sauerkraut
As a rule, every Russian family makes sauerkraut for the winter. It turns out that cabbage, sauerkraut, can be used to clean carpets. This method is very entertaining, but, according to reviews, very effective. It may not be able to cope with old stains, but it will definitely help make the carpet clean and bright.
To do this, so that there is no smell, rinse the sauerkraut in cold water and squeeze through cheesecloth. Scatter the cabbage over the carpet and use a brush to begin cleaning the carpet with the cabbage. Cabbage should not be coarsely chopped. As soon as it becomes dirty, collect it with a broom, rinse it under running water in a colander and wring it out again. Repeat cleaning until the cabbage is clean. The carpet must be completely dry. All that remains is to vacuum it.This cleaning will give the carpet a brighter pile.
Cleaning with Vinegar
Let's prepare the solution in a small bowl. Pour one liter of cold water into it and add one tablespoon of vinegar. Take a medium-hard brush and, moistening it in the prepared solution, begin to clean the carpet. After wetting in the solution, the brush must be shaken into a basin each time, thereby removing excess liquid.
When cleaning, use rubber gloves, protecting your hands from exposure to the solution. After such cleaning, it is best to dry the carpet outside.
This cleaning method is not recommended for carpets made of artificial fibers. Vinegar is an aggressive environment for such carpets and can completely ruin the carpet.
Cleaning carpets with soda
You can use regular baking soda to clean your carpet. If the carpet is not very dirty, then it is enough to sprinkle soda evenly over the carpet, then rub the soda into the carpet pile with a dry brush. Leave for five minutes and then vacuum thoroughly.
For more dirty carpets, you can use a baking soda solution. Just dissolve half a glass of regular baking soda in five liters of water. Pour the prepared solution into a spray bottle.
Let the carpet dry for half an hour. During this time, the soda will absorb dirt and remove the smell from the carpet. After drying, vacuum the carpet thoroughly. If you add lemon juice when cleaning the carpet, you will certainly be pleased with the freshness of the colors and smell of the carpet.
Experts do not recommend immediately walking on a freshly cleaned carpet. It is advisable to let it dry thoroughly so that the pile of the carpet does not wrinkle and attract dirt and dust.
A clean carpet is not only the health of the whole family, but the beauty and comfort of your home. Of course, it is necessary to vacuum the carpet as it gets dirty, at least 1-2 times a week, but cleaning the carpet with improvised means must also be done at home at least once every 4-6 months. But for better cleaning, you need to take the carpet to the dry cleaner at least once a year.
It’s warm and comfortable to be in the house among beautiful and clean carpets. What a pleasure in the morning, getting out of bed, to dip your feet into fluffy and soft pile. Clean carpets undoubtedly add coziness to the interior of a home.
I used to clean carpets with snow - this is a good economical option. But, you need to wait until it dries. The apartment is uncomfortable. But now I prefer a separator vacuum cleaner. More comfortable.