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As much as we love fluffy, cozy carpets, we keep having second thoughts when it’s time to clean them. First of all, it is interesting how to disinfect carpet without steam cleaner? Pet fur, dirt from outdoors, dust, spills, and other accidents accumulate deep inside the fibers. Not only that make or carpets look bad, but also (which is worse) unsanitary.
There are many ways to sanitize carpets, from low-budget homemade remedies to costly professional cleaning. Many homeowners rely on steam cleaners to keep their carpets fresh and healthy. But streamers are not always the best choice, especially for people who live in apartments with limited storage space. So what other options do we have? How to deep clean carpet without a steam cleaner? Let’s try to find that out.
How to Clean Carpet with Vacuum Cleaner
In every cleaning method, you choose vacuuming is always a step one. This is the only way to effectively remove all the loose dirt and hard particles that contaminate your carpet. The best vacuum for carpet with a specialized head can even make the process enjoyable.
To obtain the best result, you should follow a simple guideline. Start at the farthest corner in a room and slowly move the vacuum head back and forth in an N-shaped pattern. In other words, proceeds from wall to wall. As a result, special attention is paid to hard-to-reach places near the baseboards and around furniture.
How to Clean a Rug Without a Steam Cleaner
Once you’re done with vacuuming, you can proceed to deep cleaning. Here you have several possible options:
- Shampooing.
- Steam cleaning.
- Dry cleaning with chemicals.
- Machine washing (for small rugs only).
- Cleaning with homemade remedies.
You can also clean carpet with a sponge mop. This method is effective on carpets without tough stains. Mop cleaning is a good way to maintain carpets clean and fresh.
Steam clean vs shampoo carpet: which option to choose? The decision depends on multiple factors: material, depth of pile, size, severity, and nature of stains, possible allergies, and so on. Steam cleaning is more ecological since it does not involve chemicals. It is also an easier and faster way to freshen and sanitize carpets. However, if you have deep and/or old stains, shampooing is a more effective way to combat them. On the downside, shampooing is a rather time-consuming process. The dry time can also be rather long. Besides, shampoo residue can be very hard to pull out and very often it lingers even after power vacuuming.
Most of the advantages of steam cleaning are only true if you use professional equipment. Portable steamers for home use are not as efficient as commercial ones. Shampooing is more of an old-fashioned way, but it’s still rather effective.
Spot Cleaning: Easy way to clean carpets by hand
It is much easier to remove a fresh stain that an embedded one. So when accidents happen, it’s important to act immediately.
- First of all, you should blot the stain dry with undyed absorptive cloth. Then you can proceed with a cleaning solution. You can use your best carpet cleaner spray, powder or a liquid solution.
- Apply a small amount of cleaner on a cloth or mop and continue dabbing the stain.
- Repeat as much as needed and then rinse the spot with water.
- Once again blot the wet spot or use a vacuum to extract the excess moisture.
How to Disinfect Carpet Naturally?
If you want to avoid industrial chemicals, you can try one of the home remedies. There is a specific remedy for each type of stain. For instance, vinegar is a great natural disinfectant. It is absolutely safe for people and pets (unless swallowed in large quantities). Vinegar does not cause allergies or skin irritation. Besides, it evaporates very quickly and leaves almost no smell. You can make a homemade carpet disinfectant based on white vinegar. Add some salt for better stain absorption and essential oils for better smell. Please note, vinegar is very concentrated and can cause discoloration of your carpet. Mix it with water in a 1:2 ratio (1 for vinegar) and it will be safe. If you are wondering how to sanitize carpet for baby, this might be a great solution.
How to clean carpet with vinegar?
Cleaning with vinegar does not differ much from regular cleaning. Although, there are some nuances. Vinegar usually needs more time to sit on a stain. To make it work more effectively, try spraying the vinegar and water solution directly on a stain. Sometimes you will have to repeat the process more than once. That is fine, just keep spraying and dabbing and the soiling will come off eventually. Vacuum the residue as usual.
How to disinfect carpet after dog poop?
Pet accidents are inevitable. Cleaning after your dog is not the most pleasant job, but you just have to man up and deal with it immediately. Once you’ve removed the feces, treat the stain with a detergent solution and disinfectant. The vinegar solution will work. The best carpet cleaning solutions for pet stains clean and sanitize simultaneously.
General Conclusion
Now you know how to clean a rug without a steam cleaner. There are many options available from shampooing to spot cleaning with homemade solutions. Now you just need to choose whichever one suits you best.
Video Instruction: How to keep Carpets Clean with small Children?
Further Reading
