In a small bowl or bucket, mix one part white vinegar with three parts water. Dip the bristles of the scrub brush in the solution and rub them into the carpet. Massage the fibers well (without completely saturating the carpet) and continue with a cloth to help remove excess moisture. Once you know how to clean carpets, it's time to tackle other areas of the house and learn how to clean the shower curtain, mattress, and even baseboards.
The cleaning solution requires some scrubbing and a lot of patience, but it provides excellent cleaning results without the need for a steam cleaner. Whether you need a vertical carpet cleaner or a steam cleaning machine, you can buy or rent carpet cleaners depending on your specific needs. If you have a clothes steamer or steam mop that is normally used on hard surface floors, you can also use them to clean carpets in depth. With a little elbow grease, you can also deep clean area rugs and even wall-to-wall rugs with a few simple products and tools that you probably have in your pantry.
When cleaning carpets, it is not recommended to use bleach or cleaning products that contain bleach for dark colors due to discoloration. If you can't imagine using a carpet cleaning machine that often (or if you don't have space to store it), you can rent one at your local home improvement store. Today's carpet cleaning machines are easily accessible and much less clunky, and professional carpet cleaning companies have turned the process into a science. If you need to clean hair dye from carpet fibers, get rid of the brush and, instead, apply a clean cloth with the cleaner to the stain.
Consider hiring a professional carpet cleaning company or doing a more thorough cleaning yourself at least twice a year. Do deep cleaning every few months to go beyond the reach of a quick vacuum and leave your carpets looking like new. When making a plan to clean your carpet, carefully read the labels of all the products you are going to use. Once you have treated a small section of the carpet, wait a few hours to ensure that there are no adverse reactions, such as a change in the color or texture of the fibers, before proceeding to clean the rest of the carpet.
Of course, professional carpet cleaners offer great results, but they use industrial carpet cleaning machines with a variety of harsh cleaning chemicals. If you're not willing to rent or buy a machine, and if a stain is too stuck or your carpet seems to be on its last legs, the answer to the question of how to clean a carpet may be to hire a professional.
