How To Clean Your Carpet Without A Carpet Cleaner

If your home's carpet is in dire need of a cleaning and your unable to get any access to a carpet cleaner, try my method. All you need is a scrub brush, a spray bottle and a wet/dry vac. I personally prefer this way as to most carpet cleaners on the market.

The first thing you'll want to do is move everything out of the room. You could just clean the visible areas and clean around the furniture. But I personally like to do the entire carpet every time. Now you want to thoroughly vacuum the carpet with your household vacuum. Now it is important to get as much dirt as possible up before the carpet gets wet. Think about it. Dirt + water = Mud. It may seem like a bit much but I like to first vacuum the whole carpet one way, then go back over vacuuming in the other direction. Next pretreat any stains that may be present. You can use a carpet cleaner or any mild multipurpose cleaner that is safe for carpets. A powerful cleaner that's good is Purple Power. Just make sure you dilute it first. If your not sure if it's fabric safe, test on an inconspicuous spot.

Now it is time to scrub. Fill up a bucket with hot water and add soap. Again, you can use cleaner specificlly for carpet or about 1/2 cup of mild multipurpose cleaner. I always use about 1/2 cup of laundry soap. Even the powder kind you can use. Just put the powder in a jar with hot water, screw the lid on and shake until the soap is dissolved. That trick works great for your laundry when only cold water is availible. After adding your soap take a spray bottle and fill with hot water. Start at one corner of the room. One section at a time, lightly mist the carpet then take your scrub brush and dunk in your bucket of solution. Begin scrubbing the carpet. Re dunk your brush every few strokes and work your way acros the room. I know it sounds like a lot of work but actually I find it easier. An average size room only takes a few minutes. Once done lighty mist the carpet one last time.

Now it's time to remove the excess water. Before using your wet dry vac, take a moment to clean it. If your hose is too short to keep the vacuum off the carpet, then lay down a towel or sheet big enough to place it on. As you work, just drag the sheet with the vacuum on it. With the squeegee attachment, begin vacuuming the carpet. Again, begin where you first started and work your way across. Make slow passes while pressing down slightly as you go. If desied, repeat every pass to remove as much water as possible. The lees water the faster it dries. Once satisfied, place fans at the edges of the carpet. If the room is especially cold ,space heaters may be used but be sure not to place them on the wet carpet. Now it is best to keep off the carpet til completely dried. But in most cases that is just not possible. A trick I do is lay down a sheet folded long ways or a few towel so there is a path across the carpet. So if you need to cross the room you got a route that is protected from from any grime you got on your shoes. As the carpet begins to dry move the fans to a diffrent section to speed up your drying time. Once completely dry thoroughly vacuum the carpet with your regular vacuum one more time to take away amy stiffness that may have occured.

After your done, I guarentee you'll be happy with how clean your carpet is. I know it seems like alot of work this way but I find it noy only easier but even faster then using most carpet cleaners aside from the king, The Rug Doctor. I try to do my carpet every 3-4 months and try to treat stains as they occur so my carpet stays good looking. I hope that this article was useful. Have a good day and a clean carpet.