Spring is in full swing, bringing seasonal allergies along with it. Did you know that pollen isn’t the only culprit of your springtime sniffles? In fact, other allergens like dust mites and pet dander are just as responsible and can be found in your home.
Most often, flooring like carpet can trap allergens and trigger seasonal allergy reactions like sneezing, water eyes, and an irritated throat. Eliminating these allergens in your home can be as easy as deep cleaning your carpet! Keep these six carpet hacks in mind as you begin your Spring cleaning!
Remove Carpet Stains with an Iron
Instead of scrubbing out stains, opt to steam them out with an iron! After vacuuming, spray a mixture of ¼ white vinegar and ¾ water over the stain and let it permeate the carpet. Next, place a clean towel over and on the highest level of steam, iron the stain out!
This method will give you a higher level of concentrated heat and steam that other steam cleaners don’t provide. By adding vinegar to the stain, you are also killing household bacteria and cutting through the grime of old stains at the fraction of the price of other cleaning products.
Remove Pet Hair with a Squeegee
If you have a pet, you’re probably all too familiar with finding pet hair throughout your home. Even worse, you know that a vacuum won’t always pick all of it up. Depending on what type of carpet you have, hair may be trapped under carpet fibers. This can make you more susceptible to seasonal allergies and can worsen the pet allergies of guests.
We recommend using a squeegee to pick up the hair left behind! The rubber end of this tool acts as a hair magnet, collecting all the other hair that your vacuum may have missed. Pull the squeegee slowly along your carpet for best results.
Use Shaving Cream on Carpet Stains
Another easy, low-cost solution to carpet stain removal is shaving cream. Think of it as a form of whipped soap, penetrating and adding moisture to almost any stain.
Spray the stain with foam shaving cream and let it sit for a half hour. Make sure that it is a foam and not gel shaving cream! After, blot it with a clean cloth. This solution can work for a variety of stain types, including grease!
As with any product, we recommend that you test this out on a small section of your carpet before applying to large areas.
DIY Carpet Cleaner
Sometimes carpet cleaning chemicals can be expensive or even hazardous to those low to the ground, like pets or small children. If you’re looking for a more cost-effective, eco-friendly cleaning solution, try this DIY carpet cleaning mixture:
- ¾ cup hydrogen peroxide
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 5 drops essential oil
- 2 tbsp dish soap
- 2 tbsp fabric softener
- 1 gallon hot water
Add this mixture to your carpet steam cleaner for a deep clean! The hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, and dish soap will remove grime while the fabric softener and essential oil freshens the fibers!
Remove Carpet Dents with Ice
Sometimes the change of weather makes you want to switch things up! Moving furniture around is an easy way to breathe new life into a room.
Heavy furniture like beds, couches, and tables can leave dents in the carpet, showing signs of its previous position for days to come. Leave them in the past with an ice cube!
Place an ice cube in each dent and wait for it to melt. Blot the excess water and iron the area with a towel until dry. This low-cost, no fuss trick can easily help you restore your carpet to its former glory!
Deodorize Your Carpet with Baking Soda
Baking soda is a proven odor absorber, permeating deep into carpet and neutralizing odors. It is also cheap, all-natural, and easy to clean up with a vacuum! All you have to do is sprinkle baking soda liberally all over the carpet and wait a few hours for it to work its magic before vacuuming.
We recommend doing this before bedtime, as you won’t expect foot traffic in the area and will give the baking soda ample time to absorb odors. If the odor persists, repeat the process. Baking soda has a saturation point where it has absorbed all of the odor it can, so sprinkle the area with a fresh coat.
Maintaining carpet can be rewarding, but it doesn’t have to be difficult! We offer a wide variety of carpets that are waterproof, mess-proof, and easy to maintain! With our sale on select carpets until June 17th, you can find the carpet that best fits your needs.
Not sure how to get started? Stop by our showroom and let our team of experienced flooring experts show you the way!