If you’ve ever lived on the lower level of a condominium or an apartment, chances are pretty high that you’ve woken up to someone stomping on the floor above you. It might be in the middle of the night or somebody disturbed your midday nap. Either way, you’re daydreaming about your upstairs neighbors carpeting their home to soundproof those footsteps. While laminate wood, tile and stone floors are much easier to keep clean with just a broom and dustpan, they’re not nearly as comfortable to lay down or walk on barefoot. (That is, unless the home includes heated floors.) If you’re unlike your neighbor and chose carpeted floors, you may have warm feet but stains and discoloration are bound to happen over time. Keeping homemade carpet cleaner solution can significantly slow that down.

How to Make Homemade Carpet Cleaner Solution

Ingredients for Carpet Stain Cleaning by Hand

• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 2 cups of water
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 15-20 drops of essential oil (ex. lavender or tea tree oil)
• 2 microfiber cloths

Instructions for Carpet Stain Cleaning by Hand

1. Combine the white vinegar and water in a spray bottle.
2. Add the salt and (if using) essential oil.
3. Shake the bottle well to mix all the ingredients.
4. To avoid discoloration or damage, test the solution on a small, hidden area of your carpet.
5. If it works OK, spray a light mist of the solution onto the stained carpet area.
6. Let the solution sit for a few minutes (to loosen the dirt and grime).
7. From the outside to the inside, blot the area with a clean, dry cloth.
8. Repeat until the stain is removed or the area is clean.
9. Rinse the area with a second damp cloth to remove any residue. Blot dry.

If you have a machine that cleans carpet and want to use your own homemade carpet cleaner solution, here’s a suggested do-it-yourself option. Double-check the warranty agreement before using this though in case the manufacturer will discontinue your warranty early by using a non-commercial cleaning agent.

Ingredients for Carpet Cleaning Vacuum

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of baking soda
• 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide
• A few drops of essential oil (ex. lavender or tea tree oil)
• Mixing bowl

Instructions for Carpet Cleaning Vacuum

1. Mix the water and white vinegar in a large bowl or container.
2. Add the baking soda slowly to avoid excess fizzing spilling over.
3. Pour in the hydrogen peroxide, and stir gently until everything is well-combined.
4. Add a few drops of your chosen essential oil for fragrance, if desired.
5. Pour the mixture into the clean water reservoir of your carpet cleaning vacuum.

Cleaning Process for Carpet Cleaning Vacuum

1. Move furniture out of the way for an obstacle-free vacuum.
2. Vacuum the carpet thoroughly to remove any loose dirt and debris.
3. Use the carpet cleaning vacuum with the homemade carpet cleaner solution to clean your carpet, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Allow the carpet to dry completely before walking on it or replacing any furniture.

Tips to Keep Carpet Clean Before Spot Cleaning

If you were the cook last Thanksgiving or went to someone’s home and was asked to help with the Thanksgiving meal, you saw dishes coming and going as the meal was closer to completion. In this same kitchen, there are two types of cooks: cooks who wash as they prepare and cooks who wait until the end and assign someone else to handle cleanup. The first option will feel productive and maintain a cleaner kitchen. The latter will look like a family game of JENGA with pots and pans balanced on top of each other.

And the latter scenario is exactly what happens when homeowners ignore their carpet. If there is a regular cleanup day once a week (or a maximum of once per month) to vacuum and spot clean as needed, then a major cleanup will feel like any other cleaning day. But if the carpet is never cleaned, there may be so much discoloration and staining to the point where it’d be easier to just pull the carpet up and start from scratch.

Besides regular cleaning and tackling temporary stains before they can become permanent, there are a few more rules that could save your carpet:

1) Place doormats in high-traffic areas. A mudroom where family members can drop off snowy, dirty boots or filthy sports uniforms keeps them off the carpet.

2) Implement a no-shoe rule to avoid people bringing in all the dirt, debris and dust from outside and onto the carpet where you lay your hair.

3) Either buy a deep-cleaning carpet machine or find a company that will do it biannually or annually.

4) Rearrange furniture. This will avoid those light spots reminding you of what color your carpet used to be. Even if you have limited room, just shifting a chair or couch may unearth that hidden dog toy or the comb you’ve long ago given up on finding. This will also make it easier to vacuum hard-to-reach places.

5) Use an air purifier to keep the room ventilated and avoid airborne particles (ex. dust, pollen, pt dander, mold spores, tobacco smoke, air freshener chemicals, bacteria from sneezing and coughing) all over the carpet.

6) Do not allow activities that are bound to create accidents, such as eating or drinking food on the carpet. Send kids to the dining room table for arts and crafts instead of coloring on the floor, possibly getting more crayon marks or paint on the carpet than the paper.

Cleaning Hacks for Nail Polish Stains in Carpet

There are some stains that are tough to remove with just vinegar, baking soda or peroxide. Even dish liquid won’t always get the job done. For example, if nail polish falls off of a table and onto the carpet, these four homemade carpet cleaner solution ingredients won’t always work. You may have to use other cleaning options.

The first stab at it is with nail polish remover. After blotting, without rubbing, the area free of excess nail polish, dab the stain with a cotton ball or cloth that has been dipped in non-acetone nail polish remover. Blot until the nail polish spill is lifted. Then, rinse the area with cold water and blot dry with a clean cloth.

If that doesn’t work, try hairspray and rubbing alcohol. Wet the carpet with cold water first. Then, spray a generous amount of hairspray. Pour a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol onto the stain, then scrub the area with a toothbrush or small brush. This should lift the nail polish.

If neither of those options work, dish soap and vinegar (which generally are powerful cleaners on their own) can be mixed together. Mix one tablespoon of dish soap and one tablespoon of vinegar into a spray bottle filled with warm water. Spray the solution onto the stain and use a clean cloth to lift and remove the stain. If you prefer to use the homemade carpet cleaner solution once the carpet is dry for an extra cleaning, go for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best homemade carpet cleaning solution?

White vinegar is an essential ingredient in any homemade version, but variants include baking soda and peroxide.

Can I use Dawn dish soap to shampoo my carpet?

Its grease-cutting perks can help break down stains. This is also good for spot cleaning and spills. Check the manufacturer agreement to make sure it’s safe to use in carpet cleaning machines though because the warranty may require using specific types of carpet cleaning solution.

Do vinegar and Dawn clean carpet?

Both are fine to use separately for spot cleaning. Besides major stains like nail polish spills, you won’t generally need both. One-fourth teaspoon of Dawn dish soap would just require one cup of warm water and a clean cloth (ex. microfiber cloth).