Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Green (and budget!) carpet cleaner recipes

Nobody likes a sick child. And nobody likes the aftermath.

After my daughter threw up on the carpet, the recliner and a multitude of blankets last night, I realized something. As we came out of the bathroom, we were met from a chemical stench of Woolite carpet cleaner, which had drifted upstairs, overpowering everything else. Yuck.

This morning, I decided things needed to be different. I went to work trying to find a homemade solution that would be less fragrant.

Here are a few options I found online that hopefully wouldn't require a trip to the store for that 2 a.m. pinch:

Dry Carpet Cleaner (from easy-homemade-recipes.com)
2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 to 5 bay leaves
1 tablespoon cloves

Spot test a small, inconspicuous area of your rug first to test for color stability of the fibers. Put the ingredients through a sifter until blended. Sprinkle lightly on your carpeting and allow to sit several hours overnight. Sprinkle lightly on carpet and let stand for a couple of hours. Vacuum up and enjoy your fresh fragrant carpet. Store dry carpet cleaner and deodorizer in a coffee can.

Homemade Spot Remover (from frugalliving.about.com)
Mix white vinegar and baking soda together to form a paste. Then, work the paste into the carpet stain with an old toothbrush, or something similar. Allow the paste to dry; then vacuum up the baking soda, and the stain should be gone.

Green Carpet Cleaner (from thedailygreen.com)
Spots in carpets often remove with a simple dilution of one part vinegar, one-sixteenth part lemon juice and eight parts distilled water.

There are hundreds others that include essential oils, borax or other ingredients. But when you're tired, simple is the way to go!

4 comments:

fresh365 said...

Ooh thank you for this! I need a good (green) cleaning remedy for my sometimes naughty dog :)

Unknown said...

cool!

Unknown said...

I've been looking for these kinds of green, low-budget recipes for my household cleaning, especially for carpet cleaning. Cypress, TX, where I stayed on my last vacation, made me realize a lot of things, and one of those is to help restore Earth. In my own little way, I want to help prolong the life of our home. I never know of other planets which give life to us but Earth. And even if there are, Earth will still be my home and where I belong. Let's keep our planet become greener again!

Thanks for your post! I hope more people around the world will read this.

Niki Jolene said...

This post came just in time! We got a new puppy and she is wreaking havoc on our rugs!

I am stopping by from Frugal Friday over at Life as Mom. Hope you'll visit Free 2 Be Frugal sometime.