I learned a long time ago not to use soap to clean carpets from a professional carpet cleaner, she says it causes them to be sticky. We knew we needed something more natural, so we decided on a combination of warm water, vinegar and Oxy Clean.
2 1/2 cups of distilled white vinegar
2 scoops (4 tblsp) of Oxy clean
Warm to hot water to the fill line on the tank
The clean water tank on this particular machine was about 2 to 2 1/2 gallons capacity.
NOTE: Although this mixture worked for our light colored carpet, I'm not sure about using Oxy Clean on darker colored carpets, so be sure to test it before you start just to be safe. Yes, there will be a slight vinegar odor, but it dissipates in about 24 hours time.
Some day we will install a nice wood flooring, but for now we know how to make our carpet pretty when we need to!
Want to see more of my cleaning tips for using vinegar? Just click on the links below.
Cleaning an HE Washer with Household Products
Remove Hard Water Buildup Naturally
DIY Carpet Cleaning
Cleaning Your Hairbrush the Easy Way
Cleaning Your Oven
Cleaning Your Sink's Spray Nozzle
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It doesn't have to be done all at once. It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!
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Good thing you listened to that piece of advice! Not only will your carpet get sticky with a soap cleaner, it will also bind the dirt molecules with it, making it harder to clean. I’d rather you use plain water. It can keep the carpet stay clean longer. Anyway, it’s a good homemade solution. ;]
ReplyDeleteOMG This works like a charm!!!! Thank you so much for sharing. It does a wonderful job. My carpet looks like new.
ReplyDeleteFrani
I use vinegar and oxyclean in my laundry for tough baby stains. I dry the tough stains in the sun and it works every time.
ReplyDeleteI tried this with my Bissel that I own but unfortunately when I added the oxyclean to the vinegar it all just bubbled out of the container. The soap container has about a 2 cup capacity and the clean water tank about a gallon. Do you have any tips for making this work? Do you combine the vinegar and the oxyclean and let it calm down before adding it to the tank? Thanks for your help!
Since I didn't get a reply from the blog, I just wanted to let people know that I ended up pre-mixing the water, oxiclean and vinegar in a bucket and then dumped it into the clean water tank. Then I put plain vinegar into the soap container and ran the machine like normal. This seemed to work.
DeleteThank you!!! i have a bissell and was looking to see how i can this!!!
DeleteJust used this today in a house we bought. Worked EXCELLENT! And these carpets were filthy! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHow big is the scoop in your oxy clean? I have a different brand than yours so the size might be different.
ReplyDeleteHi, I just stumbled onto this site & I just hope it'll work on my Kirby, since they warn you about using anything but their products. I'm desperate & will try anything, but my rugs are Burgundy. Hope this help-s me. I have 5 teenage kids a dog & 2 cats. Heavy traffic on them ALL the time!
ReplyDeleteBe careful. I just did vinegar and oxi clean for my laundry and then posted about it on a laundry Facebook page and found out how toxic it can be by the mix of oxiclean and vinegar creating some acid. I ended up calling poison control as well. I don't know much more and don't wanna sound like a know it all by any means because clearly I'm not haha but just in case! :)
ReplyDeleteBut just remember in this case, the mixture is diluted by water.
DeleteCamelia Brown: Found your blog today and it's totally helpful for me. Thanks very very much. Keep posting
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, so sweet of you to say! Thanks for visiting our blog!
DeleteI'm not sure about the science of it, but it works wonders! I just used it again yesterday and my carpet looks new again. Thanks for visiting our blog!
ReplyDeletenice
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
DeleteVinegar is also great for cleaning windows. Put 1/2 cup vinegar in a bucket of water. You will get squeaky clean windows with no streaks.
ReplyDeleteVinegar is also great for cleaning windows. Put 1/2 cup of vinegar in a bucket of water. You will get squeaky clean windows with no streaks.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Yes, I love using that mixture too! Great tip! :)
DeleteThank you all so much for the tips with the vinegar, oxy- clean and water. Im making a list of everything I can clean with this mixture and going at it lol. Do you have any suggestions on cleaning wood furniture (antiques) without leaving a film or build-up? Thank you again
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome and thank you for leaving such a kind comment! :) I don't have a tried and true cleaning solution for cleaning antique furniture, but here's what I found on Pinterest for you: https://missmustardseed.com/cleaning-a-grubby-piece-of-furniture/
DeleteI would love to try this in a spray bottle just for cleaning purposes, any idea how to cut down this recipe
ReplyDeleteHi there! You could try just cutting it in half to start with and see if that works for you. :)
DeleteNice job on carpet. You said you were going for tile? Why don't you do half tile and a mud room since that is your main entrance . Or carpet on one side, tile and a mud room. That way they take off their outside shoes and put slippers on. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathleen! Thank you so much, I really appreciate the suggestions. Great ideas! :)
DeleteI would love to try this in a spray bottle just for cleaning purposes, any idea how to cut down this recipe
ReplyDeleteHi there! That's a great idea but I'm really not sure. So sorry! :)
DeleteI'm definitely going to try this. We have an older dog who's suddenly in love with going peepee on a particular spot. Have tried 4 different urine remover treatments with no success.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed this tackles the awful smell. ��