Rescuing the Carpets with an Herbal Carpet Cleaner

Stubborn Carpet Stains & How to Remove Them

Getting your house ready for company?  Some of the items below may happen before the party and some may be part of your party clean up.  Either way these fixes may help you revive a carpet.  (They are not all chemical free so take that with a grain of salt!) Modern carpeting is designed to resist stains, so you can usually remove them if you use the right method. Refer to these tips, and remember: the sooner you get to a stain, the easier it will be to remove.

Herbal Carpet Cleaner

¾ cup water

3 Tbls. dish soap

½ tsp. ammonia

½ tsp. Thyme or Lemon Herbal vinegar

Combine all ingredients together and place in a foam bottle.  To use, squirt the foam onto the carpet and work in with brush.  Then blot out of carpet with a damp then a dry paper towel.  The trick with this recipe is not to place the liquid on the carpet, only foam.

A list of stains and the removal technique:

1. Chewing gum

Freeze with ice cubes in a plastic bag; then scrape off with a butter knife and blot with trichloroethylene (dry-cleaning fluid, available at drug and hardware stores).

2. Animal Urine

Immediately blot up excess with paper towels; soak with club soda; blot again; scrub with Herbal Carpet Cleaner (above).

3. Coffee, Beer, Milk

Blot up excess with paper towels, scrub with Herbal Carpet Cleaner (above); cover with paper towels and weigh down for 2 to 3 hours.

4. Fruit Juices, Soft Drinks

Blot up excess; sponge with a solution of 1 teaspoon of powdered laundry detergent and 1 teaspoon of white vinegar dissolved in 1 quart (1 liter) of warm water.

5. Blood

If fresh, blot up with cold water (not hot). If dried, cover with equal parts cold water and meat tenderizer. Let stand for 30 minutes. Sponge off with cold water.

6. Grease, Oil, Lipstick, Butter

Blot up excess with paper towels; sponge with dry-cleaning fluid; work from edges to center.

7. Shoe Polish, Ink, Dry Paint

Dab with paint remover; if that fails, use dry-cleaning fluid.

8. Wax

Scrape off as much as possible; then place a brown paper bag over the area and run a warm iron over it. The bag will act as a blotter and absorb the wax.

We do have a few herbal vinegars left from this season.  Check out our Etsy vinegar listings.