Building your home? This home that you now call yours, that you have built with so much love and dedication, this home that is your escape and comfort zone wasn’t built overnight. Was it? It took you an immense amount of hard work, sweat and tears to see your home become what it is right now.

Remember the first step you took whilst turning your house into a home? You carpeted all the floors. That was the first step to building your home. It keeps your feet warm in the winter, and nothing beats the softness of a carpet when you’re walking around barefoot in the summer. It’s nice to lie on it with a book next to a heater or fireplace, and it’s even more so when you make a pillow fort.

Carpets provide the foundation for a true home, and since they are such a long-term investment, their upkeep far outweighs our weekly vacuum runs. Carpets bring life to your interiors in a way that nothing else can. They add a touch of elegance, opulence, and welcoming warmth to the room. But none of this is possible without a clean and tidy carpet. A stained or dirty carpet may be an eyesore. Carpets may develop a bad odor and become a breeding ground for bacteria and germs in some cases.

What is the solution? Carpet Cleaning. Carpets, thankfully, are not difficult to clean. Daily vacuuming will keep the carpet tidy in terms of regular dust. Just don’t put it off and make carpet cleaning an annual task; you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble. Professional carpet cleaning services are always available, and we recommend that you do so at least once every six months.

However, we’ve compiled a list of 7 carpet cleaning DIY ways to help you keep your carpeting in tip-top shape when you face certain spills or stains:

Chewing Gum – Wrap a towel around some ice and put it over the gums. It will harden over time, and you should be able to scrape it off with lukewarm water later.
Mud / Non-Oily Foods – Chocolate, ice cream, confectionery, and other popular foods and treats are the easiest to deal with. With a clean tissue or fabric, scrape off what you can while being careful not to spread it further. Combine some water and some liquid soap or mild detergent. There should be no more than a quarter of a teaspoon of soap in your final cleaning agent. You can use soapy water. Dab the region with a tissue or cloth dipped in the solution until the removal of the spill. Rinse the region with lukewarm water (by dabbing, of course).

Pet Urine / Droppings – Even though we adore them, there are times when we wish they wouldn’t relieve themselves at the most inconvenient times. Organic carpet stain removers and cleaning agents are available in most modern pet shops for situations like these. If you don’t have one, clean up what you can right away if you don’t have one. After that, make a cleaning solution with 1 cup white vinegar and 1 cup lukewarm water. Use a spray bottle if possible, but a cloth dipped in the solution will suffice. Allow sitting for a few minutes after applying to the soiled field. Blot with a dry cloth after about 5 minutes. If the stain persists, add some baking soda on top and clean it with the vinegar mixture. If you don’t have baking soda on hand, substitute club soda.

Cosmetics – Soapy water can wash the majority of make-up stains. To remove more stubborn stains you may use make-up remover, but be careful not to ruin the carpet. Never use nail polish remover on your carpet because it can bleach it and cause harm. If you have acetone on hand, dilute it and use it for tougher stains. This approach will not cure nail polish stains.
 

Oily or Spicy Food – This goes well with most Indian dishes as well as other greasy dishes like pizza and pasta. Remove as much as you can with a cloth or tissue first. With a blunt knife, scrape away any remaining food. A butter knife will suffice. With a spoon handle, you might be able to achieve a similar result. After that, cover the area with a sheet of paper towels or tissue paper. Use the lowest heat setting on a clothes iron. To absorb the oil and grease, iron the paper towels. Apply just light pressure. The grease can penetrate deep into the fibers if ironed forcefully. If the spill is big, you may need to replace the tissues and repeat the process. Prepare a cleaning agent with a little white vinegar, soap, and lukewarm water until the oil has been removed. Dab the infected region with a towel. Last but not least, shower with lukewarm water. For more stubborn stains left by Haldi and other food colors, Hydrogen Peroxide is a better solution. Check out the section below for more information about how to use it.
Turmeric stains/Dyes/Nail-Paint – Normally, this is the stage at which you put an end to all DIY efforts and call in the professionals. However, if you’re feeling brave, you can use household chemicals to remove these stains. Please be aware that these items can cause damage to your carpet!
 

Gravy/Mayonnaise stain –On synthetic fiber carpets or rugs: Blot with a white cloth after adding a tiny amount of solvent. Allow for a drying time of 15 minutes. If required, do it again. Rinse with lukewarm water and a white towel. After 15 minutes, use a dry white cloth to soak up the excess liquid.
Natural Fiber Carpet/Rugs: (For Gravy) – Spray the stain with a natural-fiber carpet detergent solution, or ammonia solution, then blot with a dry white cloth. Sometimes spraying the stain with vinegar solution and blotting with a dry white cloth also works. (For Mayonnaise) – Spray the stain with a detergent solution and then blot it with a dry cloth followed by ammonia solution, followed by vinegar solution and then blot it with a white dry cloth. Reapply the detergent solution and blot it with a dry white cloth and that completes your final step.
Here are some hacks that will help you keep your carpet the classy catch that it is.

Say goodbye to pet hair with a Squeegee – With just a vacuum cleaner, pet fur is notoriously difficult to scrub. Lint rollers can also be ineffective because we’re cleaning the whole surface area, and shedding may be overwhelming for certain dogs. If your carpet has really short hair, the trusty squeegee will suffice. While the squeegee is designed for windows, it is also designed to dislodge gunk, ice, and other substances that form thin layers and stick to a surface, just like pet hair on a short-hair carpet. Simply wet the squeegee and use it as you would on a fan.

Special Care For Your Shag Carpets – True, shag carpets have made a comeback as a must-have item in your home, but that doesn’t mean they’ve gotten any easier to clean. Most vacuums, on the other hand, have such intense suction that they cause carpets to shed as fibers are pulled in, become frizzy, or simply fall loose. It’s as if you’ve got a cat at home. Simply vacuum only with the hose connection to prevent these shedding episodes. You can get right down to the roots of the fibers without causing any damage to the weave.

The Power Of Vinegar To Fluff Your Carpet – When it comes to carpet treatment, vinegar has many applications similar to baking soda, and one of the most interesting is to fluff up high-traffic areas where the carpet already looks worn out and the fabrics have flattened. Vinegar is diluted in equal parts water and sprayed on the affected area. If the cloth has absorbed the mixture, use a standard spoon to remove the fibres and preserve their original shape by running it sideways over the carpeting.

Baking Soda Combats Oil Stains – Oil is one of the most difficult stains to clear from carpets, and you can’t always handle these stains with hot water and the dabbing method. Baking soda saves both your life and your carpet by extracting oils from carpets in a unique way. Apply liberally to the stain region and leave before the baking soda absorbs the stain and forms a dry layer, which you can vacuum to remove the stain and reveal a much lighter stain. You can only dab the stain after the majority of the oil has been absorbed.

Well, now that we have covered enough tricks and tips for you to understand the process for carpet cleaning. Now, get up and get on it. Your home will be once again a pleasant sight for sore eyes. Your homely cocoon where you will spend the rest of your life happily with your loved ones. And when you’re not in the mood to clean, we’re just a call away!