How to Remove Difficult Stains From A Carpet

For about a year I had been hiding some very obvious grease stains on my carpet from view by covering it with a sofa. However, I decided it was time to give myself a mental refresh and move some furniture around when I remembered the stains were still there.
So, I hit the internet to try and find out which carpet cleaning products could help me. After trying a few store-bought products, I wasn’t having much luck. The stains were stubborn, and I thought there was no hope left for my carpet. Then I found this method, which was super effective and removed the stains really easily. If you have a stain on your carpet that won’t budge, here’s how to remove it in 5 easy steps.
Before
Step 1 - Buy Some Cleaning Products
For this method, you don’t need to buy any expensive cleaning products. You only need two ingredients: baking soda, and vinegar. Before trying this method, I had heard about the wonders of this combination, but never really believed it could be better than the expensive carpet cleaning products available. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong!
I bought some pure baking soda from the cleaning section at the store. Then I decanted some vinegar into an empty spray bottle and mixed it with some water, to make the application easier.
Step 2 - Apply Baking Soda to the Stain
Once you’re armed with your cleaning products, you will first need to apply a healthy amount of baking soda to the affected area. My stains were quite large, so I used about ¾ of the box and rubbed it in a little to cover the whole area.
Step 3 - Apply the Vinegar Solution and Wait
Once your stains are adequately coated with baking soda, you can then spray on the vinegar-water solution. As with the baking soda, apply it generously and try to moisten the baking soda as much as possible, as this will help the products to attack the stains more efficiently. Once it’s applied, you’ll need to leave the chemicals to work their magic for a few hours before returning to complete the process.
Step 4 - Scrub and Vaccum
After a few hours, you can start the cleanup operation. The first thing you’ll want to do is work the baking soda into the carpet a little using a scrubbing brush. This will help the solution to tackle the most stubborn parts of the stain before you remove it. Once you’ve done this, you can then use a vacuum cleaner to remove all of the baking soda and voila! You should have a clean, stain-free carpet once again!
After
This method worked wonders for me, and hopefully, it can help you to achieve a perfectly clean carpet too. Good luck!
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Donna Hughes on Oct 15, 2020
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Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Have you tried 409 Carpet Cleaner? It took the grease right out of my carpet.
Will that wet solution end up messing up the vacuum cleaner?
I have red cough syrup on carpet. Without checking-in, I put powdered borax on stain. I can see it pulling up the syrup BUT a little late I'm not sure how to remove it all. Am thinking to use vacuum and then the water application and let dry before vacuuming again. Any suggestions?