How to Clean Carpet with Baking Soda and Vinegar

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Carpets can dramatically elevate the feel and ambiance of your home, so we understand your frustration when a carpet is all dirty and full of stains.

Luckily, there’s no need to fret over it. You can still maintain your carpet’s tip-top condition without spending a dime. Common kitchen ingredients like baking soda and vinegar are convenient, environment-friendly, and practical for cleaning a carpet.

Read on for more tips on how to clean your carpet with baking soda and vinegar.

How to Clean Carpet Using Baking Soda and Vinegar

A clever method to remove those unwanted stains is using a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. It can draw out even the toughest stains. It’ll also remove greasy and non-greasy stains, even the old ones!

Here’s how you can prepare the mixture:

1. Combine one tablespoon of white vinegar with about 4 cups of lukewarm water.
2. Spray the mixture on the stain to dampen the area.
3. Pour baking soda into the damp area, covering the entire stain.
4. A fizzing sound with bubbling will tell you that a reaction is happening. The mixture is slowly working its way on the stain.
5. Leave it for an hour to soften the stain. You may let it stay overnight for optimal results.
6. As the vinegar dries, there should be no smell left lingering. Use a soft brush to scrub the stain and a dry washcloth to wipe off the residue.
7. You can now vacuum the remaining baking soda.
8. If a stain persists after following the steps, you can repeat the steps until your carpet is spotless.

The Science Behind Vinegar: How Does It Remove Carpet Stains?

There’s something about vinegar that makes it a household favorite cleaning agent to remove gunk and clean stains. It’s said to be an all-purpose cleaner with antiseptic properties. It’s organic, inexpensive, and causes little to no health concerns.

Vinegar is basically water and acetic acid. It’s a weak or mild type of acid that’s considered to be harmless. The reason why vinegar can lift stains is due to how it reacts with the stain’s molecules. It can easily break down and dissolve the chemical components found in it, removing any bad smells in the process.

How to Remove Carpet Stains with Vinegar

White vinegar is ideal for removing soft stains. It can work well on your pet’s pee or some spilled beverages. The best thing about it is that it leaves no odor behind and removes any foul odors from your carpet.

Do the process as follows:

1. Dilute four tablespoons of vinegar with 2 cups of warm water. It will reduce its acidity and guarantee optimal results.
2. Spray the diluted vinegar on the stain.
3. Allow the mixture to stay and break down the stain for thirty minutes.
4. Use a clean and dry washcloth or paper towel to absorb the stain until it transfers to the cloth.
5. You may need to do a little scrubbing to make it work. It’ll eventually come out, leaving no smell behind.

A word of advice: not all materials might react well with vinegar. Before misting your vinegar and water concoction on the stained carpet, try it on the underside and see how it reacts after a few minutes. Proceed with the process if there are no adverse effects.

How to Remove Carpet Stains With Baking Soda

Let’s not downplay baking soda as a mere baking ingredient. It can do much more than give your baked goodies the lift they need to achieve that fluffy texture. When mixed with water or vinegar, its chemical reaction makes it an effective fabric stain remover.

Some stains don’t easily come off the first time you try, while others tend to be stubborn and become worse when scrubbing them off.

Understanding the nature of your carpet stain is a clever way to identify how to remove it efficiently. It spares you time, effort, and money. Here’s how to clean each stain:

Is the Carpet Stain Greasy or Oil-Based?

Grease stains or oil-based stains can be taxing but aren’t permanent. These stains are usually the result of oily products coming in contact with your carpet.

First, remove as much oil residue from the carpet as possible using a clean and dry paper towel to absorb it. Don’t try to scrub it off. It may make the stain worse or damage the material.

Dust baking soda generously over the stained area and leave it until a crust forms. Leave the powder sitting until the next day before vacuuming it. This ensures that all residual oil is absorbed.

The stains should be gone after these steps, but you can always repeat them once more if you have a particularly stubborn stain.

Is the Carpet Stain Non-Greasy?

Non-greasy stains are those that don’t have oil-based residues. They most likely happen due to spilling liquids over the carpet. These stains are easier to fix, but you may need to re-do the steps several times to get a particularly stubborn stain out.

To fix a non-greasy stain, pour a generous amount of baking soda on the stained part. Then, use a spray bottle filled with water to dampen the white powder.

The key here is only to moisten the stain. A spray bottle will allow you to gain control of the amount of water you use.

It’s essential not to try and scrub off the stain, or it’ll worsen.

Leave the damp baking soda on the stain overnight for maximum absorption. Vacuum it the next day.

Final Thoughts

It’s such a relief that you don’t have to quickly dispose of your well-loved carpet the minute it gets that stubborn stain or dirt.

These decorative rugs can get stained frequently when kids and pets play at home. An all-natural approach with baking soda and vinegar is a brilliant way to cut costs, save the environment, and reduce exposure to harmful ingredients.