Dogs and carpet don’t mix. In fact, country living and carpet don’t mix either…
Unfortunately for me, when we purchased our house, it had brand-new, white Berber carpet. Me, being the frugal person that I am, wouldn’t dream of ripping out brand new carpet… So, here we are.
Our dogs have a knack of finding and eating the nastiest things. I would bet we are pushing a world record on how many times I have cleaned up various forms of nastiness in our house… I will spare you the details.
Let just say that the lastest escapade involved a porcupine. And the porcupine didn’t win.
Anyway, I’ve spent a lot of money trying different brands of carpet cleaners. Some worked better than others, but I go through large quantities.
Then one day out of pure desperation, I tried baking soda and vinegar. And… it worked! Baking soda and vinegar are good for many, many things, but I’ve rarely heard them recommended for carpet. I’ve purchased many different brands of spot cleaners over the years, but I always find myself coming back to this simple, frugal, and all-natural stand-by.
(If you are worried about discoloration, please test on a small, hidden area first. I’ve never had problems with that, but you never know…)
Homemade Carpet or Spot Cleaner
Supplies:
- White vinegar
- Baking Soda (not baking powder– there is a difference!)
- Lemon essential oil (optional– I use doTERRA essential oils exclusively in my home)
- Old towels or rags
Directions:
1. If using the lemon essential oil, mix it with the baking soda, then sprinkle the mixture on the spot. Allow it to sit on the stain for a little while– anywhere from an hour to overnight. Lemon is a wonderful all-around cleaner, and it helps to deodorize the carpet as well. If you aren’t using the lemon, then sprinkle plain baking soda over the stain.
2. Mix a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and water in a spray bottle (remember to repurpose!) Generously spray this mixture on the baking soda and allow it to fizz.
3. Lay a towel or rag over the wet spot and press on it to absorb the moisture. I’ve heard it’s not recommended to “scrub” carpet, since it can damage the fibers. However, you can bet I’ve definitely done some scrubbing at my house in moments of desperation… *ahem* Proceed at your own risk.
4. Depending on the severity and age of the stain, you may have to repeat this process more than once.
It make take several applications, but I have had great luck at removing the toughest of stains. And, it’s all natural so you don’t have to worry about any toxic chemicals in your house. And, it sure beats driving the 80 mile round trip to town to pick up spot cleaner…
Well, if you will excuse me now, I’m off to pick porcupine quills out of my carpet….
Want more cleaning tips? You’re in luck!
- My Latest eBook, The Essential Homestead, contains a whole chapter on DIY cleaning tips. Plus, it’s FREE for subscribers!
- •DIY Screen Cleaner (for TVs or Laptops)
- •My All-Natural Cleaning Cabinet
- •3 Ways to Naturally Freshen your Garbage Disposal
- •Homemade All-Purpose Citrus Cleaner
About Jill Winger
I have also had success on carpet stains with my antibacterial norwex cleaning cloth. They are costly up front, but I can use plain water and the norwex cloth to rub out stains. No I do not sell them, got mine at a neighbors party.
yeah, it’s true – dogs and carpet definitely do not mix. so thank god for backing soda
Would this mixture work in a shampooer? What do u think?
No- I wouldn’t put this in a shampooer. However, I just bought my own carpet cleaner machine and have been researching natural homemade alternatives. Seems like a lot of people just use plain hot water or a splash of white vinegar instead of the chemical soaps. Some recipes call for adding laundry or dish soap, but I’ve heard several “professionals” say not to do that.
just getting ready to get out the bissell but needed something for a prespot. figured might as well check pinterest and see if anyone had used baking soda and vinegar before. and here you are. vinegar in your machine is also a good after shampoo cleaner. removes cleaning residue from your carpet. kind of like rinsing with vinegar after shampooing your hair.
hi, i tried this and it actually took the spots off. however…… i now have white spots from the baking soda that dont seem to be coming up. i i didnt use a lot of baking soda and the rug is not bleached from the vinegar. im afraid to start messing with it . any suggestions out there?
Did you try vaccuming up the excess baking soda? Or you also might try adding a touch more vinegar to the unreacted soda and then dabbing it up.
tried vaccuming but that didnt help. just tried more vinegar , hoping that will do it. some spots still had a reaction some didnt. `~ sigh~ maybe my rug is just that dirty
Would this bleach the carpet?? I am scared to use it!
I’ve never had any trouble with it bleaching the carpet, but definitely try it on just a small area first.
do this mix helps with the nasty smell of the carpet?
The baking soda should definitely help the smell. However, if it’s still lingering, try mixing a few drops of lemon essential oil with 1/4-1/2 cup of baking soda. Sprinkle it on the carpet, let it sit overnight, then vaccuum up in the morning.
It should help, but if you really want some deodorizing power, try mixing some lemon essential oil with 1/4 cup of baking soda, sprinkle on the spot, leave overnight, then vaccum the next morning.
I wonder if this same recipe would work for stubborn stains on clothing?
You could give it a try! Another thing you might try is rubbing straight lemon essential oil on the stain. Or even straight liquid dish soap.
Thank you for this! I wish I would have found it a week ago today! We had to let a sick, newborn calf stay over night in the hallway outside the kid’s bedrooms. And it has carpet. And why, when some baby animal wiggles it’s way off the blanket, does it’s behind end up being the end that sticks off the blankets?
YUCK!! I knew I should have ripped up that carpet last year when I ripped out the dining room carpet. Oh, well…. My sweet husband got off work and went to Palestine to rent a steam cleaner for me. Next time, I’ll try this first. Probably sooner than I want to. Our youngest Great Dane sleeps in the living room at night, & I haven’t figured out how to teach him to wipe his feet before coming in.
Oh yes, I can relate!! I’ve had more animal messes like that than i can count!
Thanks for posting this it’s very timely for me. My (91 year old) mother lives in a senior apartment and periodically spills on her carpet. Right now there is something I don’t recognize and I’ll need to clean it. I will definitely try this method.
Hope it works for you Joy!
My grandma shared this magic recipe with me the first time my dog got skunked. We’ve since used it for vile stinky nasty vomit upchucks. for getting the stink out of carpet, and the dogs (as in skunk spray!) this stuff works! Mix for each use. It won’t keep or store.
1 cup hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tsp liquid Castile soap (as in doc bonners) or you can use dish soap.
Expand as needed for the volume needed.
Yes! I’ve used that recipe on my skunked dogs too! It’s magic! Never thought to try it on carpet though– good idea.
Would you have to rinse the carpet after using this magic recipe?
I don’t Joni– but I’m sure you could if you think there is too much baking soda or vinegar left in the carpet.
Love both these recipes. Alyse – does the peroxide bleach the carpet at all?
My grandma always, always had white carpets in her ranch home. (with those plastic matts on the floor!) NO ONE was allowed into the house with shoes or even clothes that had been out in the fields and barn. Nor even grandpa. If you wanted to hear grandma hollar…this transgression would bring it on! At the back side door there was a mud room and direct access to the basement shower.
I’ve used it on carpets that were in rental homes over the years. The carpets were synthetic fibers and it worked without stripping the color.
You can always test on a part of the carpet that is hidden, like in the closet? I always tried to rinse as much out of the carpet as I could.
Hi! Professional Carpet Cleaner here (26+years). These are all great ideas. None of these combinations should have a bleaching effect, but the residue of baking soda and/ or a ‘clean spot’ would be my guess on the white spots left. One trick that works SUPER for large, deep spots and stains: after you put down your diluted cleaning agent, layer absorbent towels, then something heavy (with a plastic layer in between if your something heavy is absorbent). Leave in place for hours, up to a day. Repeat. The cleaning agent will loosen the soil, the weight will cause the stain to ‘wick up’ into the absorbent material. If people knew this trick we would have less business.
)
The thing about dish soap is liquid detergents ‘never dry’: they leave a sticky residue. And they are so concentrated it is easy to use to much. There are some stains that will only respond to a high-alkaline cleaning agent, in which case use sparingly and rinse with vinegar solution (acid) to neutralize and remove the residue.
My home cleaning is moving more and more toward home-made cleaning products, thanks for the good ideas!
Wow– it’s great to hear from a Pro! Thanks for sharing your tips– I really like the towel idea!
I could definitely use some spot cleaning at my house. I will try this out.
“Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission whenever a product is purchased through these links.”
Well, that’s interesting. You should post that little gem on top of your page in BIG letters so that your readers know you are endorsing doTERRA solely for monetary gain.
I’m not endorsing doTERRA solely for monetary gain- and I think it’s rather unfair to say that. I’m endorsing doTERRA because I’m in love with their products and they have worked splendidly for my family and I- so much so that I choose to sell them. I don’t see a problem with becoming a distributor for a product you personally use and love.
Blogging takes a tremendous amount of time. and it costs money to run a blog. I use the money I earn from affiliate links on my blog (not just doTERRA, but also companies like Cultures for Health and Mountain Rose Herbs) to help to offset these costs.
I use this same mixture, although for things that I do not want to let sit (let alone overnight, I use the shop vac to vacuum up the mess and it works wonders!
Gotta love Shop Vacs!