Carpet Cleaning

I have Bissell Pro Heat steam machine that I use regularly.

So far, not 1 company has ever cleaned my carpet the way I feel it should be cleaned so I just do it myself. The Bissell I have now is my 3rd one.

We have light colored carpet, 3 dogs and a 13 yr old girl. I use the heavy duty carpet shampoo, rinse with vinegar water and then a final rinse with vinegar water.

For spot cleaning, i use the aerosol can of Zep from Home Depot and if the spot is really bad, I will use a steam iron on a paper towel to steam it.

Good luck! Cleaning carpets is no fun the the end result is great!

spot shot gets out most anything. Candle wax remover will remove crayon. Hair spray removes ink.

Hello! I just started using baking soda and water. You sprinkle the baking soda and spray with a light coat of water, let dry completely and vacuum. It works great!

I agree with the others. Hot water and thorough rinsing are key. I usually rinse and re-rinse. The soaps and specialty cleaners do make more spots so I try to avoid using them. You can use diluted all purpose cleaner (like Mrs. Meyers, Method, Clorox Greenworks)instead of the chemically carpet shampoos (you don't want your kiddo rolling around in the leftover residue from them). Test before you do the whole floor!! It only takes a little and I usually do this so there is a nice scent, so it smells and looks like I did something!! Otherwise vinegar/water/baking soda combos are the best.

When we bought our carpet 4 years ago the salesman told us to NEVER use cleaners on the carpet. He told us to only use HOT water in our steam cleaner. The hot water opens up the fibers in the carpet so that the dirt can be sucked out. When we use cleaners, residue is left behind and it acts like a magnet for dirt... mystery spots appear.

D.
SAHM mom of three:19,18,and 5
Home Baker and Candy Maker (listed in Momma Source). Married
to the same wonderful man for almost 12 years.

www.marthastewart.com

Hi Bobbie, I specialize in steam cleaning tile & grout and carpet. I offer very reasonable prices and an additional 10% off to mamasource members. In addition, I am running a special this month for half price Scotch Guard carpet protectant and half price Dupont grout line sealant. If interested in a free quote, feel free to contact me (N. Stout) at ###-###-####. My site is at www.TheTurboTec.com.

I couldn't survive without Resolve. I have 2 boys!!

Depending on how much time you have on your hands, you can try to scrub each spot as they appear. Or, you could call Fiber-Seal of Dallas, have them clean your carpets and protect them, and then call them for FREE to re-clean and re-protect any spots that your little darling makes! If you call me, B. Biehl, at ###-###-#### and reference Mamasource, I'll give you a 10% discount, too. 50 cents/sq ft for each service, but no nickel & diming for the spot calls, even if you call us out once a week for the entire year.

We also clean and protect sofas and loveseats, too!

OK, enough commercial...seriously, though, it really matters what type of carpet you have. Wool carpet should never be treated with hot water - it'll shrink. Most stains will come out with a mild soapy solution, but if the Ph level is too acidic, it'll eat the carpet. Oxy-Clean products will leave a permanent light spot if not rinsed out completely, and ReSolve tends to leave a sticky residue that attracts more dirt, thus making it necessary to use more, again and again. The more often this happens, the more worn your carpets get. That dirt is acting like sandpaper to the fibers, so make sure to rinse it with a room-temp water rinse.

Dry-Cleaning a carpet is simply dumping a bunch of chemicals onto your carpet, and while it will be dry to the touch when it's done, it'll re-soil a whole lot faster since it has all of those sticky chemicals still on the fibers. Kinda like when you don't get all of the soap off your hands...yuck.

Hope this helps!

First of all, if you have a home steam cleaner, use HOT water. Even if the machine claims to heat the water, it can only do it so quickly and to so high of a temp. Use HOT (not boiling) water every other cleaning. If you want to use carpet shampoo, use it every other cleaning as well. On the times you don't use the shampoo, the water only cycle with re-activate the left over shampoo. And, I agree - the no shoes rule is great but I live in a house with 4 kids, one dog, and 2 adults. No shoes is not realistic for us when kids go out to play, in to potty, out to play, in to get a toy, out to play.... you get my point.

I have a no shoes, no food rule. That keeps dirt and stains down to a minimum. Also, frequent vacuuming keeps dirt from being ground in. But in the real world my carpets were always dirty. I used a steam cleaner with ammonia and water to clean about every three months. If a spot was bad I would clean it with ammonia and pine cleaner. It smells terrible and you should open a window when you use it but it will clean ugly off an ape! I also did a second pass with the steam cleaner and plain water. This will remove residue that can attract and hold dirt. Happy cleaning! If you have problem areas an area rug can help but watch out because they can be slip and trip hazards.