P.B. asks from Spring, TX on October 21, 2008
"Green" and GREAT Carpet Cleaner
I have an old Electrolux carpet cleaner and am looking for a toxic free solution I can use in it (I ran out of the brand they recommend). I normally use all Shaklee cleaning products in my home, but they don't recommend any of their cleaners for carpet cleaning.....works to make water "wetter" and certainly don't need that for carpets. There are many pet urine stains that refuse to come up and my 14 yr. old DD is a slob and has spilled MANY juices and liquids upstairs. She and her buddies also got purple hair dye all over her bedroom/bathroom carpet, could use any suggestions on how to get it out too. The carpet is 15 years old, but in great shape otherwise. HELP!!
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S.S. answers from Houston on October 22, 2008
I rescued a dog that bled badly on my carpet. I had a professional come in and the stain was still pinkish. I used hydrogen peroxide on it and it came out with no damage to my carpet! I have since used it on some other stubborn carpet stains and have had a lot of success. Cheap and worth a try.
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H.H. answers from Houston on October 22, 2008
If you're looking for "green" products that are ready made, tHere is a wonderful company called BioKleen that has all purpose cleaners. You may check them out. They have some BioKleen products at my Kroger, but the Natural Food store has more. Also, Mrs. Meyers is a really good brand. It is very green, though they have some preservatives (something they feel is necessary for their products). You can buy Mrs. Meyers at Health/Natural food stores and online.
I'm not real sure about stains, but both companies are very good and sell stuff that would be appropriate, i think.
I'm a big user of just vinegar, baking soda, peroxide, and water. Peroxide and fresh lemon juice will basically work as a bleach, so you might try them on a small part of the carpet to see if it takes away carpet color, then try it on stains. I use baking soda sprinkled on the carpet as a deoderizer. Vinegar is AMAZING, and might be just the thing too. IF you have those things around the house, you might try them first.
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L.M. answers from Houston on October 22, 2008
VINEGAR, VINEGAR, VINEGAR...is a great cleaner/disinfector. Use white vinegar, though. The dark one can stain. You can spot clean pet "marks" and other stains with vinegar directly, then use a cloth to soak up. Don't rub the carpet, put a towel over it, step on it to soak up the wet.
For carpet cleaner, add 1/4 cup to each time you fill the water trough.
I live in Galveston and our house was flooded by Ike. All of our clothes, blankets, towels, etc. that we left got wet. I was able to get them out and washed them. I used scoop of detergent, scoop of oxy-clean, and 2 cups of vinegar per load. My whites have never been whiter, stains came out, and the yucky stink in them was gone.
Vinegar is one of the best cleaners there is and it's not harmful to people or the environment.
Any carpet solution you use in a carpet cleaner or spot cleaning will leave a residue on the carpet. This residue will then attract dirt and soil. That is why lots of time you clean a stain with spot remover, then it just seems to come back again. The original stain doesn't actually "come back". It's the cleaner residue left on the carpet that all dirt/soil to sticking to.
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L.H. answers from Killeen on October 22, 2008
Hi P.',,,,,
i don't know about the machine you are talking about but just plain old proxide in the brown bottle is a miracle and it leaves a clean but no scent smell for hard stains use it straight for lesser use a HALF AND HALF SOLUTION
Good Luck L.
M.D. answers from Austin on October 22, 2008
I use Melaleuca products and they work great! I think that their Sol-U-Mel product is exactly what you are looking for! It's safe to use in carpet cleaners and it got ink stains out of my husbands truck seat and urine stains out of the carpet, even kool-aid stains! Just go to melaleuca.com and you can order it from their website. It is a little pricey but definitely worth it! Good Luck!
J.L. answers from Austin on October 22, 2008
I have three cats, who leave pet stains on my white carpet. I get all of them up with Melaleuca's products. I put them all in my Steam Cleaner and it works great. No chemicals either.
For really stubborn stains I spray first with PreSpot Laundry Stain Remover, and then mix in my cleaner: MelaPower Laundry Detergent and Tough and Tender. If I need to get out black greasy stains from outside (my kids rode their scooters through the house one day and left streaks), then I throw in some MelaMagic.
I love these products. I get pet stains out with just the PreSpot most of the time.
J.
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V.B. answers from Houston on October 21, 2008
I'm not sure how this would work in a carpet cleaning machine, but for pet stains and spills, we use just vinegar and water. It sounds too simple to actually work, but it was recommended by a carpet cleaning company that came to clean the carpets in our last house because we used to use a "pet stain remover" on our carpets and it seemed fine until they came to steam clean and then it left big bleached out spots on the carpet. He said to use just vinegar and water and it would work just as well without bleaching it. I didn't think it would work that great, but I have been amazed. That stuff gets out anything! Again, it may not work in a carpet cleaning machine (might smell too much since it is vinegar), but you could pre-treat with that (or use it for everyday stains) and see how it works. Good luck!
B.R. answers from Austin on October 22, 2008
Pet stains - Nature's Miracle. You can get it at PetSmart or Petco by the gallon. It's safe as it is some type enzyme. I used it in a rented carpet cleaner in combination with whatever detergent they recommended. But you can put it directly on the carpet full strength. Follow the directions on the bottle.
S.S. answers from Houston on October 22, 2008
I rescued a dog that bled badly on my carpet. I had a professional come in and the stain was still pinkish. I used hydrogen peroxide on it and it came out with no damage to my carpet! I have since used it on some other stubborn carpet stains and have had a lot of success. Cheap and worth a try.
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