Using harsh chemicals with complicated names to strip stains and odors from your carpet is good for neither your home, your family, nor the environment. These chemicals can get into the air and cause damage to your and your family members’ eyes and respiratory systems. Instead, use baking soda to remove carpet odors caused by anything from spilled food to pet odors or years of heavy foot traffic.

Before deodorizing, be sure to vacuum your carpets thoroughly and completely. We start by vacuuming our carpets so that we can pick up all dirt particles before we begin deodorizing. This way, you start deodorizing with a clean carpet, yielding the freshest results possible. When vacuuming, focus on heavily trafficked areas such as doorway entrances and spots around where people sit. Take advantage of your vacuum’s attachments to clean any hard-to-reach places, such as the space between the carpet and the wall.

Once you’ve vacuumed the carpet and you’re sure it’s clean, let your family know what you’re doing and ask them to kindly not walk on the area you’re treating until you’re done and it’s clean.

Next, sprinkle baking soda very liberally over the affected area. You want to cover the carpet completely. Don’t be cheap! Baking soda is harmless, so more is best. Since baking soda tends to clump up, consider transferring it to a shaker before applying to your carpet; this way, the baking soda will distribute more evenly across the carpet. Remember to use fresh baking soda rather than a box that has been sitting open. The fresher the baking soda, the more smells it will be able to absorb.

Now it’s time to scrub the baking soda into the carpet using a sponge or brush. Make sure it gets deep into the fibers of your carpet and all the way to the bottom. If your carpet is long or shaggy, this is a particularly essential step. Make sure every part of the carpet is coated with baking soda. An old sock or t-shirt also works for rubbing the baking soda deep into your carpet.

Let the baking soda sit for at least 24 hours. The longer you let the baking soda sit on the carpet, the better and fresher your results will be. Don’t walk on the affected area for as long as the baking soda is sitting, as it will get tracked through the house and your end result won’t be as fresh.

Finally, use a dry vacuum cleaner to suck up the baking soda. Be sure to go slowly and apply pressure. Work in small sections, and go over each section several times. The baking soda is going to take time and effort to clean up, but as long as the carpet doesn’t get wet at all, it should get sucked right up with no problems.

Once the carpet is vacuumed, get on your hands and knees to inspect. Any areas that don’t come out as fresh can be spot treated. Create a solution made in a 3:1 ration with warm water and lemon juice. Spray the affected area with a little bit of solution and let dry. Continue this process until the affected area is clean.

If you’ve got light colored carpets in your home, the absolute last thing you’ll want to happen is a coffee spill. No matter how careful you are about carrying your cup of hot coffee, accidents always happen. Luckily, coffee is a relatively easy stain to clean, especially when compared to things like wine and mud. There are a few different ways of combating this type of stain and preventing it from setting.

The biggest takeaway from this article should be to act quickly. The sooner you begin working on the spill, the better the outcome will be. Waiting to clean, procrastinating or just ignoring it will only cause the stain to set, resulting in a discoloration in your once pristine carpet.

Coffee spills are relatively easy to tackle. One way to handle this type of stain is by utilizing some products that are probably just sitting in your cabinets. To create a DIY coffee stain remover, you will need baking soda, white vinegar, a mild detergent and a spray bottle.

This method is most effective when the stain is still wet. The key to this process is to try and gently absorb as much of the coffee as possible before the spill begins to dry. While the stain is wet, rest a dry sponge or dry paper towel on the affected area. Blot lightly to get the liquid out of the fibers. Remember: blot, don’t rub!

Next, place some detergent on the stain. Try not to rub the detergent into the fabric, as this may only exacerbate the stain. Fill the spray bottle with water and spray the area you were just cleaning before softly patting it dry with paper towels. Now, sprinkle baking soda on the area to absorb any moisture left over. After letting the baking soda sit for a few minutes, use a dry vacuum cleaner to clean it up. If this doesn’t sufficiently remove the coffee stain, treat the area with a solution made from equal parts water and vinegar.

A second way to approach this is to use a commercial stain remover. This is especially effective if the stain is old and has already dried up. When choosing a commercial cleaner, be sure it will work with the specific carpet fibers that your carpet has. There are products on the market that were developed specifically to target coffee stains, as well. Follow the instructions on the bottle, but as a general rule, dampen the affected area before applying the cleaning product.

There is one, single, fundamental rule when dealing with potentially troublesome stains to your carpets: act as quickly as you can. This means not letting the stain sit any longer than it already has.

Step one is to blot the stain with a clean cloth or paper towel. Since paper towel is a little more absorbent than cloth towels, we recommend using that for lifting the liquid from your carpets. Never rub the stain, as that will only force it deeper into the fibers. Continue blotting with paper towels until no more liquid is coming from the carpet.

There are several different approaches to removing such a heavy stain from your carpet. One way to tackle this is to use a gentle dish detergent such as Dawn to get the stain out. Mix together a 1 Tsp of dish soap with a quart of warm water to create a cleaning solution. Put the solution into a spray bottle. Before spraying the affected area, spot test on an inconspicuous part of your carpet to be sure that the soapy solution doesn’t cause discoloration. As you spray the stained area, be sure to blot the liquid with a clean white rag or paper towel. Once the stain is mostly removed, repeat this process with a solution made from two parts white vinegar and one part water. Use the mixture to dampen the affected area, while blotting further with a clean rag or paper towel. Once the stain is completely gone, clean the area again with water. This method will work on both coffee and wine stains.

A second way to removing a red wine or coffee stain is to blot with a dry cloth until the excess liquid is gone, then pour some cold water directly onto the stain. This way, you dilute what’s left of the stain, loosening it up and making it easier to absorb through blotting. Continue blotting with a rag or paper towels until the stain comes out entirely. Finally, you must use baking soda as the final punch to eradicate the stain. You can do this one of two ways. You can either make a paste from a 3:1 radio of water to baking soda, or simply pour baking soda directly on the affected area. Let the dry baking soda or baking soda paste sit for an hour or until the paste is dry. Finally, vacuum over the affected area, vacuuming up all the baking soda.

Even fast action and determination can’t remove every stain completely. For stains that linger before treatment, and for serious and deeply embedded carpet stains, it’s most advisable to call a professional carpet cleaner. Most professional carpet cleaning companies offer services specifically to combat permanent and aggressive carpet stains such as those caused by coffee and wine. Inquire on the types of cleaning compounds and methods employed, as well as the types of training the employees have undergone, before hiring a carpet cleaning professional and inviting him or her into your home.

Still have problems with stubborn wine stains? Contact Sir Clean Pro to help you remove it!

It’s springtime here in Barrie, ON and your most trusted carpet cleaner Sir Clean Pro has new tips on carpet cleaning for you. Since many pet owners will be taking their pets out more that means one thing – dirty carpets.

Pets are responsible for bringing us lots of joy, but they can also be a source of frustration. Pet owners regularly struggle with cleaning after pets and keeping their susceptible home surfaces free of animal hair. No spot in your house takes more of a beating in this regard than your carpets.

Keeping carpets clean should always be an ongoing process, especially in the case of pet owners. This process begins with vacuuming. Vacuuming your carpets is a good start for getting pet hair out, but sometimes the hair becomes intertwined in the fibers, making it difficult to remove. Vacuum cleaners often have appendages and attachments that can be used on different surfaces. We recommend using one of your vacuum’s attachments on your furniture’s upholstery as well, as pet hair can become attached or embedded in the fabric. For hair in the carpet and upholstery that the vacuum cleaner can’t reach, we recommend going over the affected areas with a lint roller or strip of duct tape.

One preventative way of keeping pet hair out of your carpets is by investing in a bed or blanket for your pet to sleep on. This way, your pet can shed a lot of its hair in one easily manageable area. Once you’re ready to clean the bed or blanket, simply take it outside, shake as much of the hair loose as you can and throw it in the washing machine. This method won’t keep your carpets 100% free of pet hair, but it will help alleviate the pressure put on your vacuum cleaner.

Not only do pets shed like crazy, but their presence also puts your carpets at higher risk of stains. Accidents happen, unfortunately, and the most you can do is to be prepared and act quickly. This last point can’t really be emphasized enough – the sooner you get to the stain, the better. When you notice a pet has peed or vomited on your carpet, you might be tempted to blot with paper towels or even stand on those paper towels in order to absorb the stain quicker. Doing so will force the liquid deep into your carpet’s padding. With enough pressure, you will push the liquid into the subflooring, causing permanent damage.

To combat stains, first blot with a clean, white cloth. Once you’ve absorbed as much moisture as you can, apply some soapy water on the affected spot. Blot with a dry, clean towel before switching to a towel dipped in soapy water. Switch back and forth between the dry and damp towel until the spot is gone.

After you’ve cleaned the stain, invest in a good odor neutralizer for urine stains. There are many different neutralizers available at your local pet store. You can also create a solution made from vinegar and water, place it into a spray bottle and mist the affected area. Once you mist the area, let it sit for a few minutes before blotting it dry. This assists in odor and stain removal.