Today, I’m juggling writing and homeschooling in a cramped corner of our kitchen, surrounded by all the living room furniture. That’s because we’re finally swapping out the old carpet for hardwood floors. I’ve never been a fan of carpet, especially white carpet with kids around, but we’ve delayed this project for over a year. Now, with the flooring company set to start, I’m hoping they finish before my baby arrives!
The white carpet in our main walkway has been a challenge for years. As we prepare to finally get rid of it, I realized I’ve never shared how I managed to keep it clean with five kids, a husband, and a dog constantly on it.
For almost a decade of our marriage, we lived with white carpet. In our first five years, our apartments had white carpet, and with toddlers, that was quite an experience. We didn’t have the option to replace it, so I learned a lot about cleaning it naturally. When we bought our first house, it needed tons of work, which we did ourselves. We chose hardwood floors there, and I loved that choice.
In our current home, the living room had white carpet, surrounded by hardwood and tile in the kitchen. This week, hopefully, everything will match, and the carpet will be gone. But many people can’t simply replace carpet, so I understand the struggle.
Some friends seem to have a magic touch to keep their carpets spotless, but for most of us, stains are inevitable. Over the years, I’ve developed some natural methods for treating stains by making my own carpet cleaner. However, I haven’t tested these on every carpet type, so it’s good to make sure it’s safe for yours.
For wet stains like pet or kid accidents, ketchup, wine, or soup, sprinkle baking soda on the area immediately. This helps absorb the liquid. Just cover the stain with baking soda, add more if it gets wet, let it sit for five minutes, then vacuum. If you use baking soda often, change vacuum bags frequently.
For stubborn urine stains, adding borax powder to baking soda can help neutralize smells and prevent pets from re-wetting.
Avoid using vinegar on wet stains—it can react with alkaline urine and worsen the stain by soaking the carpet. Vinegar can help with dried stains, but make sure to spot-test it first.
A simple mix of warm water and white vinegar works for set-in stains. Apply it, blot with towels, then use baking soda and vacuum to remove extra moisture.
Sometimes, just warm water in a steam cleaner can work wonders for general cleaning, though it won’t tackle tough stains.
For overall carpet cleaning, the best recipe I’ve found involves just two ingredients and is perfect when moving into a new place. This solution, used in a carpet cleaning machine, keeps the carpet clean for my kids.
One of the key ingredients, Sal Suds, is a powerful natural cleaner that the Environmental Working Group rates highly. Though it contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), it’s safe since we’re not using it on skin.
I love this simple, cost-effective solution, which is great for everyday cleaning.
As we finally get rid of our carpet, I wanted to share these tips, which have kept me sane over the past ten years!
Do you have carpet? How do you clean yours?
