It’s so easy to overlook cleaning your carpets. Vacuuming feels like enough most of the time, right? But they really do need a good cleaning regularly to keep them nice and fresh and make sure there isn’t anything unpleasant lurking in there. After all, carpets are great places for mold and pests to hide. And those are two things I really try to avoid in my home. So this super easy two-ingredient carpet cleaner takes 5 minutes to make and costs less than fifty cents!
Did I mention it is also all natural and green? You can avoid all the synthetic chemicals in store bought carpet cleaners. I generally believe simple is better, and this cleaner definitely lives up to that principle. That’s why I love green cleaning so much!
This carpet cleaner is great to use for regular cleaning and deodorizing, but it isn’t a spot stain remover. It will prevent and treat icky odors and mold from permeating your carpet, so it definitely has its purpose and is extremely useful. If you do want a spot stain remover, head on over and read this post about removing carpet stains.
This recipe has only two super simple AND effective ingredients:
- Baking soda: gets rid of funky and unpleasant smells, gentle, non-toxic, and natural.
- Borax: kills and prevents mold and pests, disinfectant
And it couldn’t be easier to make.
Homemade Carpet Cleaner Recipe
Ingredients:
- Equal parts baking soda and borax
Instructions:
- Mix equal parts baking soda and borax in a sprinkle container and shake to combine
- Sprinkle lightly all over carpet. Use more if your carpet is very dirty*
- Let sit for at least three hours. While sitting keep kids and pets off and away from the carpet
- Vacuum up thoroughly! And that’s it!
*As with any new cleaning product, it’s always good to spot test the cleaner before you do this to make sure it doesn’t affect the fabric.
I got this adorable carpet at home goods, and I use it in my office. It gets a lot of trampling day to day, especially from my dog Biscuit. So after almost 3 months of use, I figured it was about time for a good cleaning. I sprinkled the carpet cleaner all over and it worked like a charm!
All right- this is the before photo.. just a little bit of yellowing and unfreshness, but not tons.
And this is the after picture! I will admit I left the homemade carpet cleaner on overnight because I can be a bit lazy… but it worked its charm. I used it on only half the carpet and did a smell test… and it definitely helped remove some of the smell!
I told you it was easy!
My carpet feels much fresher now. Yay for homemade cleaners!
Let me know how making your own homemade carpet cleaner goes for you.
supplies used in this post
Rachel says
The rug in our living room could definitely use some TLC, especially after getting a new puppy! I’ll definitely have to try this mixture out. Thanks for sharing the tips!
mary says
thanks for tip, i tried ot do it myself and was a disaster, so this is good to know for next time :)
Kody Loveless says
This seems amazing and it is so cheap. I like that you can just take things like baking soda and turn them into a great carpet cleaner. I will have to give this a try. Maybe I can keep my carpets cleaner in between professional cleaning. With 5 kids running around it is no easy chore.
John S says
It doesn’t even need water, I am definitely trying this.