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How To Clean Heavily Soiled Carpet? 4 Easy Steps (2024)

Carpets encounter a lot of foot traffic. Not only is it shabby, but it also pollutes the air which you’re breathing. But don’t worry, you need not purchase a carpet cleaning machine. 

You can clean a heavily soiled carpet at home by following these steps:

  • Vacuum the carpet regularly.
  • Treat stubborn carpet stains with commercial stain removers or home remedies mentioned in this article.
  • Deep clean your carpet with a steam cleaner.

Continue reading for a step-by-step guide to cleaning heavily soiled carpets through simple, practical methods. 

🤔How Do You Clean a Deeply Dirty Carpet?

How do you clean a deeply dirty carpet

An extremely dirty carpet needs  deep cleaning. Here are four steps to help you clean your extremely dirty carpet at home (without a carpet cleaning machine). 

💡Before getting into carpet cleaning, inspect the stains and dirty marks properly. Inspection of tough stains or pet marks tells you where to focus your maximum efforts.

Once done, follow the following steps to attack the stains:

Step 1: Vacuum 3 to 4 Times

All carpet owners must vacuum their carpet at least 3 to 4 times. It will remove the foot marks and visible dirt and cleanse the hidden dirt. Use a powerful vacuum cleaner.

Step 2: Pre-treat Tough Stains With a Stain Remover

Once you’ve thoroughly vacuumed your carpet and removed the submerged dirt, the stubborn stains will be more visible to your eyes.

Apply the stain remover evenly on the stains. Vacuum the carpet again after you’ve used this mixture.

Alternatively, a mixture of 1/4th cup each of water, salt, borax, and white vinegar is an incredible alternative for marketed stain remover.

Step 3: Steam Cleaning Carpets

Steam cleaning carpets

After using a stain remover, clean your carpet with a steam cleaner. 

Fill your steam cleaner tank with hot water and add a carpet-friendly cleaning solution. This carpet cleaning solution will effectively deep clean the carpet by pulling the grime out.

In case you don’t have carpet shampoo or a cleaning solution, you can also add 1 cup of white vinegar to 2.5 gallons of water to make your own carpet cleaner.

Also Read: Best Vacuum Cleaner For Delicate Oriental Rugs

Step 4: Dry the Carpet

Lastly, set your steam cleaner to the water extraction mode for drying your carpet. Repeat this process 4 to 5 times to extract all the water from the carpet.

It’s best to dry carpets under sunlight. If that’s inconvenient, dry your carpet under the fan or dehumidifier. Make sure the carpets dry completely.

🎯What Is the Best Solution for Soiled Carpets?

Here are some of the best cleaning solutions for your soiled carpet: 

🫧Baking Soda Paste

Baking soda paste

Baking soda is one of the best carpet cleaners to remove the dirt and grime absorbed by your carpet’s fabric. Follow the steps stated below to clean your carpet.

  • Firstly, pour a good amount of baking soda over your soiled carpet. You can use 1 tablespoon or more, depending on the surface area of the stain.
  • Now scrub the baking soda over the carpet with a dry and clean sponge mop. It will help the baking soda to push into the carpet. 
  • Let the baking soda sit over the carpet for a few minutes so that grime and dirt in the soiled carpet will absorb the baking soda thoroughly. 
  • Lastly, vacuum your carpet. Make sure you use a freshly emptied bag of filters while vacuuming over the area 3 to 4 times. 

Note that baking soda can adsorb liquids, not dirt and grime. In order to remove dry mess with baking soda, you must provide a little water for baking soda to help dissolve dirt and grime into it for removal.

You can also use a mixture of white vinegar and baking soda. Once you sprinkle the baking soda over your carpet, pour vinegar and water in an equal ratio and let it rest for an hour

Finally, use a carpet cleaner and vacuum to complete the cleaning.

Also Read: How to Clean a Large Rug on a Wood Floor?

🧼Laundry Detergent

Add 1 tablespoon of detergent for every quart of water to soak the carpet for an hour. Scrub to remove stains and dirt on your carpet. You can also pour your laundry detergent directly over the stained area of your carpet for spot cleaning. 

🧪Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is another effective solution for proper cleaning of your soiled carpet. However, while you use Hydrogen peroxide, make sure you use a dilute solution so that it doesn’t affect the quality of the fabric.

To make the desired mixture from hydrogen peroxide, use the following ingredients:

  • ¾ cups of the hydrogen peroxide
  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • 2 tbsp fabric softener
  • 2 tbsp dishwashing liquid

Follow these steps to use the Hydrogen peroxide to clean the soiled carpet.

  • Pour the mixture of dilute solution into a squirt bottle. Then, fill the bottle with a gallon of warm water.
  • Drizzle the solution over the stained area of the carpet and let the area saturate.
  • Lastly, remove the stains with the help of a slightly wet cloth. 

🍸Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol

If you’ve accidentally poured paint over your carpet, you can use a diluted rubbing alcohol solution over the stained area.

Follow the steps below:

  • Pour the rubbing alcohol solution over the stained area of the carpet. 
  • Remove the paint mark with the help of a butter knife or any other blunt object. 
  • Fill a spray bottle with some rubbing alcohol. Remove as much as you can with the help of the butter knife, then carefully spray the alcohol over the stained area again and rub it with the help of the cotton swab or other soft fabric.
  • Do this until the remaining stain vanishes, and then wipe it with a clean, damp cloth for a final touch.

🧻Lint Rollers

If your carpet is dusty, use lint rollers regularly to restore carpet appearance.

The lint roller will loosen dirt and grime and lift carpet fibers, making your carpet look neat and fluffy.

Once the tacky roller paper gets dirty, throw it away and replace it with a new one.

Hack 💡

You can use some shaving cream as a carpet stain remover. Just apply the shaving cream on the carpet stain, leave it for 5 minutes, and wipe with a clean cloth or paper towel!

However, if none of the carpet cleaning methods help you deep clean your carpet, you may have to contact a professional carpet cleaning company.

💁Tips to Prevent Heavily Soiled Carpet

Tips to prevent heavily soiled carpet

Here are 5 expert tips to prevent carpet soiling:

  • Treat spots immediately: The longer you let a stain sit on your carpet, the harder it will be to clean later. So take action as soon as you spot a stain.
  • Vacuum regularly: Regular vacuuming will not allow the invisible dirt and minute particles to settle on your rug. Use powerful vacuum cleaners.
  • Wash Frequently: Wash your carpet quarterly a year with the help of a steam cleaner or carpet cleaning shampoo. 
  • Avoid outdoor shoes at home: Maintain a separate pair of indoor slippers; avoid bringing dirt on the carpet with your outdoor shoes.
  • Brush and bathe your pets often: Bathe and trim your pets’ fur frequently to ensure no pet hair on the carpet.

💡How to Clean Heavily Soiled Carpet: FAQs

How to clean disgusting carpets by hand?

To clean the soiled carpet with your hands, follow the steps below:

1. Sweep your carpet with the help of the carpet brush or broom and dustpan to remove the buried dirt from your carpet.
2. Next, vacuum your carpet thoroughly. 
3. Now, pour the mixture of baking soda and salt over your carpet to remove the pungent smell coming from your carpet.
4. Now spray some cold water over the carpet’s surface to make it damp, but don’t soak the entire carpet with water.
5. Afterward, scrub your carpet with a scrubber at least 3 to 4 times.
6. Lastly, let your carpet dry naturally. 

How to clean extremely dirty carpets at home?

You can clean extremely dirty carpets at home using a clean and dry cloth to remove the dirt. Then, pour some laundry detergent solution, liquid dish soap, or a foam cleaner over the surface and scrub your carpet with a brush. Finally, wipe with a damp cloth to get a neat and clean carpet!

How to clean heavily soiled carpets without a machine?

You can easily clean heavily soiled carpets without using any carpet cleaning machine by applying:

1. Baking soda to clean your carpet and remove foul odor. 
2. Laundry detergent and shampoo to pour over your heavily soiled carpet and then scrub it off.

How to clean a heavily soiled carpet with baking soda?

To clean heavily soiled carpet with baking soda:

1. Add a mixture of baking soda and vinegar over the surface of your carpet. 
2. Then, thoroughly run your carpet cleaner over the soiled carpet, soaked with the mixture. 
3. Lastly, let your carpet dry and vacuum it.

How to clean pet-stained carpets?

You can use hydrogen peroxide and liquid detergent mixture to remove pet stains like vomit from the carpet. You can also use a mix of baking soda and vinegar in an equal ratio to clean the pet urine stains from the carpet.

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