Best Rug Cleaning Products

Many people are choosing greener and safer cleaners to use at home, but how do you get the best rug cleaning with homemade cleaners? Though it may sound surprising, many items sitting around your house are actually antiseptic, antibacterial, and make very effective cleansers and odor destroyers. Because a number of these items are actually food products, they are perfectly safe to use around children and pets. There is never a danger even if these homemade cleaners are accidentally swallowed.

Safest and Best Rug Cleaning Products

Food items that double as safe and effective cleansers include:

• baking soda
• vinegar
• club soda
• water

Baking Soda

Also called bicarbonate of soda or sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is a natural deodorizing powder that can freshen and clean rugs at the same time. If a rug has a musty or other unpleasant odor, baking soda can be sprinkled heavily over its entire surface and left to sit for around four to eight hours. As the baking soda lays on the rug, it will absorb and trap any odors that are present. The baking soda--and odors--can then be vacuumed.

Fresh stains from food or drink spills can often be cleaned with a paste of half a cup baking soda mixed with one third to one half cup warm water. Using a clean, damp cloth, the paste can be gently rubbed into the stain using a circular motion. It's best to begin at the outer edges of the stain and work inward since this will prevent spreading the stain to new areas of the rug. After the baking soda has dried, it should be vacuumed.

Vinegar

Plain white vinegar may be the best household cleaner to keep on hand. Simple to use, this safe liquid is antibacterial, antiseptic, antimicrobial, and able to kill allergens, mold, and mildew. When giving rugs a deep down steam cleaning, vinegar can be used in place of any commercial carpet cleaner. It is perfectly safe to use in all models of steam cleaning machines, and most people report that it works just as well as expensive, chemically-based cleansers.

Rugs cleaned with vinegar will not need rinsing, and the vinegar smell will disappear as the rug dries.

Club Soda

Club soda, with its fizzing action, penetrates rug fibers and can actually make stains disappear on contact. It works best on fresh stains and can remove blood, tomato sauce, wine, cola, grape juice, and many other tough stains. When a spill occurs, the liquid should be blotted with a clean cloth, and then club soda can be poured directly on the area. A clean cloth can be used to gently work the club soda into the rug fibers as needed. It may be a good idea to rinse the area with water, and, of course, the liquid should be blotted up before leaving the rug to air dry.

Water? Yes, Water!

To clean any surface, we often turn to commercial or homemade cleansers, but plain water can be an effective cleanser all by itself. When a spill occurs, it can be helpful to use a cloth dampened with cool water to simply blot the area repeatedly. Often, the stain will be absorbed by the cloth until it is no longer visible on the rug.

When steam cleaning rugs, some people use hot water alone without any cleanser. The water, its high temperature, and the agitation of the machine's bristles work together to loosen and lift dirt out of the rug where it can be sucked away. This may be a very good solution for rugs that are not heavily soiled or stained.

Though it may not be the best rug cleaning treatment for tough stains, water can sometimes work very well to lift fresh stains or general dirt from rug fibers. It's worth a try, and you may find that you don't need another cleanser after all.