Very few things can add beauty to your home more than new carpeting. It can brighten a room and give it a sense of warmth to any who enter. Likewise, there are very few things that can detract from a room like a dingy, worn, or dirty carpet. While vacuuming helps to keep your carpet looking good and extends its life, vacuuming alone is not enough. Your carpets need a deep, thorough cleaning at least once or twice a year, more often if you have children, pets, or smokers in the home. While most people have a rug shampooer in their homes, it is recommended that you have the job professionally done at least once in a while. A professional carpet cleaner can get the job done in about half the time it would take you and they have specialized equipment to make sure that the carpet is truly clean. In addition to that, most professional carpet cleaners are able to treat your carpets so that they remain stain resistant. However what do you do if spills or accidents happen between cleanings?
Having a carpet cleaning machine in your home is a good start, but you can’t always drag it out immediately to deal with stains. In cases like this, it is helpful to know how to spot clean your carpet, or at least treat the stain immediately so that it doesn’t become permanent before you can clean it properly. If you have a bottle of commercial spot remover you can use, then by all means do, but if you don’t have any on hand there are some common household items that will work just as well. The easiest and gentlest on the carpet is cream of tartar. Mix about ¼ cup cream of tartar with enough lemon juice or vinegar to moisten it Using clean, dry towels, blot up as much of the spill as you can and then spread the paste over top of the stain and work it in thoroughly. Allow the paste to dry completely and then vacuum any residual powder out of the carpet. This works very well on stains like red wine, grape juice, or spaghetti sauce. Much as you would with a commercial spot cleaner, test the cream of tartar paste on an inconspicuous area to make sure that the carpet is colorfast. While this will remove small stains completely, you should still clean the area thoroughly as soon as possible.