15 Ways to Fix Everything With Vinegar Despite your best efforts at cleanliness, your carpet will eventually become the victim of drops, spills, accidents, and whatever's on the bottom of your shoes. To learn how professionals handle problem areas and keep carpets looking new, we spoke with cleaning expert Mark Tarbox, the owner of Best Carpet Cleaning Experts in San Antonio, Texas, who has more than 30 years of experience. Blot Stains, Don't Rub ThemBlot Stains, Don't Rub ThemDab stains with a cleaning solution and a clean cloth, paper towels, or a sponge. "The key is blotting. Blotting puts a small amount of pressure on the stain to soak it up," Tarbox says. "Rubbing causes the particles to get ground into the carpet fibers, and this can lead to the premature breakdown of those fibers." Always blot from the outside of the stain inward, as blotting outward can spread the stain. The Club Soda ProcessThe Club Soda ProcessYou may have heard that club soda is effective against beer and wine stains.

It's true—if you use it correctly.Blot the area with the soda on a cloth. If that doesn't work, mix one part white vinegar with one part water and pour it into a handheld sprayer. Spray the solution on the entire stained area and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes to soak in. Then press a clean sponge onto the area to soak up the solution and the stain. Tarbox says you may have to repeat this process to eradicate the stain.Once the stain is gone, rinse the spot with warm water. Use your hand to brush the carpet strands into their natural direction. Finally, lay white paper towels over the area and weigh them down with something heavy, like a phone book. The towels will absorb the dampness from the carpet. Leave the towels in place until the carpet is dry, usually about one day. 3 Tough Chainsaws, Tested How to Fix Washing Machine and Dryer Problems What to Do When You Find Old, Disconnected Wiring Behind Your Walls How to Make Speaker Holes in Your Ceiling 4 Tips for Building Your Own Bar

8 Tips for Installing Laminate Flooring Who Knew Watching a Box Get Built Could Be So Satisfying? Stacked Wood Screens Are Certainly One Way to Cover Your Fireplace How to Install & Cut Crown Molding Easily Tips & Tools to Regrout Your Bathroom How to Build This DIY WorkbenchIt’s that time of year again: Time to scour the Internet for spring cleaning tips as fresh as we want our homes to be – and in my case, my carpets are looking a little dull. (Okay, a lot dull.) Keeping carpets clean and stain free is a challenge, especially in high traffic areas that become the stomping ground for winter’s mix of slush and sand. Before you know it, your carpets are shades darker than they were just one season ago. Here are my favorite natural spring cleaning tips to liven up your carpeting: 1. Always vacuum first It’s important to vacuum regularly – try for once a week if you can – which keeps deeply embedded dirt, sand and dander to a minimum.

Use the changing of the seasons to do a thorough, detailed vacuum of the nooks and crannies: Under furniture, around furniture legs and across your baseboards. 2. Get rid of stains While we all do our best to deal with carpet stains as they happen, there are always those pesky spots we didn’t have time to tackle or that take several treatments.pool cleaner pump leaking One of the coolest spring cleaning tips I came across last year helped me get rid of stains I thought I was stuck with forever – and all you need is an iron.best price for hoover carpet cleaner Throw a solution of 1 part vinegar and 2 parts water into a spray bottle and spray the stain.best carpet cleaners in utah county Place a damp rag on top of the spot.

With your iron on the steam setting, iron the rag for about 30 seconds. Depending on how long the stain has been there, you might have to repeat these steps, but it’s an impressive transformation! 3. Bust out the steam cleaner Mix equal parts water and vinegar and add to your steam cleaner just like you would any cleaning solution. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil if you’re concerned your carpet’s going to smell like salad dressing. For high traffic areas that need more power, use a higher ratio of vinegar to water. 4. Keep your carpets fresh Between deep cleans, you can prolong the freshness of your carpet by creating your own carpet freshener. Mix the below ingredients and store in a shaker: 1 cup of baking soda 10-20 drops of your fave essential oil If you have pets, add ½ cup of borax to keep fleas at bay Before your subsequent vacuuming sessions, lightly sprinkle the mix onto your carpet, let it sit for 10-15 minutes and vacuum as per usual.

(Just make sure to do this on a dry day so the baking soda doesn’t pick up any moisture.)After taking these spring cleaning tips for a spin, you might even enjoy cleaning your carpets! (Okay, that’s probably a stretch.) What spring cleaning tips do you use to keep your carpets fresh? Related on Organic Authority 3 Steps to Perfection: Spring Cleaning in Your Pantry Do Your Digital Spring Cleaning Spring Cleaning for Your Closet, Step-by-StepA common misconception when cleaning any kind of upholstery is that the more water used, the better the result. This could not be further from the truth as more water doesn’t necessarily mean more effective stain removal. Moisture is extremely bad for the fabric, and can damage the fabric as well as leave the interior of the car with a dump or musty smell. Another point to note is to avoid getting water on any metal portion of the seat such as zippers. This can lead to rust, and more stains to deal with in the future.

With these two important points in mind, below is how to use home remedies to clean your car upholstery. It is common for car upholstery to absorb stains and odors over time. Before starting any kind of cleaning on the car seats, the first step is to deal with the smell. Removing smells from car interior can be done in 5 easy steps: STEP 1: Fill two bowls with white vinegar. STEP 2: Place one bowl on the dashboard of the car and the other on the back seat the night before cleaning. STEP 3: Close all the windows and doors and leave the bowls over-night. The white vinegar should effectively absorb all the odors from the car. STEP 4: Remove the bowls of vinegar in the morning and leave the car doors and windows open for as long as it   takes for the smell of vinegar to completely disappear. STEP 5 (optional): The last step is to vacuum clean your car upholstery thoroughly and take stock of the stains that need to be dealt with as the car is airing out.

Before starting the stain removal process, you’ll need to prepare the following two homemade cleaning solutions: For the first part of the cleaning you’ll need: Mix together the baking soda and water and you’re ready for the second part. For the second part of the cleaning process you’ll need: Mix the warm water, the few squirts of dish detergent and the ¼ cup of vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake the mixture well and leave for 5 minutes to set. And now we’re ready to start cleaning the car upholstery: STEP 1: Use a toothbrush to gently apply the baking soda and water solution to any stains that you might have on the upholstery and leave the solution for 30 minutes to penetrate the stains (This is by the way a great cleaning procedure for stubborn stains including ketchup and coffee stains among others) STEP 2: After the half hour, use a clean dry towel to blot the stains with the baking soda and water. Be careful to absorb as much liquid as possible before commencing the next step in the car upholstery cleaning process.

STEP 3: Use the detergent, water and vinegar mixture to spray the upholstery starting with the front seats and working your way to the back. STEP 4: After spraying the seats, use a stiff-bristled brush to gently work in the solution. STEP 5: Leave the mixture to sit for 15 minutes on the seats, and then use dry towels to absorb excess moisture. STEP 6: The last step is to air out the car to get rid of any smells. You may want to leave all the car doors and windows open for the rest of the day or until all the cleaning smell is gone. Baby wipes: These work surprisingly well when cleaning car upholstery. You don’t necessarily need soap and water to clean your car seats. Baby wipes are a great alternative, and should get most stains out. They don’t contain abrasive chemicals, which is especially great for the environment and safe for people with small children and adults with sensitive skin or allergies. Dry cleaning cloths: Dry cleaning cloths such as Dryel are also great for cleaning car upholstery.