How to Clean Carpets

Kids, pets, and just regular life can wreak havoc on your carpet. Hometalk can help you get it back to it's original pristine state with our tips, tricks, and hacks for DIY carpet cleaning. Look through our top, best, and new projects on carpet cleaning and take a moment to watch a video or two. We can't wait to see what you do!

How to Remove Difficult Stains From A Carpet

Clean Carpets Like a Pro

Clean your vacuum for max suction: Ensure your vacuum cleaner is in working order before you start. Empty the bag and remove debris from the head to get maximum suction.
The sweet smell of spring: Give your carpet a fresh smell with some deodorizer. Sprinkle liberally around the room and leave for at least 30 minutes.
Fluff lifeless carpet with ice: Rejuvenate lifeless sections of your carpet with ice cubes. Placing small blocks of ice in any dents will help fluff it up again.
Don’t ignore your furniture: Use your vacuum's attachments to remove dust from possibly neglected areas like chairs, tables, and pictures.
Vacuum from the far corner: Finish each room by vacuuming from the far corner to the door. Working in this way will stop you from cleaning yourself into a corner.

More cleaning categories

Top Projects for Cleaning Carpet

Take a moment to browse our top projects on DIY carpet cleaning.

Carpet Deodorizer and Banishing "Wash"

Commercial carpet deodorizers are great for getting the stink out of carpets and loosening up pet hair, but the heavy perfume fragrance can cause allergic reactions, contact dermatitis, headaches, and a number of other issues. Making your own is easy, it can be customized to a scent you like, and you can add some magical elements. The addition of salt to this recipe has the same effect as using a floor wash for banishing negativity and blessing your home, but for rugs and carpets.

Tara L. Callaghan

Vacuum Cleaning Tips

Want to get through some of your cleanings faster? Your vacuum cleaner is for more than just the floor and it can help you get through a lot of your cleaning in no time. Plus, I'll share a couple of extra tips along the way. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Chas' Crazy Creations

Easy Way To Remove Pet Stains

ETA: My little Trevor has passed over the rainbow bridge now so please, no need to tell me about diapers or belly bands, those didn't work for him and this is how we dealt with it. Thanks for all the tips though! :)ETA: PEROXIDE does have a bleaching effect. If you have any doubts of this solution bleaching or color changing your carpet, please try it in an inconspicuous place first. Many commenters have suggested a "rinse cycle" with plain water using a carpet cleaning machine after the solution step. I don't ever have to do that, but everyone's carpet is different. I think most of it is picked up in the blotting step that is not pictured but mentioned down below.If you have a pet, especially an elderly pet, you probably need to read this post! Of course I went right to Pinterest to find a way to battle these pet stains. It only takes two ingredients and a tiny little bit of elbow grease and your carpet will look nice and smell way better too!

DeeDee

9 Cleaning Hacks That Actually Work!

Hi everyone! Over the past year I've come across endless cleaning hacks and I decided to put them to the test. Today I've rounded up the 9 best cleaning hacks that actually work! I hope you find these helpful!

MissLizHeart

How to Clean Carpet & Upholstery with a Great Stain Remover

My Go-To Stain Remover for carpet and upholstery is…laundry detergent. Check out my blog for the steps to this SUPER EASY and QUICK clean up for stains and spills on carpet, slipcovers, upholstery, etc...

House on the Way - Leslie

Six Ways to Use Tea Around Your House

Here are six different ways to use three different teas - black, green, and mint.You can use unused or used tea bags; however, in some of the tips, the tea must be dry. This is a great way to recycle your tea after you've enjoyed a spot of tea.

Alicia W

Spot Cleaning Carpet With a DIY Solution

Do you ever have those small accidents that happen and then the carpet needs to be cleaned, but its not big enough for going through the trouble of renting a full size carpet cleaning machine? Yes! We do too so I decided to get a small very portable carpet cleaning machine. We have the machine you see below, its the Bissell 3624 SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner. (Direct link to this machine is on our blog, click HERE)

DeeDee

Carpet Deodorizer and Banishing "Wash"

Tara L. Callaghan

Vacuum Cleaning Tips

Chas' Crazy Creations

Easy Way To Remove Pet Stains

DeeDee

9 Cleaning Hacks That Actually Work!

MissLizHeart

How to Clean Carpet & Upholstery with a Great Stain Remover

House on the Way - Leslie

Six Ways to Use Tea Around Your House

Alicia W

Spot Cleaning Carpet With a DIY Solution

DeeDee

Carpet Cleaning Videos

We have videos on DIY carpet cleaning to help you clean your carpet in not time.

Get Your Carpet Smelling Fresh With This Eco Carpet Freshener

I’m all about green cleaning ideas and homemade cleaning products. So when I found this recipe for a carpet freshener I thought, "let’s give it a try." We just got a second dog ( a cute puppy that has stolen our heats), and all our carpets could use a little freshening up. I was a little skeptical about this at first, but two days after I used it, a neighbor stopped by and took a deep breath and then asked me what yummy thing I was baking. She was so surprised when I told her it was my new carpet freshener. It definitely covered up the pet smells. Here’s the recipe:

Shawna Bailey

9 Ways to Clean Your Toughest Household Messes.

Struggling to keep your home clean? Here are 9 ways to better clean you home, and fast!

Kara S.

The BEST Stain Remover for Oil Based Stains!

Got stains? Yup, me too. Most of ours tend to be oil based or you guessed it, paint. Today I’m going to share a few photos and a quick video of how I’ve gotten rid of oil based stains with virtually no effort.

Simple Southern Charm

Best Cleaning Hacks That Actually Work

Check out these 15 cleaning hacks! - 5 Ways to Clean Your Tub & Tile- An Insanely Easy Eco Oven Cleaner- The Easiest Way to Clean a Burnt Pot or Pan- The Easiest Rust Remover- Get Your Carpet Smelling Fresh With This Eco Carpet Freshener- The Fastest Way to Clean Glass Dishes- The Natural Cleaner Your Nasty Toilet Needs- Eco Wood Polish (Just 2 Ingredients!)- Homemade Grout, Tile and Tub Cleaner- How To Clean Your Old Cookie Sheet

Abbie M

Hometalkers' Favorite DIY Carpet Cleaning Projects

Here you'll find the best DIY carpet cleaning projects we have to offer. Enjoy!

How to get Blood out of Carpet?

This may sound strange but if you take shaving creme either men or women, gel or not. Get a lather and spread it on the area affected let sit for about 10 minutes then blot with slightly wet dish towel or wash cloth and it will remove it. I don't know why but it works. Great for those bloody noses.

Sweet Papaya Creative

Carpet, Rug And Upholstery Cleaner

Most of us including myself don't often deep clean the carpets at home and in time dust and dirt start to build up. Here is a quick and easy recipe which will help you bring the colour back to your carpets, rugs and upholstery as well as clean them. Here are the ingredients for the recipe: 2 teaspoons vinegar 1 teaspoon household ammonia 4 tablespoons liquid dishwasher detergent 1 cup of water foaming pump dispenser sponge Open the windows to ventilate the area and mix all the ingredients together. Stir a little and pour the liquid in the foam dispenser, use it to directly apply foam on thecarpet and blot with the sponge. For best results divide the surface into small areas.

Samantha

How to Clean an Area Rug With Steam

After a long winter, the area rug in my mud room needed a good cleaning. With the help of oxi clean and the HomeRight SteamMachine it was clean in no time.

HomeRight

9 Ways to Clean Your Toughest Household Messes.

Struggling to keep your home clean? Here are 9 ways to better clean you home, and fast!

Kara S.

5 Ways to Clean With Baking Soda

Baking soda is a staple in every DIY'ers home. So, I'm giving you 5 awesome ways to use it in your cleaning routine!

Kara S.

DIY Carpet Deoderizing Powder

Sometimes it's nice to freshen up the carpets and rugs in your home, especially when you have kids or pets. A few weeks ago, we were having guests over and I felt like our house smelled like our dog. I decided to make a quick deoderizer for our carpets. It literally took minutes, and my guests commented on how fresh our home smelled as soon as they came inside! You will definitely want to use this if you have smells lingering in your home!

Mom4Real

How to get Blood out of Carpet?

Sweet Papaya Creative

Carpet, Rug And Upholstery Cleaner

Samantha

How to Clean an Area Rug With Steam

After a long winter, the area rug in my mud room needed a good cleaning. With the help of oxi clean and the HomeRight SteamMachine it was clean in no time.

HomeRight

9 Ways to Clean Your Toughest Household Messes.

Struggling to keep your home clean? Here are 9 ways to better clean you home, and fast!

Kara S.

5 Ways to Clean With Baking Soda

Baking soda is a staple in every DIY'ers home. So, I'm giving you 5 awesome ways to use it in your cleaning routine!

Kara S.

DIY Carpet Deoderizing Powder

Mom4Real

Popular Carpet Cleaning Discussions

Take part in our popular discussion boards on DIY carpet cleaning.

What's the best way to remove set in pet stains on a beige rug??

/> Bec29606976

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How to get dog stain out of the carpet?

/> Maw6251938

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How do i clean and keep clean dark brown carpet?

/> Lulu Herrera

I got stains all over my carpet, from kids ive tryed shampooing it, but that really dont work, so exspensive to replace with new, i wish i could afford to replace with wood flooring

View discussion

How to remove odor from rugs and carpets?

/> Lcb30532133

The best rug cleaner or odor remover for carpet.

View discussion

New Carpet Cleaning Projects

Take a look through our new carpet cleaning projects and learn something new.

Best Cleaning Hacks That Actually Work

Abbie M

How to Vacuum Carpet

Have you ever thought about if there is truly a "right" way to vacuum carpet? Here are the steps: http://www.idreamofclean.net/how-to-vacuum-carpet/

Christine (iDreamofClean)

Easy and All Natural Carpet Refresher

I HATE paying my hard earned money for items like carpet refresher. This recipe has TWO ingredients, is all natural with no toxic chemicals, and works AMAZINGLY well for pennies.

Kim @ Too Much Time On My Hands

How to Prevent Pet Stains

When your pet pees on your carpet, prevent it from smelling and staining with this easy tip. You will need: *paper towels, absorbent rag *baking soda *vacuum Check out the blog for the full tutorial.

Angela

The Best DIY Carpet Cleaners

Whether you're renting a carpet cleaning machine or you have your own, you can make your own carpet cleaner and get great results. I tried out a few homemade cleaning solutions I had heard of Pinterest and other cleaning blogs. I tried out my homemade laundry detergent, oxi clean, and vinegar/water mixture. In addition to using a good cleaner for your carpets, you also need to use the proper amount so the cleaner does not leave soap residue on your carpets. Even with the commercial carpet cleaners, use less than what is recommended on the label and on the machine. For full details, check out the blog.

Angela