Choosing whether to clean a carpet yourself or have a professional. Instructions on how to clean a carpet yourself. Save money by doing it yourself.

It seems like as soon as you get something new. it will get stained. The same is true of your new carpet. You are usually extra careful when the carpet is brand new. but that won't stop the stains from being attracted to it. Luckily. you can get rid of stains on carpets. if only you find the right way. The two main options are to try to take care of it yourself. or hire a professional to get rid of the stains.

If you have a small stain on your carpet. it is probably not worth while to hire a professional to clean it up. A small stain can usually be removed using materials you may already have. It can be easy or difficult to lift these small stains: it will depend upon how large the stain is. and how long it has been sitting. A small. fresh stain will usually be relatively easy to get rid of. A large stain that you were not able to get to right away may take a longer time to treat. The very first thing you have to do if you want to make stain removal easier. is to blot as much of the stain up with plain white paper towels. Blotting is the best way to go. because excess rubbing will damage the fiber. and this may make the stains set better into the broken fiber.

The most common household items used or cleaning carpet stains are dishwashing liquid. dilluted household ammonia. hydrogen peroxide. rubbing alcohol and white vineger. Of course. there are also commercial products expressly developed for cleaning carpets.

To get rid of a stain. you will need one of the above cleaning solutions. plus: paper towels. a spray bottle and a brick. The brick is to keep the paper towel in place as you are using it to blot the stain. For grease stains. blot the stain first with the paper towel. Putting a little isopropyl alcohol on the towel will help lift the grease. But you cannot use a lot of
alcohol; you do not want it to soak into the carpet. For stains that have not set too deeply. rub gently in one direction.

If a stain is a water based spill. just using a wet vacuum immediately may get rid of the problem quickly. If. however. the stain has been sitting for a while. you may have to moisturize the stain with a little water to help with removal. Remember. a little water; we don't want the rug saturated. Let the water sit and use the blotting technique as usual. Use dishwashing detergent to gently lift the stain. If the stain remains. spray with water and remove the solution just used and start with something stronger. Put something like hydrogen peroxide on the towel and blot with that. Keep trying until the stain is gone.

This is a time consuming process that you have to work at. but if you want to save money. it is worth the effort. Professional carpet cleaners can be expensive. especially if they work by the hour. and part of that time is just waiting for the cleaning method to take effect. You can be doing the same thing yourself instead of paying for it.

About the Author:

Andrew Caxton is an online entrepreneur and writes for http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com . A website with tips on carpet cleaning at cleaning berber carpets