Green ways to freshen up your carpets

Carpets tend to be well worn in the winter – they tend to endure wet and often dirty feet and paws traipsing all sorts through the house. This can make carpets smell unpleasant and musty. The professional house cleaning experts at MOLLY MAID suggest that you try some of the below suggestions to freshen up your carpets and give them a new lease of life.

Embrace the iron!

Using an iron carefully can help to remove some persistent stains and here’s how.

• Ensure your carpets have been vacuumed thoroughly.
• Dampen any stains with a cloth soaked in a solution made up of one part vinegar and three parts water.
• Lay the cloth over the stain and carefully use the iron to iron the towel. The stain should begin to lift into the towel.

Irons can also be particularly useful in removing candle wax from carpets by simply placing some greaseproof paper or a piece from a brown paper bag over the affected area. Then warm up the iron enough to melt the wax and iron the area for 1-2 minutes. You should see the max melt into the paper.

Bicarbonate of soda carpet freshener!

Combat those smelly carpet odours by adding about 10-20 drops of any essential oil (such as lavender, lemon, rosemary or orange) with about a tub of bicarbonate of soda. Mix it up well so the oils are completely absorbed and then decant into a glass container. Then, simply shake your new carpet freshener on your carpet and wait for 5 minutes and then run the hoover over it. Another great green way of carpet cleaning!

Powerful deep carpet cleaner

If you’re after a deeper clean of your carpets to properly sanitise them and eliminate dust mites for example you are going to have to hire a carpet cleaning machine. You can make up your own green cleaning solution. Mix the following ingredients together to make a deep cleaning solution, but remember to wear gloves and mix the solution over a sink in case of spillages: 175ml of Hydrogen Peroxide, 60ml cup white vinegar, 2 tablespoons washing up liquid, 5 drops of essential oils, 2 tablespoons of clothes softener and 3.75l of hot (not boiling) water. Remember to do a patch test on an inconspicuous area of your carpet and allow to dry before embarking on all your carpet.

Fluff it up

Does your carpet look like it’s been flattened by a heard of elephants? A simple way to re-fluff it is by spraying any stained areas with an equal solution of white wine vinegar and water. Then allow the solution to work in and blot the stain. Then using a spoon on its side, fluff the carpet up by spraying any hardened, stained areas with a carpet stain remover of equal parts vinegar and water. Allow the agent to work, and then blot up the stain. Then using the side of a spoon, run a spoon along the carpeting to fluff up the fibres and encourage them to stand straight again.

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