Carpets harbour quite a few bacteria, mould, viruses, and other microorganisms that need disinfection. Luckily, the steam cleaner is a popular broad-spectrum solution to natural disinfection (and cleaning). Its success is in the public domain, and that’s the reason for its wide use.
However, accessing the expensive machine (either by purchasing or renting) isn’t a guarantee to all. Besides the high costs, you’ll meet other stumbling blocks before you get to use or acquire the services of the machine. So you may wonder how to disinfect carpet without a steam cleaner. Luckily, there’s a way to do it.
This article discusses alternative surefire carpet disinfection methods that are cost-effective, easily achievable, and less dangerous to users. So pore over the piece to get a better grasp of the godsend options to eradicating microorganisms and other foreign stuff before using them on your precious carpet.
The article also covers how to keep your carpet clean after disinfecting it; you need to know that, too. So be my guest.
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What You Need
NB: You’ll need each of the following in proportions that rhyme with your carpet’s size.
✓ The white vinegar
✓ Baking soda
✓ A small piece of a clean towel
✓ Liquid dish soap
✓ A brush (for scrubbing)
✓ A vacuum cleaner
The Steps
Prepare The Mixture:
Into a sizeable bucket, add equal portions of cold water and vinegar. Then, add a little liquid dish detergent to the mixture, ensuring that the amount isn’t too much. Stir the resultant mixture until it gets foamy. This is the mixture that disinfects your carpet the best.
However, a few users have registered carpet discolouration issues upon using the mixture on their fabrics. Therefore, it’s wise to test it on a small section of your carpet to see possible effects before using it on the while surface.
Get Rid Of All The Barriers:
When the mixture is ready, you need to ensure that you have a clear working surface. Effective cleaning will take shape when furniture and other obstacles aren’t on the carpet. So, you need to remove them, and you’ll get convenience when doing the disinfection.
Vacuum The Carpet And Add Baking Soda:
Use the vacuum cleaner to remove all loose debris from your carpet’s surface. Removing the debris leaves you with a less messy and softer surface to work on. Then, sprinkle baking soda on the whole surface of the carpet. Baking soda has several roles. It eradicates foul smell, kills bacteria, and helps you remove stains.
Scrub and Rinse The Carpet’s Surface:
It’s now time to disinfect and clean your carpet. Dip the scrubbing brush into your ready mixture in step 1 above before using it to scrub the carpet’s surface gently; mark the word ‘gently’. Harsh scrubbing may destroy the fabrics, so keep the pressure low.
Keep dipping and scrubbing until you have done the whole surface. Avoid making the carpet too wet or too dry. Always scrub in a defined pattern to avoid skipping spots. After scrubbing, let the carpet stay for six minutes and start the rinsing as described below.
Pour out the mixture you used above and add clean water to the bucket. Dip the small piece of the clean towel into the water as you use it to wipe the carpet’s surface clean.
Do it in patterns (as above) for the same reason of avoiding skipped spots. Wiping removes all the bacteria and other loose stuff that the mixture above loosened.
Let It Dry:
Letting the carpet to dry is a necessary and self-explanatory thing. You can open all the windows and doors to facilitate the process. Likewise, you can turn on a fan (if you have one) — to hell fasten the drying process.
Note: Always do cleaning on a dry day to give an ample drying environment.
Vacuum The Carpet Again:
Not all the debris were gone with the first vacuuming; thus, doing it again will further clear the carpet’s surface of more debris. Vacuuming for the second time also gets rid of the disinfecting mixture that was trapped inside the carpet’s fabrics. Your carpet us now free of dirt and microorganisms.
Note: Different carpet materials react differently with the mixture used in the method above. While some may get discoloured, others may even burn from the effect. Therefore, it’s wise to test the mixture on a small partition of your carpet before using it on the whole surface so that you know what to expect.
Meanwhile, here are the tips for maintaining your carpet in a clean state after disinfecting (and cleaning) it.
How To Keep The Carpet Clean After Disinfection
Disinfecting your carpet doesn’t mark the end of the journey. You still need to maintain the carpet in its disinfected condition using the following proven methods — to avoid further contamination and even damage.
Keep Your Pets Clean:
You don’t want to repeat the same tedious processes above because of skipping to clean and disinfect your pets. If you have pets and they love playing on your carpet, keeping them clean is prevalent.
They’re responsible for allergens, some bacteria, and other dirt. Do it immediately after disinfecting your carpet, and regularly after that.
Always Clean Before It Gets Messy:
Food crumbs, stains, and other dirt will get messier when left on the carpet for a long time. For example, food particles can decompose into bacteria if left for long. Cleaning them whenever they fall is a wise way to avoid the bacteria, foul smell, and other dirt.
Disinfect Regularly:
Regular disinfection will thwart the accumulation of bacteria, dirt, and other microorganisms. Consequently, it’ll reduce the amount of labour involved during each disinfection session, unlike if you leave the carpet to stay for longer.
Final Words
Disinfecting your carpet using the method described above is sure to keep bacteria away while leaving the carpet clean. Luckily, the products used in the process are readily available, and the process itself is intuitive.
So don’t fret if you don’t have the steam cleaner, there’s a way out. Please share this helpful piece with others that are also looking for how to disinfect carpet without a steam cleaner.
