Baking soda will help freshen up both appearance and smell, and it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals – so you can feel good about your own well-being, your carpets, and the environment. And, if combined with another natural cleaning agent, vinegar, it can take care of even the toughest stains out there.
Leave the mixture to rest for one hour, giving ample time for the vinegar to react with the baking soda, thus softening the stain. Gently scrub the stained area with the scrubbing brush and wipe off the mixture with a dry cloth piece. Vacuum the area to remove any baking soda and vinegar residue.
Carpets made of wool, silk and other natural fibers can be rather delicate, and don't take too well to excessive exposure to very acidic products. Using vinegar on these types of carpet can permanently damage the fibers and ruin your carpet.
Combine 2 cups of warm water with 2 cups of white vinegar in a bowl, and (slowly!) add 4 tablespoons of baking soda. Once you've stirred it all up, pour it into a spray bottle, and apply the mixture to the stained area. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and blot the spot with a clean, damp rag.
Baking soda's minuscule size can clog the filters and potentially damage vacuum cleaners – particularly the motor. If you're using a bagless vacuum, the potential chokepoint would be the cyclonic filters and the post-motor HEPA filter.
The baking soda not only absorbs moisture, but it'll also absorb any nasty odours. As it soaks up moisture, baking soda cakes up, making it easy to remove after the fact – just go over your carpet with a vacuum once it's dry and you're set.
You can use baking soda (aka bicarbonate of soda) to clean and deodorize all kinds of carpet and area rugs, but the method used depends on whether the stain is grease-based (think pizza, oil, mayonnaise) or non-greasy (like mud, wine, blood). In all cases, the process starts by sprinkling baking soda over the stain.
These two common household materials can serve as natural cleaners to remove grime and keep your surfaces clean. Because vinegar and baking soda are on opposite ends of the pH scale, they can be combined and used as effective cleaning solutions.
You'll probably need to let it sit overnight, but the key is to wait until the vinegar has completely dried. As it dries, the smell of the vinegar should dissipate. Finally, you'll just need to vacuum up the baking soda. If there's more than a little left in the spot, you may want to scoop some of it up first.
The short answer is that you should not use vinegar for carpet cleaning. There is truth to the idea you can use vinegar as a natural disinfectant for cleaning but it cannot remove dirt or soil from a surface or from carpet.
Saturate the stain with white vinegar. Sprinkle dry baking soda over the area, making sure to cover the whole patch. You should begin to hear a fizzing sound which means the reaction is working. Wait until the vinegar has completely dried - preferably overnight.
Conclusion. Mixing baking soda and white vinegar is not the be-all, end-all cleaning solution. Used separately, both substances are great. Together, though, they cancel each other out.
Steam Cleaning
You don't need a follow up rinse session. Although the room will smell like vinegar while you're cleaning, that pungent vinegar scent will go away once the carpet's dried and the room has been aired.
Clear A Clogged Drain
Pour baking soda into the drain (about half a cup), followed by one cup of white vinegar. Cover the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes.
"Baking soda is basic and vinegar is acidic," says Bock. "When you put them together you get mostly water and sodium acetate. But really, just mostly water." Plus, vinegar causes baking soda to foam up. If stored in a closed container, the mixture can explode.
When baking soda is mixed with vinegar, something new is formed. The mixture quickly foams up with carbon dioxide gas. If enough vinegar is used, all of the baking soda can be made to react and disappear into the vinegar solution.
Baking soda and vinegar react to neutralise each other ( vinegar is an acid and baking soda an alkali ) releasing carbon dioxide which is the bubbles of gas you see. If you add a little washing up liquid ( dish soap ) the foam becomes thick, a little like lava!
We are often asked if baking soda will stain carpet. We have never found that bicarb or baking soda (the same thing) to ever stain carpet. Some are also concerned that the vinegar will bleach carpet. There is little risk of this happening, even with woollen carpets.
The longer you can allow the baking soda to sit, the better it can work to absorb odors—if you can afford to leave it on the carpet for a few hours or even overnight, you'll really reap the benefits. But you can still use the mixture for a quick 15-minute application and enjoy the smell and a little deodorizing boost.
As the name suggests, chemical yellowing is caused by certain chemicals reacting with the composition of the carpet fibres. Some chemical cleaners contain high amounts of alkaline detergents or pH, creating a yellow stain after using them.
If it was soaked with clean water and it can be completely dried (meaning the carpet and the flooring underneath) within 48 hours, you may be able to clean and reinstall it. If it has been longer than 48 hours, regardless of the source of the water, general EPA/FEMA/CDC guidelines recommend removal and replacement.
Mix 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup borax, and 1/4 cup vinegar, then apply this paste to deep stains or heavily soiled sections of carpet. Allow the paste to sit on the carpet for several hours until it dries completely, then vacuum it away.
Deodorize the Room
Unpleasant odors lurk in the carpets, rugs, and upholstery. To remove these musty smells, fill a dish with half an inch of white vinegar and leave it out in the room until the smell dissipates.
Keep things dry with a dehumidifier in your basement, and try leaving out a bowl of vinegar for around 15 minutes to neutralize any odor.