Carpets are lovely aren’t they? They do wonder to keep your feet warm and dress up the floor…yet all at the same time they are an absolute pain to maintain in pristine condition, especially if you love them in light colours. Carpets it would seem, (especially those light coloured ones) have the uncanny tendency to be a magnet for staining accidents.
This in fact happens so often in my house I can’t even see the funny side of it. From guests dripping wine on them to baffling ink spots (it must be raining ink somewhere, but mostly I think it’s just my careless fiancé dropping his pen every so often), stains are unsightly on the carpet and I can’t stand to see them let alone to allow them to stay there.
Now I know there are lots of products on the market these days to help to tackle those stubborn award moments but most of it would involve harsh chemicals and being a person who subscribes to sustainable green living, I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t try to get a greener solution.
Well firstly there’s the option of purchasing eco-friendly cleaners. One brand that stands out is Earth Friendly Products. Earth Friendly Products is a line of home-cleaning products that works without toxins, petrochemicals, bleach, ammonia, phosphates and other harmful ingredients. Instead it’s just made up of simple substances including corn, coconut, citrus, plant oils and herbs that are all very quickly and completely biodegrade. The brand offers products for the following applications:
- Household
- Pets
- Bathroom
- Kitchen
- Laundry
But if you think you’d like to try a more frugal option, then you can try the following concoction. The idea is to make them and store them so you can whip them out to save the day when nasty wine spills happen.
- Make a solution of one part of white vinegar to one part water.
- Apply the solution to the stain using a spray bottle to saturate for about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Next, use a sponge to clean in a rubbing motion, rinsing with warm water.
- After that, brush the pile back into its natural direction and using layers of white paper towels, place paper towel on top of area and finally a book (telephone directory works fine) on top of it. This will absorb all the moisture and allow the carpet to dry.
Now I know there are many other methods of cleaning the carpet with ingredients right from your kitchen cabinets but this one is a general one that is best suited for cleaning up wine and beer stains.
If you have any other methods you’d like to share feel free to just add to the list.
