I have some areas like near my couch and a stripe down the hall on my carpet. I have tried spot cleaners with little luck. Do any of you have any products or secret processes to clean these tough areas?
The best product I ever used was an aerosol spray called SpotShot. You can get it at Wal-Mart or Target and it works very well. You will need a stiff brush to clean after you have sprayed the affected area. I was the full-time single father of two small children (now grown) and I had three choices: 1) Steam clean every week or two, 2) Let the carpet look like something from wino alley or 3) Use SpotShot regularly. I chose #3.
Thanks for the tip and I will definately give it a try. I heard once something about club soda but I was thinking there had to be a fairly effective cleaner out there.
I so completely agree about the SpotShot! I even did a cleaning challenge with my best friend who had her 'favorite' spot cleaner from an janitorial store. We both used it on the same nasty red spot that was on the carpet --- yes, carpet --- in my kitchen. My SpotShot won hands down!! Her cleaner didn't even touch it. My house has carpet EVERYWHERE! Kitchen, bathrooms...literally everywhere. We are slowly getting it all changed out to hard surface floors. My other must-have-at-all-times item is called Green Earth Betco Push. It is actually from the janitorial store and is labeled as a drain cleaner. It is by far the absolute only thing that I have ever found that will successfully remove the smell of pet urine. I have a lot of pets. I used to use the baking soda, peroxide, and dish soap mixture which works okay but it leaves a residue of baking soda in the carpet, and it ended up wrecking my Dyson.
I also join the SpotShot love. And if you don't want to full on steam clean, maybe you know someone who owns a "Little Green Clean Machine" or something similar. It is like a small spot steam cleaner, and they are awesome. Though, when I get my spots out, I just want the entire carpet to be clean. You'll be so grossed out about how much dirt is in one little area of your carpet!
I have a regular upright steam cleaner, and I found it almost free on craigslist, so it was not a big expense, and is one of the best investments I have made , as far as cleaning. Most of the time, I only need to use hot water if I go after a spot as soon as it happens, but if necessary, I also add a little bleach to the water, or vinegar when I need to get a smelly stain out. I don't bother to fill up the tank if it is just a spot. I take a big glass of hot water, dump it on the stain, and suck it right up. Usually, once is all it needs, but if it is a larger spot, then I use a pitcher of hot water, and add a dab of bleach if necessary, and just do the spot a bit at a time. The main thing is to get there with the shampooer as soon after the spill as possible, so it does not settle into the carpet.
