Carpets provide a warm, soft texture and luxurious visual appeal, but they can quickly get dirty if they are not kept spotlessly clean. Even with the right tools and cleaning agent, cleaning your carpet can prove difficult.
Carpet cleaners will help keep all the carpets in your home beautifully clean and smelling fresh. But the question is, can you use laundry detergent in a carpet cleaner?
The answer however is, yes, you can use laundry detergent in a carpet cleaner. You need to use the right detergent because regular laundry detergent may leave a residue, foam too much, or even damage the carpet cleaner.
Specific carpet cleaning products can be rather expensive and readily not available, but using other household chemicals such as laundry detergent can work out a lot more affordable.
Read on to get a few tips on how to use a laundry detergent in a carpet cleaner before hurrying off to add a scoop of laundry soap to your carpet cleaning machine.
Can You Use Laundry Detergent in Carpet Cleaner?
Carpet shampoo is nothing like hair or any other form of shampoo, you may feel the need to purchase more if you run out of stock. Luckily, an effective cleaning can be done with the help of a laundry detergent, and it may become your preferred choice because of its availability, familiar clean, and fresh smell that stays behind.
In fact, laundry detergent is one of the safest substitutes you can use in a carpet cleaner. It will provide you with effective results and you won’t even have to use a lot of it.
Is it Safe to Use Laundry Detergent in a Carpet Cleaner?
The main concern when using other solutions (laundry detergent) that isn’t a carpet shampoo is its potential damage to your carpet.
Imagine the horror of seeing foamy white bubbles on your carpet after cleaning. Adding the right amount of laundry detergent in your machine will be safe for carpet cleaning.
However, keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily true for all types of laundry detergents and carpets. Decorative rugs made of synthetic material may be too sensitive to be washed with a concentrated agent such as a laundry detergent. Also, some laundry detergents contain bleach, which can damage the color or the fabric of your carpets.
Benefits of Using Laundry Detergent as a Carpet Cleaner
Using laundry detergents in a carpet cleaner has numerous benefits. Here are some of the main ones;
1. Effective Cleaner
Many people fear that laundry detergents won’t clean their rugs, despite cleaning their clothes. Luckily, this isn’t true at all.
The strong cleaning properties in a laundry detergent, makes cleaning the rug as effective as using a carpet shampoo.
Wool and plush carpets require a little more foam to be cleaned thoroughly and laundry detergents are particularly recommended.
2. Fresh and Neat Scent
Most laundry detergents are scented, as you all know. It will leave your carpet smelling fresh and neat for a long time after being cleaned.
3. More Affordable
A carpet shampoo is more expensive than people’s budget and this makes laundry detergent one of the most cost-effective solutions you’ll find.
A little bit of detergent goes a long way when using it in a carpet cleaner, making it even more cost-effective.
4. Readily Available
Laundry detergents are much easier to find in shops, unlike carpet shampoos. They are also mostly available in your homes.
Unlike carpet shampoos, laundry detergents are much easier to find in shops. Most of the time, you already have them in your home.
Tips for Using Laundry Detergent in a Carpet Cleaner
Always remember that laundry detergent was produced to use in washing of clothes, so if you are using it, keep these useful tips in mind:
1. Vacuum The Carpet
The carpet should be vacuumed thoroughly, before you get on with cleaning it.
2. Don’t Add Too Much
Carefully read the instruction manual of your carpet cleaner to see how much water its reservoir holds, as this determines how much laundry detergent you can use.
Do not use more than 60 ml of detergent per gallon of hot water. Make sure to check for warranty information, if your cleaner is still under warranty.
3. Check that the Laundry Detergent You Use Doesn’t Contain Bleach
Carefully read the label on your laundry detergent container/bottle so that you don’t accidentally bleach your beautiful carpet a shade lighter.
4. Use Only Liquid Laundry Detergent
The secret to using laundry detergent as a substitute for your carpet shampoo is because of its availability and ability to be used in small quantities.
Move your carpet cleaner slowly when you are using it with laundry detergent.
How to Make a DIY Carpet Cleaner from Laundry Detergent
Here is how you can make your own cleaning solution from a detergent.
Things you will need:
- 1 gallon (4.5 liters) of hot water
- 1 teaspoon of fabric softener (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of liquid laundry detergent
- 3 tablespoons of liquid oxygen bleach
Instructions:
- In a small bowl, mix all the chemicals until well combined.
- Add the mixture to the hot water. Make sure to stir it in very gently to avoid creating bubbles.
- Mix until all the chemicals are dissolved.
- Put it to use immediately or store it in a clearly labeled bottle and heat it up once again when you need to use it.
This solution creates more foam, which you may want to rinse at the end. You may actually not have to rinse at all, as the fabric softener should prevent the material from hardening.
Conclusion
Laundry detergent can be safely used in most carpet cleaners, and only a small quantity should be applied at a time.
Carpets are mostly made from synthetic materials which means they are much more easily damaged than normal clothes, so avoid using too concentrated detergent or laundry detergents with bleach in them, as this will cause the colors to fade and the materials to disintegrate.
That being said, using the right kind of detergent with the right cleaning tool will work well and leave a long-lasting, freshly washed smell.
