When it comes to cleaning carpets, most of us go right to getting the vacuum out. However, there are other effective ways to clean your carpets without having to use a vacuum. Pet owners often find that vacuums can scare their pets. The same goes for parents who have younger children.
Below, you can learn more about how you can clean your carpets to remove dust, dirt, allergens, and debris without needing to use a vacuum.
Steam Mop
A fantastic way to provide your carpets with a deep clean is to use a steam mop. Steam mops can be great as long as you stick to only using water. If you start adding chemicals to the mix, you can cause damage to your carpets. Not to mention, these chemicals can be toxic to you and people in your home.
The water vapor alone produced from steam mops provides you with plenty of cleaning power. It can kill germs and pathogens that are hiding within your carpets to clean them more thoroughly and make your home a safer environment.
If you’ve been dealing with dust mites, you may be pleased to hear that the high temperatures produced by the water vapor with steam mops can kill them.
However, you’ll want to be careful when it comes to applying high temperatures to your carpets as they can cause damage. Therefore, we recommend that you attach a carpet glider to the steam mop to ensure that you can protect your carpets.
Carpet Sweeper
Carpet sweepers operate similarly to vacuums, apart from the fact that they make a lot less noise. Therefore, they can be an excellent alternative for people wanting to avoid scaring young children and pets.
There’s no electrical output involved with carpet sweepers. Instead, it’s a manual process where you move the sweeper on the carpet for the rollers and brushes to glide across the fibers. The brushes and rollers rotate and capture dust and dirt.
Any of the waste that you’ve collected can then be conveniently thrown into the trash. Cleaning carpets with a sweeper is also super easy as there are no electricals or buttons involved. They’re also lightweight which means that you can have an easy time carrying them around to clean different rooms in your home.
Carpet sweepers are best for regular cleaning rather than deep cleans as they’re unable to get deep into carpets. Using them daily can be a convenient way to maintain the cleanliness of your carpets.
Dustpan & Broom
Using a dustpan and broom can be a fantastic way to sweep up larger pieces of dirt and debris from your carpet. We recommend that you sweep the dirt with a broom in one direction and aim to get it piled up in one area of the carpet. This makes it easier for you to collect all of the dirt into the dustpan.
This method of cleaning requires more physical effort as you may need to use the broom to scrub certain areas of the carpet. Brooms with stiff bristles are best because they enable you to reach a little deeper into the carpet to capture more dirt that has become trapped.
Bristles that are too soft can make it more difficult for you to scrub the carpets and be able to clean them properly.
Washing Carpets With Homemade Solutions
Those of you looking to achieve a deeper clean will be interested in using solutions to wash your carpets. Cleaning solutions can be especially powerful when it comes to removing stains and restoring the color of carpets. It can also be a great way to remove bacteria and odors.
Shop-bought carpet cleaners often contain chemicals that can be harmful to carpets as they can leave the fibers damaged. Therefore, it may be best to use a homemade cleaning solution that doesn’t contain any chemicals.
Using vinegar in homemade carpet cleaning solutions is a popular choice because it’s mild while still being effective at killing bacteria and germs. A great carpet cleaning solution can be made by adding ¼ cup of white vinegar to a bucket that has been filled with warm water.
However, be sure to use the solution in a small quantity in one area of your carpet to make sure that it doesn’t cause any damage. Once you’re happy that it’s safe for your carpets, you can grab a scrub brush and dip it into the bucket of white vinegar solution.
Before applying the brush and solution to the carpet, make sure that you shake off excess water as you want to avoid making the carpet soaking wet. This prevents it from taking too long to dry and potentially causing mildew to grow.
Use the scrub brush to work in sections of your carpet and begin at the far end. This allows you to gradually work your way backward and leave through the entrance so that you don’t have to step on the areas of the carpet that have been cleaned.
Once you’ve finished cleaning, there will likely be a smell of vinegar. This smell usually goes over time but you can get rid of the odor faster by setting up fans in the room and opening up windows. This ventilation will also help the carpets to dry faster.
Conclusion
As you can see after reading our post, vacuums aren’t the only way to effectively clean your carpets. There are plenty of alternative methods that can be great for deep cleaning and daily cleaning.
Carpet sweepers are fantastic for enabling you to remove the dirt and debris more regularly. The homemade cleaning solution and scrub brush method is one you may want to save for doing every once in a while as it provides carpets with a deeper clean and requires more effort.
Dustpan and brooming carpets can be a simple way to bring up dirt and dust from deeper in your carpets and have it all piled up to collect straight into the dustpan.
Using a steam cleaning mop can also be awesome for revitalizing your carpets to their original color. The high temperatures kill dust mites and bacteria and allow for a deep clean. Just make sure that you attach the carpet glider to avoid damaging your carpets.
You can implement the above tips as a way to keep your carpets clean without having to use a vacuum. They can be handy in cases where your vacuum has broken or you’re trying to avoid scaring young children and pets.
