DIY Carpet Cleaning

As a military wife, I live in military contracted housing. We're not allowed to replace our carpeting, but it's up to us to maintain it. I have seen many facebook grumbles from other military wives that the carpets in these complexes are impossible to keep clean. I agree. My husband & I are careful to keep it clean, and yet somehow spots seem to be a magnet for this bland carpet. 

Many take a "eah, it's not really my home anyway" approach. We know as soon as we move out they pull up the carpet & replace it anyway. I've read a few reports that now they put down linoleum instead. Not something my husband & I will get to enjoy, and I'm stuck here for a few more months looking at this disgusting carpet.

I want it cleaned but I'm a penny pincher; I won't pay for carpet cleaning service. Twice now I've turned to the DIY solution I've found on pinterest like This Link. I read a few of them then merged the ideas.

My Solution:

Large bucket, filled with 50% water, 50% white vinegar

Add about a tablespoon of Hydrogen Peroxide (I just splashed some in) 

A little Dish Soap

A towel you do not intend to use again

An Iron, set to Steam

Steps:

- Soak your towel in the bucket, ring it out, and lay it on the target carpet area.
- Let the towel sit a little to dampen the carpet. I patted it a few times.
 -Iron the wet towel slowly, enough to steam up the towel, targeting the stained area.
- When the towel becomes fairly warm, set the iron aside and use the warm towel to scrub the stained area

I performed this step on an entire section of carpet that is pretty worn. While I didn't do muh in terms of wear, I did pull up quite a bit of gunk- I could see in on the towel, and I did remove a few stains that have been in the carpet for months. It's still new looking, but it's an improvement & I'll take it!