Keep your carpets clean using the infallible baking soda method

Carpets are the perfect furnishing accessories to give warmth and personality to our homes, but unfortunately they are also areas where dirt easily accumulates. In fact, carpets (and rugs and mats) come into daily contact with dirty feet, slippers, pets and more. The result is that dust, lint, hair, debris and stains - from accidentally dropped food and drinks - often build up on our carpets.

For this reason, it is important to keep our carpets clean, starting with a regular vacuuming. But how can we ensure that our carpets always remain clean and fragrant without working too hard? This is where baking soda comes to our rescue: let's find out how...

Creativo

We list below the steps to follow to clean and perfume your carpets using baking soda:

• First, remove any objects and furniture from the carpet and vacuum it thoroughly to remove as much dust and dirt as possible;
• Visible stains must be pre-treated separately; if you can treat them when they're new, they'll be easier to remove. The treatment done will differ according to the type of stain: grease stains must be sprinkled with baking soda after removing any solid residue - leave on for at least 3 hours before vacuuming up; for stains from drinks or non-greasy food, sprinkle the stains with baking soda and cover with a damp towel - leave it to act for several hours (even overnight) and then vacuum;
• For a general clean, sprinkle the entire carpet with plenty of baking soda and moisten it by spraying with cold water.
• Scrub the carpet with a nylon fiber sponge in one direction only, then at 90 degrees to this original direction. This will allow the baking soda to penetrate deeply into the fabric;
• Remove the excess moisture with old towels or rags and let the carpet air dry before walking or placing anything back on it;
• When the carpet is dry, you can vacuum up any baking soda residue stuck in the fibres. The carpet will be as good as new!

We recommend you repeat this operation once a month - or whenever you notice that your carpet looks dull or is stained. If, on the other hand, you just want to deodorise the carpet, just sprinkle plenty of baking soda on it and leave this to act for at least 15 minutes (or, if the smells are very strong, leave on  overnight) before vacuuming up.

Now you have no more excuses not to clean your carpets!