Cleaning rugs with Baking Soda

Baking soda is one of those household items that you’ll find in the back of a cupboard in nearly every kitchen. If homemade cakes aren’t your thing, then you can still put the baking soda to good use by using it to remove almost any type of stain from a rug or carpet. Not only is it readily available and inexpensive, but it also works well to get rid of odours as well as the initial staining. The interesting thing about baking soda for stain removal is that it can be used in a few different ways, depending on the offending stain.

Non-Greasy Stains

A ‘non-greasy’ stain is one that doesn’t have an underlying residue. To the average person that’s things like tea, coffee, juice, ink. Basically, anything that doesn’t leave a mark remaining once you’ve wiped it up off a hard surface. They also tend to be a little easier to remove than the other types!

Here you simply sprinkle baking soda liberally on the area with the stain. The biggest mistake is to not put enough so aim for a nice thick layer of the baking soda, so the stain is no longer visible. Then grab a spray bottle and add a thin mist of water over the baking soda. Next, it’s a waiting game if you’re able to leave this to soak into the stain overnight for maximum results. However, if you’re in a hurry then you can probably get away with leaving it for only 3-6 hours. Once the time has passed, give the area of the rug a really thorough vacuum, moving it slowly over the stain to ensure that you pick up all of the remaining baking soda.

If the stain is particularly tricky, there’s no harm in repeating this process a couple of times to ensure it is completely gone.

Greasy Stains

A greasy stain is generally oil based like butter or anything that leave a remaining mark after it has been cleared up – especially on ivory or grey-coloured rugs. These can be a bit more difficult to get rid of from a rug as not only do you need to remove the main stain, but also the greasy residue.

Begin by blotting the grease up with a cloth or towel without rubbing it any further. If you move the cloth around too much then you’ll end up spreading grease throughout much more of the rug, making the clean-up even harder. Then sprinkle lots of dry baking soda over the entire area and leave overnight.

In the morning vacuum the area to remove the baking soda, and you should find a much smaller stain that will still have the grease present in it. To remove this, take some standard dish soap and blot around the area to remove the grease, then use water to rinse. Partially dry the area by blotting with a towel and then sprinkle with more baking soda.

After about 3 hours have passed, simply vacuum away the excess baking soda and you will find that the stain, and its grease, is now fully removed.

Removing Pet Odour

Whilst a pet odour isn’t a traditional stain, it still can linger on the rugs if they’re a favourite resting place of your dog or cat. Baking soda can also be used to help keep these bad smells at bay, and it’s super simple. All you have to do is sprinkle baking soda over the rug in the evening and leave it overnight. In the morning when you vacuum the area, you’ll find that the area smells fresh all over again.

To maintain this fresh smell when you vacuum the rest of your house and rugs, you can actually put a small amount of baking soda into the vacuum bag and it will help to maintain it. We do suggest making sure your room is pet-proof to save any unfortunate stress too.

More than just a basic cooking ingredient, baking soda has many advantages around the home for its cleaning purposes. The maintenance it can help you do for rugs will keep them looking clean and smelling fresh.

Disclaimer:  Although these tips are tried and tested, they may not remove every stain from every rug and carpet. If you are in any doubt then call up a professional carpet cleaner for advice. Rugs Direct takes no responsiibility for trying any of our ideas