Four Great Carpet Cleaning HacksYou Should Know

Carpets endure a lot – dirty shoes, furry pets, heavy furniture, drink spills, chocolate crumbs and everything else we (and our kids) drag, drop and/or drip on them every day! Below, we’ve described four of our favourite cleaning hacks to help you keep your carpet looking good. And, of course, you’ll find a solution for just about any spill in our Stain Removal Guide. 

1 - Use ice cubes to remove chewing gum

This is an oldie but a goodie! Chewing gum can be incredibly difficult to get off your carpet. You could leave the gum to harden and then remove it but this could take a while. Instead, place a handful of ice cubes on the chewing gum to freeze and harden it, then simply peel it off.

2 - Use a squeegee to pick up pet hair

We love our pets and we love our carpets. Put the two together and you’ll invariably end up with…well…a hairy carpet! There are a number of quick ways to remove hair from your carpet when you’re in a hurry and can’t be bothered pulling out the vacuum: running a damp rubber glove over it will do the trick or you could use the rubber blade on a squeegee to do the same – be sure to be gentle with the squeegee (we have stayayhomemum.com.au to thank for that helpful tip!).

3 - Use detergent to get chocolate off your carpet

Have you ever dropped crumbs of your favourite chocolate bar on the carpet, then made things worse by trying to pick them up, squashing them into the carpet? Yup…very frustrating! You’ll find detailed instructions on how to remove chocolate from your carpet in our Stain Removal Guide but here’s a summary:

• Create a solution of mild dishwashing detergent and warm water
• Vacuum up any dry particles
• Use a cloth to apply your solution to the stain and leave the solution in for five minutes
• Blot (don’t rub) with a clean white cloth until the stain no longer transfers
• Enjoy your chocolate-free carpet!

4 - Use ice cubes to remove dents caused by furniture

Ok, so this isn’t technically a cleaning hack…but it is a hack, and a very good one at that. Ice cubes are wonderful things – they’ll cool your drinks, help you remove chewing gum from carpet and get rid of those annoying dents in your carpet left by heavy furniture. Simply fill the dent(s) in your carpet with an ice cube and leave it to melt. The fibres in your carpet should slowly absorb the moisture and plump up. Once this happens, blot the area dry with a clean cloth and then fluff the fibres by hand.