"What is the best carpet cleaning solution?" Many people ask themselves that, and there is unfortunately no straight answer. The cleaning market is under constant development and change, as is the rest of the industry. The cleaning manufacturers have never stopped attempting to make the ultimate cleaning solution.

Customers, on the other hand, have also not stopped looking for the "be all end all" of cleaning products. The struggle to create and find the penultimate cleaning chemical has likely only just begun. At the end of the day, there will always be stains to remove on carpets and upholstery.

Nonetheless, we are about to answer the question above with a list of chemicals. They are some of the best products on the market today, and we endorse them to our customers. For your clarity, we have split the list of carpet cleaning solutions into two parts. The first portion are store-brand products, and the second part are products used by carpet cleaning professionals.

Be advised, you may need a carpet cleaning machine to apply some of the solutions in the professional section. Luckily, the smaller carpet and rug cleaners are readily available for rent. You can easily find your local branch of Rug Doctor, which you can hire for a very low budget price. But before we get into all that, let's lay down the basics of carpet cleaning:

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What is the best carpet spot cleaner solution

How can I clean my carpet without using a carpet cleaner?

There are a few universal rules for cleaning carpets, which apply to both artificial and natural carpet fibres. Here they are in no particular order:

Do not rub or scrub a damp stain

Nothing good ever comes of scrubbing a still damp stain on your carpet or rug. All you're going to end up doing is pushing it deeper into the fibres. If a stain goes too deeply inside, even professionals will have a hard time dealing with it.

Instead, you should only gently blot the stain with a damp cloth or a dry paper towel. This tactic is valid on every type of stain, which has just occurred on your carpet. You will be able to remove fresh red wine stains and pet stains if you blot before doing anything.

Removing milk from carpet

Do not apply harsh chemicals

You want to always avoid cleaning products with side effects, as they are unsafe for your family. These products usually cause irritation, or may release toxic vapours in the room. And most importantly, they have a tendency to permanently change the carpet colour, especially on natural carpets.

So forget about bleach and Vanish, what you instead ought to use are eco-friendly carpet cleaning products. They will remove stains and leave your carpet properly cleaned without any risk for your safety. Unlike harsh chemicals, they are also suitable for all types of carpets, spots, stains and even bad odours. You can trust green carpet shampoos and sprays to deal with stubborn stains in a harmless to the fibres way.

Urine on carpet

Perform a patch test

It is always advised by carpet cleaning professionals to be careful when applying cleaning products. This is especially true when you use any cleaning solution for the first time on your carpet fibres. If you treat the whole room with an unknown substance, you may ruin the textile flooring.

A patch test is not hard to perform if you know how and where to do it. Simply apply a small amount of cleaning product on a small, hard to see area and wait. Afterwards, touch the area with a dry cotton cloth or paper towel. Do not proceed if you see the carpet colours come off, otherwise feel free to clean.

Rinse the carpet after using cleaning products on it

The true reason many people complain about stains is a fundamental error made when attempting to remove them. Most people in the UK simply apply a product, blot or scrub (don't do the latter!) and think they're done. However, this is a mistake of the same calibre as preparing a three-course meal without dessert.

When you use any cleaning product, always rinse it out of the fibres with cold or warm water. This will prevent product residue marks from occurring, and possibly ruining the carpet's appearance. The way to rinse is to use a spray bottle to apply water, then take it out with a sponge. For better efficiency, you can rent a water extraction machine like the ones mentioned above.

Act as quickly as you can

The core of removing a stain from your carpet or furniture is to attempt it as soon as you can. Do not wait for the stain to dry, especially if it's one of the top 5 most stubborn stains. Leaving a stain to dry can allow it to alter the carpet colour, which is not a reversible process.

As mentioned above, start blotting right away with a paper towel or a cotton cloth. Make sure you use colour fast ones, otherwise you may make things worse. And sorry for being repetitive, but you must not rub or scrub the stain!

Hoover your carpet regularly

Having a powerful vacuum cleaner can go a long way in having a clean home. The importance of regular hoovering as a part of home maintenance can not be stressed enough. In fact, it is always a good thing to hoover the carpet regularly to combat dust build-up.

Carpet manufacturers recommend hoovering your carpets and hard floors a minimum of twice a week. This rate should double for properties with children and pets, due to them getting dirty faster. By regularly vacuum cleaning the carpet fibres, you will also deal with dust mites and other microorganisms.

Now that you know the dos and don'ts of domestic carpet care, let's look at some store-brand cleaning products. They are readily available at your local supermarket, or for delivery through Amazon. Without further ado, let's get right into the first list of cleaning products.

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Cleaning products

What are the top 3 most effective store-brand chemicals?

Most cleaning situations at home can be tackled with one of the following carpet cleaning solutions:

Rug Doctor Carpet Detergent

Rug Doctor is the same UK brand that offers carpet cleaning machines for hire at budget rates. Their cleaning solutions are top-notch, and this carpet shampoo is no exception. It is ready to use with or without a machine, but achieves better results in the first way. As an added edge, it is also safe for woollen carpets, as well as pets.

This cleaning product comes in neat packages of 1 litre, 2 litres or 4 litres. They allow you to respectively clean 2, 4 or 8 rooms of carpet (may vary based on measurements). When applying it without a machine, bear in mind it dries very quickly, so make sure you rinse it promptly.

Genuine Dyson Zorb Carpet/Rug Cleaning Powder

Dyson is a UK/Singaporean company and one of the big cleaning brands in the world. The founder, James Dyson, is the inventor of the dual cyclone bagless hoover. Their upright vacuum cleaners still dominate the UK market to this day.

The Zorb Carpet/Rug Cleaning Powder is a dry cleaning solution, and at first glance appears as any other powder. However, the powder is actually a vast amount of micro-sponges which absorb the dirt in your carpet fibres. After applying it and letting it soak up the dirt, just hoover it out of the carpet.

De.Solv.it Sticky Stuff Remover

De-Solv-It is an American company specialised in various solutions, and branched out as more than just a cleaning manufacturer. Their products are some of the safest, most eco-friendly ones on the global market. They have also carefully managed the scale, so that harmlessness does not impact performance.

The most convenient package for this product is the spray bottle, but you can find it in a regular bottle too. It is your go-to for home cleaning of paint, tar, gum, sticky tape and more. However, bear in mind that anything fit to remove paint usually is not eco-friendly, so take care when using it.

Now that you know where to find stuff to do it yourself, let's look at the time-effective alternative. After all, time is money, and what better way to save time than to hire expert carpet cleaners? Keep reading to find out:

What solutions do professional carpet cleaners use?

Carpet cleaning companies usually rely on brands which have specialised in manufacturing separate product lines for contractors. These include Prochem, Kärcher and Scotchgard, as well as many other cleaning powerhouses. For the purpose of our article, we will detail the products of Prochem, used in our expert cleaning services.

A staple of our cleaning work is Contract Carpet Extraction Cleaner, used in our hot water extraction machines on stained areas. It is usually coupled with Prespray Gold, a pre-treatment solution which increases cleaning effectiveness. As any other cleaning solution we use, we apply it, then rinse it out of your carpet fibres with our machines.

The product assisting our extraction process is Fibre & Fabric Rinse, a wool safe alkaline neutraliser. This effectively interacts with our heavy-duty solutions, preventing any high pH-related issues from happening. Once we have applied another solution to remove stains, we use this one to remove the stain remover. As a side note, it can also be used on its own to deal with urine stains.

For your woollen carpets, and stain resistant nylon ones, we use Liquid Woolsafe. This powerful concentrate is the best for handling natural fibres, which have low heat resistance. As our machines have multiple pressure and temperature settings, you can be sure your wool carpets are safe with us.

Check also: How to Clean Red Wine Out of Carpet?