Windex as Carpet Cleaner
Over the weekend I got into the mood to clean the house. My target was the living room that was steam cleaned a couple of months and is already back to being dirty!
You see my house is on the small side and my living room is pretty much a walk way to get to the dining room, kitchen and upstairs. So, people walk on this rug quite a bit. Add to that a dog, a toddler and a baby and you can see what it was so dirty.
I didn’t feel like moving all of the furniture, taking out the steam cleaner, using it and then dealing with a wet rug for a couple of days. On Saturday night I decided to just spot clean all the areas that offended me with carpet cleaner. I spend a good amount of time doing this and my arm was sore the next day from all of the scrubbing. At first it looked okay, but then it dried and the stains were still right there!!
Then I remembered something I had once read about Windex being the best carpet cleaner. So, I tested a little spot and it worked perfectly! I’m a believer!
Here is my before:
It might not look that bad in the photo, but in person it’s horrible. There are gray spots all throughout the rug.
STEP 1: Spray windex on spoiled areas. I didn’t go too crazy with the spraying but I also didn’t go light. You know when you have enough when it actually starts showing up white.
STEP 2: Use a cloth/towel to rub the windex into the carpet.
STEP 3: Use the cloth to press out any excess liquid that remains in carpet.
STEP 4: Enjoy your new carpet/rug and go around spraying everything else in your house with windex. 😉
It’s been a couple of days ago and the stains are still gone. I’m a believer. Such an easy tip! I will never buy carpet cleaner again!
*Sorry for the radio silence earlier this week. Either my allergies knocked me out or I got some sort of head cold, because I was in sorts of pain. Even my hair hurt. Feeling much better now.
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My living room is one of the rooms that evolved drastically from when we first moved one. Originally I painted the walls chocolate brown and did accents of white, blue and orange. That lasted maybe 2 years.
Our dining room sat empty for months. Okay maybe it was empty for just a handful of weeks and then we couldn’t take it anymore and put in a folding table and plastic outdoor chairs, but in my mind that was still empty.
On the main floor of our house we have a Florida room. Being that it’s a Florida room it is a considered a 3 season room, because there is no heat in the room. The previous owners used it as an indoor patio with outdoor furniture and it looked like this when we moved in.
Great tip! What is the material of your rug? I’ve ruined a wool rug with carpet cleaner before (it was worse than the stain I was cleaning), so I’m curious. Thanks!
It was a 100% wool rug. I didn’t have any issues at all and used it on both the cream part and the purple part. I would test out a small area on your personal rug first, but I honestly don’t know if it will react the same way as mine, but I didn’t have any issues.
Good to know! I started using Folex after hearing about it on Little Green Notebook a couple years ago. That stuff is amazing and works everytime. Our living room rug had blackberry jelly stains (long story involving our sneaky dog and some leftover toast) and after just quick spray and rub it was gone…good as new. I’ll keep Windex in mind though.
I will have to try Folex. I have never used it before, but I’m amazed by Windex. It took out old, old stains. Love it! I feel like the Dad in my Big Fat Greek Wedding that promotes Windex for everything. 🙂
I just had to comment because OF COURSE you have a leopard washcloth. Love it! You crack me up. I need some. Maybe it will bring a bit more joy to cleaning. 🙂
Haha I knew someone would comment on that 🙂 . When you see leopard wash cloths how can you not pick them up! 🙂
Love this idea! Thank you for sharing! I will be deep cleaning my new home this weekend and I have some Windex. Hopefully I get the same results!
hi … great tip. it’s the ammonia actually that is a great and gentle (really!!) cleaner. i use ammonia to clean/disinfect lots of things around the house, including laundry. so no stains like you might get with bleach, plus towels and sweaty stuff smell fresh, and the ammonia smell disappears quickly.
Oh! Thanks for letting me know why it works. I will have to try ammonia next all by itself and see how it goes. 🙂
I hope this works on pet stains, because I’ve tried everything, including professional steam cleaning with no luck. I am ready to replace the carpet, so i have nothing to lose. Stay tuned.